Multistakeholder Forum Handbook – Executive Summary

COLLABORATION IS THE CORNERSTONE
The participation of both civil society and government is essential to
the success of the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More. Their collaboration
is vital at the international level and within each participating country.
That is why OGP participants commit to developing their National
Action Plans through a multistakeholder process, with the active engagement
of citizens and civil society.

OGP’s consultation requirements (see next box) ask countries to “identify an
existing or new forum to enable regular multistakeholder consultation on OGP
implementation.” The majority of OGP countries by now fulfill this requirement.
This document shows the advantages of having a Multistakeholder Forum (or
simply Forum) – a structured environment designed to maximize participation
and cooperation between government and civil society by bringing relevant
partners into the discussion and ensuring that all voices are heard.

A Forum is a cornerstone of each country’s successful participation in OGP
and is crucial to delivering collaborative open government reform. However, no
two Forums are identical – the character of each nation’s government and civil
society participants will influence the model they design and the practices they
adopt for their open government work.