End of Commitment Report – “Open government innovation and culture”: train, educate and build up a participative culture from the education community, strengthening the network and the links present between the Civil Society and the public administration.

Name of Evaluator

Daniel Catalá Pérez, Aida Vizcaíno Estevan y Borja Colón de Carvajal (Spanish Society for the Evaluation of Public Policies SEE)

Email

socevaluacion@gmail.com

Member Name

Valencian Community, Spain

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Valencian Community, Spain, 2022 – 2023

Commitment

“Open government innovation and culture”: train, educate, and build up a participative culture from the educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ... community, strengthening the network and the links present between the Civil Society and the public administration.

Action

The commitment responds to the need to build a collaborative and participatory governance model where citizens feel that they are part of the management of public policies, in all its forms: decision-making, participatory processes, co-responsibility, etc. The roadmap represents a paradigm shift in the management of public policies, whose purpose refers to the construction of a participatory culture. The participatory culture begins in the classroom, which is paramount. It is the space of teaching, of education, where the educational community has to learn the participatory culture that affects all areas of life. ACTION PLAN:1. School of Citizen ParticipationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More: Training on citizen participation policies, open government, and participation methodologies; implementation of participatory innovation processes in GVA; and, design and implementation of citizen participation mechanisms in the field of public administration.2. YOUTHRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More PROGRAMME FOR THE BUILDING OF CITIZENSHIP (JOCC): Training in democratic culture; knowledge of the social context in which they live; foster alliances with youth, municipal and associative networks, etc; and, stimulate collaborative actions in the spaces of coexistence closest to the youth that is affected.3. ParticipAcció Awards: aimed at organized or individual citizens, educational centers and Town Halls that carry out citizen participation projects that have a transformative social impact in their territories and society in general.

Problem

The traditional model of representative democracy has led to the erosion of the democratic state, thus causing a growing distrust of public institutions, political parties, and their representatives. This situation has led to a strong disaffection towards the field of politics and a substantial distance between citizens and public administrations. As a consequence of all this, citizens have not been present in the design of public policies, especially in the field of regional jurisdiction policies. More specifically, Valencian youth and certain more vulnerable groups have had little impact on citizen participation in these policies. The lack of spaces for dialogue between the public administration and the citizenry, as well as the lack of representation of the latter in the different participatory bodies of the administration, affects the need to gradually implement a model of collaborative and participatory governance. The existence of public policies with great incidence for life in common that are not preceded by participatory processes of co-creation between citizens and the Public Administration is a factor that reflects the lack of participatory culture in public management. The civil society, the political representatives, and the personnel at the service of the public administration lack knowledge about the tools and processes for participation, and there is also a lack of specialized public personnel to carry out participation policies.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Substantial

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment included 3 actions: Citizen Participation School, JOCC Program, and ParticipAcció Awards. These actions were, in turn, included as milestones of the commitment along with the signing of agreements with the University of Valencia and the Valencian Youth Council, which established the framework for the execution of the actions. There is some evidence of the fulfillment of all actions and milestones. In the case of the signing of the agreements and the announcement of the ParticipAcció awards, the JOCC Program, the evidence shows that the actions have been executed, continuing previous editions of these projects. In the case of the Citizen Participation School, the available evidence shows that two training sessions have been carried out for technicians from local entities. Since the definition of the commitment did not detail the scope of this action, it is difficult to determine the degree of commitment fulfillment.

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

• Citizen Participation School:
  • Agreement signed with the University of Valencia
  • Workshop “Management of the Internal Information System in Public Administration” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (08.05.2023)
  • Workshop “Law 2/2023, a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption. Impact on the Valencian Community” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (29.03.2023)
• ParticipAcció Awards
• JOCC Program:
  • Agreement signed with the Valencian Youth Council
  • Europa Press Article
  • Consell Jove Facebook Post

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

Internally, there were no determining factors that affected the implementation of the commitment, as the proposed actions are activities included in programs that already had a certain trajectory in the context of the GVA’s open government policies. Externally, factors that could condition the implementation of the commitment primarily derive from the willingness of collaborating agents to maintain collaboration agreements and their commitment to the proposed projects. The signing of the agreements dispels, at least initially, doubts about this willingness and commitment.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

All of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Based on the provided evidence, it is confirmed that the implementation of the commitment has been carried out as planned in the Action Plan. One of the recommended changes for this commitment in the initial evaluation of the plan was to improve the design of the revised commitment to clarify and specify the specific activities to be carried out in each proposed action, especially those related to the “Citizen Training School” and the “JOCC Program”. It would also be interesting to clearly define the purpose and objectives of the agreements. If there had been more detail in this regard, both the degree of commitment fulfillment and whether the implemented actions correspond to the design could have been better assessed.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Citizen Participation School:
  • Agreement signed with the University of Valencia
  • Workshop “Management of the Internal Information System in Public Administration” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (08.05.2023)
  • Workshop “Law 2/2023, a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption. Impact on the Valencian Community” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (29.03.2023)
• ParticipAcció Awards
• JOCC Program:
  • Agreement signed with the Valencian Youth Council
  • Europa Press Article
  • Consell Jove Facebook Post

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Marginal

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

It should be noted that improving access and/or the quality of information was not among the fundamental objectives of this commitment, although with an initiative like the ParticipAcció Awards, initiatives in participation carried out by different groups in the Valencian associative fabric and individual citizens are given visibility.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• I Edición
• II Edición

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The greatest impact of this commitment lies in the fact that the commitment responds to the need to build a model of collaborative and participatory governance where citizens feel that they are part of the management of public policies in all its forms: decision-making, participatory processes, shared responsibility, co-design, etc. The ultimate goal is to create spaces for listening and dialogue between the Administration and citizens, making citizen participation the transversal axis of the policies of the Valencian government. The commitment addresses this from the perspective of training (for public employees and citizens themselves through the education system) and promotion through public recognition of participatory initiatives. The fact that both the JOCC Program and the ParticipAcció Awards have had several calls may reflect the success of both proposals.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Citizen Participation School:
  • Agreement signed with the University of Valencia
  • Workshop “Management of the Internal Information System in Public Administration” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (08.05.2023)
  • Workshop “Law 2/2023, a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption. Impact on the Valencian Community” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (29.03.2023)
• ParticipAcció Awards
• JOCC Program:
  • Agreement signed with the Valencian Youth Council
  • Europa Press Article
  • Consell Jove Facebook Post

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Through the training activities included in the Citizen Participation School initiative, public employees are given the opportunity to develop a series of competencies and capacities related to citizen participation policies, open government, and participation methodologies. This allows them to implement participatory innovation processes and design and implement citizen participation mechanisms in the field of public administration.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Workshop “Management of the Internal Information System in Public Administration” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (08.05.2023)
• Workshop “Law 2/2023, a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption. Impact on the Valencian Community” (Workshop Poster) [Video] (29.03.2023)

2.1.4 Other Results

Not Applicable

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The revised commitment is particularly relevant from the perspective of public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio..., as it seeks to promote more democratic, transparent, and effective institutions by facilitating continuous dialogue and collaboration between the administration and citizens. This is achieved through a strong civil society that channels collective participation and also a participatory culture among citizens that fosters interest in the public sphere. In this sense, the commitment is based on three actions that impact initiatives or programs launched prior to the plan’s development and are linked to three priority areas in the Generalitat’s political agenda on open government: training, alliances, and participatory culture.

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

There is no doubt about the relevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic... of the revised commitment, but as the definition of the commitment itself emphasized on multiple occasions, the proposed actions aim to continue, influence, and deepen programs and initiatives framed within the set of public policies that the Conselleria already promotes in the field of open government.

In this regard, the changes that the revised commitment can generate are positive, but in the terms established by the IRM, they are not changes that can be considered binding or institutionalized in local government or institutions governing an area of public policy, at least in the short and medium term. The IRM itself establishes that changes caused by training are not changes that can be considered binding or institutionalized, although it is evident that, in the long term, they are essential for cultural changes as pursued by the revised commitment.

It would be interesting, therefore, for future action plans to delve into the scope of commitments aimed at promoting the cultural change that open government represents.