Join OGP Local 2020 (Concluded)

The 2020 call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to join OGP Local has ended.

Results of the OGP Local 2020 Call for Expressions of Interest

A total of 112 jointly-filed expressions of interest were received by the OGP Support UnitThe OGP Support Unit is a small, permanent group of staff that work closely with the Steering Committee and the Independent Reporting Mechanism to advance the goals of the Open Government Partnership.... during the call held between May 26 and August 14, 2020. All complete expressions of interest were assessed by the Support Unit and the OGP Local 2020 Selection Committee which was composed of six government and non-governmental stakeholders from the OGP Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru..., current OGP Local members and civil society representatives. The Selection Committee members were: Carolina Cornejo (Government of Argentina), Lucy McTernan (University of York, UK), Stanley Achonu (Government of Nigeria), Jennifer Bretaña (Government of South Cotabato, Philippines), Jean-Noé Landry (Open North, Canada), and Rudi Borrmann (OGP Support Unit). In order to avoid any conflict of interest, members of the Selection Committee recused themselves from voting on applicants from their own countries. After the initial assessment, 64 applicants were asked to present a Letter of Support from their Head of Government. 

The list of all candidates and application materials can be accessed here. The Selection Committee has reviewed all shortlisted applicants and reached consensus on the 56 finalists to be invited to join OGP Local in 2020. These finalists were selected based on the assessment of criteria outlined in the call for expressions of interest, including the value proposition to join OGP, high level political 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 government’s track record in open government reforms and engagement with local non-governmental stakeholders. In addition, other factors were considered to ensure a diverse cohort, such as regional balance, type of jurisdiction and population size, as well as different strengths to complement the overall objectives of OGP Local.

We are pleased to announce the newest 56 members of OGP Local composed of 64 total jurisdictions, including 7 consortiums. Consortiums made up of two or more local jurisdictions will develop a joint 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....  

The new members of OGP Local are:

Jurisdictions grouped with a “+” represent consortiums.

These jurisdictions join the current cohort of 20 existing members and will co-create and their first action plans in 2021.

We invite all applicants to join the OGP Local Community of Practice. Join OGP Local on Slack and connect with reformers in and outside of government to exchange experiences and resources. In the coming months, we will be announcing a series of virtual community events focusing on various open government thematic policy areas. 

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FINAL STAGE: Letters of Support (Concluded)

A Selection Committee, comprised of representatives of government, civil society and the Support Unit, is currently reviewing the applications received.  After this shortlisting process, the OGP Support Unit will contact selected jurisdictions on September 16, 2020 to invite them to submit a Letter of Support. Unsuccessful applicants will also be notified by this date.

The Letter of Support must be submitted by September 30, 2020.

Here you can find all the information in order to prepare your Letter of Support. Please keep in mind that the Selection Committee could ask for clarifications to be included in the letter. Any requests for clarification will be made with the invitation to submit the Letter of Support.

Letter templates from previous processes: Basque Country | Kaduna | South Cotabato | Nariño

Guide for the Full Application Letter: English

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Background

OGP recognizes the key role that local governments play by being closer to the people, and that cities, states, regions, provinces, counties and other jurisdictions deliver crucial services that require effective and responsive local governments. Today, implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in our societies are still yet to be seen, but it’s clear that collaboration, 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, and 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 will be fundamental pillars on the future recovery. It’s right at the local level where the emergency demands swift action, national and local cooperation, and multi-stakeholder approaches.

The pilot OGP Local program has shown inspiring innovation and practical results from tackling inequity in Austin, Texas, U.S.A. to participatory budgets in Sekondi Takoradi, Ghana to citizens monitoring corruption in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Improving access to health services in Buenos Aires, Argentina and bringing voices of citizens into policy making in Madrid, Spain.

OGP is delighted to announce the expansion of the local program with a planned intake of up to 50 new local governments in OGP Local in 2020, following the approval for implementation of the new OGP Local strategy by the Steering Committee in Berlin, in February 2020. To that end, OGP is launching an Expression of Interest (EOI) for local governments interested in joining the program.

After completing an orientation and planning program, new selected members will have to develop and implement an OGP Action Plan through a multi-stakeholder co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive..., monitor and report on progress and participate in peer exchange activities.

Membership Benefits

OGP Local members will have access to an online structured orientation and ongoing learning program, in order to plan, design and implement open government reforms, co-create OGP action plans, and strengthen open government skills. Current national and local members, partners and other open government experts will lead a formal Mentorship Program to support new members.

Other activities will include thematic and issue-based learning circles, assistance available through peers, practitioners, and partners,  the opportunity to feature open government achievements through OGP’s communication channels and networks, access to cutting-edge knowledge products on open local government. A full outline of membership benefits can be found here.

Members will also have access to and be able to contribute to OGP’s Open Response and Open Recovery campaign addressing open government approaches to COVID-19.

Interested applicants must submit their EOI by August 14, 2020.

Eligibility

Local jurisdictions (states, provinces, devolved nations, cities, towns, municipalities and other tiers of administration) from countries that are participating in OGP that are not inactive or suspended at the time of applications are eligible to apply. Furthermore, there is no population threshold required to apply.

Application Process

There is a two-step application process to join OGP Local, both steps will be done through an online form.

Expression of Interest (EOI) 

The EOI will be filed jointly by a government (Director or similar level) and a non-governmental stakeholder** following the below criteria. It is important to note that there should be two (2) submissions per local jurisdiction: one (1) submission from the government stakeholders and one (1) submission from the non-governmental stakeholders. It is expected that government and non-governmental stakeholders communicate regarding this joint filing prior to both submissions. Please note that both submissions (government and non-governmental) must reflect the same exact information on the “Local Jurisdiction Information” page of the EOI form.

National government points of contact (POCs) and multi-stakeholder forums (MSFs) will be contacted at this stage as part of due diligence to determine if any of the applicants might pose reputational risk for OGP. A Selection Committee (SC) will shortlist jurisdictions that will be invited to submit Full Applications.

Expression of Interest Criteria

• Track record on open government or co-creation with non-governmental stakeholders* (at least one open government reform or successful example of public policy co-creation in the past 3 years). This could include a track record from participation in national open government initiatives.
• AmbitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po... of future directions of open government action identified in the application (relative to the starting point or maturity of the agenda in the applicant’s context) and their alignment with OGP’s strategic and thematic priorities, especially as it relates to engagement of citizens in shaping and overseeing policies and services.
• Capacity and resources for co-creation and implementation, including Identified staff in government and identified non-governmental stakeholders.
• Clarity of value proposition or benefit for the Local in joining OGP.
• Adequate time left in the term of the current government at the time of application to ensure they can devote time and resources to developing their first OGP Local Action Plan (preferably 12- 18 months before 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 are due.

Full Application 

This step requires a Letter of Support (LOS) of 3 pages maximum, in English, from the head of the local government or level equivalent to ministerial level, supporting the application of their jurisdiction, committing to meeting OGP values and the below criteria. The Support Unit might ask for more information based on the submitted EOI.

The letter should also include;

• Thematic policy areas they wish to advance through their participation
• Details of how they could help spread the practice of open local government amongst other locals in their jurisdictions
• Thematic policy areas where they can contribute good practices and lessons learned for other members of the cohort.
• Ambition of future directions of open government action identified in the application and their alignment with OGP’s strategic and thematic priorities, especially as it relates to engagement of citizens in shaping and overseeing policies and services.
• Track record on open government or co-creation with non-governmental stakeholders* (at least one open government reform or successful example of public policy co-creation in the past 3 years). This could include a track record from participation in national open government initiatives.
• Capacity and resources for co-creation and implementation, including Identified staff in government and identified non-governmental stakeholders. 
• Commitment of political leader(s) as evidenced in the supporting letter both from the head of government, and two or three non-governmental leaders.
• Clarity of value proposition or benefit for the Local in joining OGP.
• Clarity on available mechanisms for co-creation and monitoring.
• Willingness to participate in peer learning and sharing experiences, both within the cohort and with other Locals in their respective countries, and thematic fit with other potential cohort members. 

Suggested letter templates for this stage will be provided to applicants. Deadline for the Full Application will be by September 30, 2020.

Cohort Diversity Considerations

Selection will include balancing: regions, urban-non-urban mix, size and type of local government, and level of economic development. In selecting each cohort, cohort fit will also be assessed in terms of common thematic interest areas and scope for peer learning and support, or potential for innovation. In case there are multiple shortlisted applications from the same country, the views of the national point of contact (POCs) and Multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple... (MSFs) will be sought on which Locals might have the maximum potential to have a demonstration and inspiration effect on their peers. Where feasible, consortium approaches will be recommended (for e.g. if there are entities within the same region or province that apply, their applications could be combined into a single one).

Decision Making Process

The OGP Support Unit (SU) will be responsible for screening all incoming EOIs according to the eligibility criteria outlined above. From this full list of all submitted EOIs, the Selection Committee (SC) will evaluate all eligible EOIs according to the criteria elements and provide a score out of 4 points, those that meet 75% of the criteria or above will be asked to submit a Full Application, unless there are reputation risks identified during the due diligence process.

All shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit their full applications FA and scored on the criteria noted above. Scores will not be a deciding factor for final selection. Cohort balancing, due diligence and cohort fit will also be considered…

While an intake of up to 50 members is currently envisaged, there will be a 10-15% margin for acceptance if there are a few candidates who meet criteria but lose out due to cohort balancing considerations.

Opportunities for all applicants

Locals that are not in the final list to join the 2020 cohort, will be explicitly invited to participate in the knowledge and learning activities, online discussions, and overall activities of OGP Local. The OGP Support Unit will also initiate conversations with the applicants and the national POCs and MSFs on exploring how interested Locals might be engaged in the national OGP process.

All EOIs and full applications will be made available online, and OGP will communicate how the final cohort was selected at the conclusion of the process by mid October.

If you have any questions regarding the process or form, please check our frequently asked questions (FAQ) in English and Spanish or email us at local@opengovpartnership.org.

Read this document in  Spanish / French / German*

*Thanks to Open Government Deutschland for providing the German translation.

**  OGP traditionally refers to non-governmental stakeholders as civil society. However, local contexts differ and the language used to describe non-governmental stakeholders varies. Examples of non-governmental stakeholders are: civil society organizations, community organizations/groups, citizen councils/groups, citizen-led social movements, local chambers of commerce, universities, 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 councils/groups, etc.