End of Commitment Report – The creation of a catalogue of public information of the Administration of the Principality of Asturias.

Name of Evaluator

MANUEL ANTONIO MUÑIZ PEREZ

Email

manumuni@uniovi.es

Member Name

Asturias, 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 – Asturias, Spain, 2022 – 2023

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

The creation of a catalogue of public information of the Administration of the Principality of Asturias.

Problem

There is no single document or access point where the contents and information related to the functioning and control of the actions of the public administration of the Principality of Asturias, the so-called

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

complete

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The public information catalog was officially presented on 22 March 2023 as part of the Principality of Asturias’ 2023 Open Administration Week, held from 20 to 26 March 2023. Likewise, the database is open to the public on the Principality of Asturias TransparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More Portal. This website features a first-level option within the menu and a sub-section titled I Action Plan 2022-2023. Similarly, there is another direct link (located in the lower right-hand corner) to the activities and commitments within the OGP on the Transparency Portal homepage.

Said catalogue, in Excel format, is dated 14/03/2023 and has 257 entries classified according to a proprietary taxonomy based on the proposal included in the Resolution of 19 February 2013, from the State Secretariat of Public Administration, which approves the Technical Interoperability Standard for the Reuse of Information Resources

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

• Link to the Open Administration Week 2023.
• Link to the I Action Plan 2022-2023, within the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal.
• Resolution of 19 February 2013, from the State Secretariat of Public Administration, which approves the Technical Interoperability Standard for the Reuse of Information Resources.

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

Multiple factors, both internal and external, impacted the implementation of the plan. Regarding external factors, the tight deadline for achieving the objectives stands out, due to the upcoming local and regional electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... More on 28 May 2023. In spite of this, the public information catalog was published prior to the established date (31 March 2023) in the I Action Plan 2022-2023.

In terms of internal factors, some organizational issues were detected in the process of developing the catalog, particularly concerning coordination with the Transparency Units from the various Departments involved. In any case, multiple actions were taken to improve these aspects. First, on 15 March 2023, the catalog was distributed to the person in charge of the General Directorate, the Service Central Office, and colleagues responsible for the other commitments included in the I OGP Action Plan 20223-23. Likewise, on 31 March 2023, the plan was distributed among the Transparency Units (TU) of the various Departments. Only two responded with comments, the TaxPlacing transparency, accountability, and participation at the center of tax policy can ensure that burdens are distributed equitably across society. Technical specifications: Commitments related to c... Agency TU (13/04/2023) and the Autonomous Administration, Environment, and Climate Change Department TU (11/04/2023).

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

most of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The catalog meets the requirements established in the commitment text, meaning it has a unique reusable format that is comprehensive, updated, and available and includes a list of the contents published by the Principality of Asturias Administration indicating the formats used, those responsible for them, and the update periods for each one.

However, the format of the catalog is unique (Excel) and while this format is widely used, no thought was given to other free software formats that could contribute to improving accessibility and transparency, according to the opinion of the professionals from the Library and Information Science sector. Nor is there proof of publication or distribution of the catalog on social networks.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Public information catalog from the I Action Plan 2022-2023, within the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal
• The questionnaire sent to specialized staff at the University of Oviedo Law-Social Sciences Library.

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:

Major

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

The public information catalog represents substantial progress in terms of transparency to the extent that it centralizes and makes accessible a fairly comprehensive list of contents related to the Principality of Asturias Administration. Centralizing the information into a single document represents substantial time savings during information search processes for both internal and external users. As previously mentioned, the presence of a unique identifier and the creation of a proprietary taxonomy makes it significantly easier to locate information. In this sense, catalog creation entails improvements in transparency for the administration, in line with the OGP philosophy.

However, as previously stated, the format (Excel) could be improved because, on the one hand, it is not free software and, on the other hand, information searches benefit users who are accustomed to dealing with these file types but not users who are not familiar with this specific software. Nor has an alternative form of distributing the catalog among groups not familiar with new information technologies been contemplated.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Public information catalog from the I Action Plan 2022-2023, within the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal
• The questionnaire was sent to specialized staff at the University of Oviedo Law-Social Sciences Library.

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?

No

Degree of result:

Did not change

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

At the meeting held on 13 February 2023 with the person responsible for this commitment, and to the extent that the catalog was in the drafting process, the need and convenience of involving citizens in the said process were mentioned. However, no 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 procedure was initiated, though this is recommended as a future action to advise on the contents therein.

There is no evidence of formal or informal meetings held with citizens in order to inform them of the contents and/or structure of the public information catalog. For the time being, no specific participatory procedures have been mentioned for this commitment in the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal that enables citizens to give the regional government feedback regarding the creation and/or updating of the catalog. There is a general contact page in the portal, however, it is not specific to the catalog.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Link to the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal
• Link to the generic contact page of the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal

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

Yes

Degree of result:

Marginal

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

The public information catalog lists the Department and body or organization responsible for each informational content. This was a challenge requiring significant effort as in many cases it was hard to identify who was directly responsible for each sector. Likewise, a link to each informational content is provided, as well as how often it is updated. However, it would be advisable to include specific contact information in the actual catalog such as an email, contact form, or telephone number.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Public information catalog from the I Action Plan 2022-2023, within the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal

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:

Fulfilling the commitment made it possible to address the public policy issue described in the action plan, gathering scattered information into a single, value-added document. The administration states that it has contributed to significant improvements in information searches. Professionals from the Library and Information Science sector think the catalog includes abundant information that organizes, describes, and facilitates access to the Principality of Asturias web pages.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Questionnaire sent to specialised staff at the University of Oviedo Law-Social Sciences Library

Public information catalogue from the I Action Plan 2022-2023, within the Principality of Asturias Transparency Portal:

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.

Implementing this commitment has enhanced the compilation of information into a single document that sets forth the basic topical contents of the Principality of Asturias Administration and which, to a certain extent, makes it possible to identify responsibilities, contributing to improved transparency and accessibility.

However, in the catalog creation process, some difficulties arose related to internal coordination and citizen participation. Therefore, it would be ideal if the actual public administration developed some kind of institutional protocol that would allow for the improvement of coordination processes and information sharing between the transparency units. On the other hand, it is necessary to set up some kind of citizen consultation mechanism to guide future catalog content. We are aware that fostering participation and coordination is difficult, but we believe it is necessary and would have a very positive impact on society. Similarly, having such tight deadlines to implement the commitment presented a significant challenge.

Looking to the future, ideally, the catalog will be better distributed, which would have a greater social impact, promoting use by citizens and different social agents. Similarly, it may also be possible to expand the contents (while seeking out participation from diverse social agents and citizens) and develop new mechanisms and formats that enhance the utility and impact of the tool (by developing a web browser, for example).