Jordan Action Plan Review 2021-2025

This product consists of an IRM review of Jordan’s 2021-2025 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 action plan is made up of six commitments. This review emphasizes its analysis on the strength of the action plan to contribute to implementation and results. For the commitment-by-commitment data see Annex 1. For details regarding the methodology and indicators used by the IRM for this Action Plan Review, see section III. Methodology and IRM Indicators

Overview of the 2021-2025 Action Plan

Jordan undertook a participatory development process for its fifth action plan. The action plan introduces the emerging policy areas of genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... More, 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, and economic development to Jordan’s OGP process. To maximize the action plan’s four-year timeframe, implementers will need to concretize milestones that pursue ambitious reforms. Jordan joined the OGP in 2011. This report assesses the design of Jordan’s fifth action plan. The action plan consists of six commitments, with half carried forward from past action plans. Based on the previous action plan, one 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... aims to implement the civil society governance guide published, with a new focus on terrorist financing; another develops on a government public feedback portal initiative to introduce a new portal for public comments on draft laws and regulations. A commitment also builds on the second action plan, with a wider effort to introduce integrity measures for government, civil society, and the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More. The action plan’s other commitments center on the emerging areas of youth policy, gender mainstreaming, and 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... in government capital investment projects.

Jordan joined the OGP in 2011. This report assesses the design of Jordan’s fifth action plan. The action plan consists of six commitments, with half carried forward from past action plans. Based on the previous action plan, one commitment aims to implement the civil society governance guide published, with a new focus on terrorist financing; another develops on a government public feedback portal initiative to introduce a new portal for public comments on draft laws and regulations. A commitment also builds on the second action plan, with a wider effort to introduce integrity measures for government, civil society, and the private sector. The action plan’s other commitments center on the emerging areas of youth policy, gender mainstreaming, and public participation in government capital investment projects.

The co-creation process was participatory and introduced innovative new practices. For the first time, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation formed an OGP working group, which facilitated technical development of the action plan. This body was made up of an equal number of government and civil society stakeholders. The Multi-Stakeholder Forum included CSOs from across Jordan, representatives of the business sector, and national institutions that promote the rights of women and youth, as well as the Anti-Corruption Commission. Rather than identifying priorities and then soliciting related proposals like the previous action plan, this co-creation process offered an open call that elicited 40 CSOs to submit commitment proposals. Additionally, much of the process took place online, given COVID-19 restrictions, and was actively promoted over social media, widening participation opportunities for CSO stakeholders with difficulty traveling to Amman.[1] During 2021, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation made a concerted effort to build the institutional capacity of the Open Government Unit.[2] In 2022, detailed executive plans specified targets and performance indicators for the commitments.

The action plan includes promising initiatives on gender equality in the public sector, and community participation in government capital investment projects. Commitment 3 plans for participatory development and implementation of gender mainstreaming policies for a group of ministries and governmental directorates. This addresses a critical need to improve gender equality in Jordan’s public sector. Commitment 6 plans for one of the first initiatives in the region to include local communities in social impact assessments of government capital investment projects during their planning phase, and for participatory evaluations of the projects during implementation and after completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More.

The action plan’s other commitments address civic space, e-participation, and youth policy. Commitment 2 plans for a portal to provide for citizen commenting on draft laws and bylaws, as well as policies and strategies, in accordance with the 2021 E-Participation Policy.[3] Commitment 4 offers an opportunity for marginal improvement to the 2019 National Youth Strategy, which is one of the leading youth policies in the MENA region according to the OECD.[4] An initiative under Commitment 1 plans for participatory development of anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism policies and procedures for civil society. A Commitment 5 initiative plans to enhance regulatory bodies’ oversight of private sector and civil society corruption and good governance. Some civil society stakeholders are concerned that the broad language of these milestones could inadvertently lend to restrictions on CSO registration, access to financial resources, or operations.[5] Strengthening protection of civil society’s operational environment is essential for Jordan to meet the OGP values check assessment on civic space.^[6]

Overall, the four-year timeframe of the action plan offers the opportunity to pursue ambitious and transformative reforms, maximizing the longer timeframe to move beyond incremental or bureaucratic changes to government practice. The IRM and Open Government Unit will hold an implementation check-in halfway through implementation to take note of progress and next steps. At that point, stakeholders can reconvene to assess the progress and obstacles thus far and update the implementation plan for the remainder of the period. Finland can offer a model for the process of conducting a mid-term self-assessment and updating the action plan based on the first two years of implementation.[7] Given that a four-year timeframe requires some flexibility, the IRM will recognize outcomes implemented that exceed the expected results of the commitments formulated by this action plan.

Promising Commitments in Jordan’s 2021-2025 Action Plan

The following review looks at the two commitments that the IRM identified as having the potential to realize the most promising results. This review will inform the IRM’s research approach to assess implementation in the Results Report. The IRM Results Report will build on the early identification of potential results from this review to contrast with the outcomes at the end of the implementation period of the action plan. This review also provides an analysis of challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to contribute to the learning and implementation process of this action plan.

The IRM selected Commitments 3 and 6 based on the 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 their initiatives on gender equality in the public sector, and community participation in government capital investment projects. Commitment 3 plans for participatory development and implementation of gender mainstreaming policies for a group of ministries and governmental directorates. This addresses a critical need to improve gender equality in Jordan’s public sector. Commitment 6 plans to include local communities in social impact assessments of government capital investment projects during their planning phase, and for participatory evaluations of the projects during implementation and after completion. For the other action plan commitments, implementation workshops offer an opportunity to raise the ambition for open government results.

Commitment 2 plans for a portal to provide for citizen commenting on draft laws and bylaws, as well as policies and strategies, in accordance with the 2021 E-Participation Policy.[8] This commitment is funded by the World Bank and could help systematize consultation practices, as prior to the action plan, ministries individually ran consultations on social media or in-person,[9] and the Legal and Opinion Bureau website hosted public consultations on draft laws and bylaws.[10] The Open Government Unit also reports plans to incorporate commenting on government projects and public services.[11] Civil society organizations noted their concern that this platform will join the many other existing government platforms, like the Bekhedmetkom portal, that have had limited impact due to low citizen use and a lack of clarity around how citizen input will effect government decision making.[12] Therefore, the potential impact of this commitment hinges on connecting with users (potentially by linking the platform to social media) and ensuring that citizens’ comments are taken into account. In particular, implementers can conduct a thorough assessment of obstacles to user uptake of comparable portals and incorporate lessons learned.

Commitment 4 offers an opportunity for marginal improvement to the 2019 National Youth Strategy, which is one of the leading youth policies in the MENA region according to the OECD.[13] Previous efforts to develop related strategies faced obstacles including frequent changes in the staffing and priorities of government implementers; lack of evidence of the impact of consultations with youth; and administrative capacity challenges at the Ministry of Youth.[14] To effectively implement this commitment, it would be valuable to offer opportunities for youth and civil society leadership in the commitment working group, extend consultations beyond established youth centers, build capacity of Ministry of Youth employees, establish a monitoring and evaluation unit (for instance, the third milestone of the commitment includes the conducting of an annual evaluation of the Virtual Youth Center participatory platform), and ensure full participation of all relevant ministries and royal foundations.

The Open Government Unit can facilitate Commitments 1 and 5’s positive impact on civic space by ensuring strong civil society leadership throughout implementation. An initiative under Commitment 1 plans for participatory development of anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism policies and procedures for civil society, in the context of Jordan’s placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.[15] A Commitment 5 initiative plans to enhance regulatory bodies’ oversight of private sector and civil society corruption and good governance. Some civil society stakeholders are concerned that the broad language of these milestones could inadvertently lend to restrictions on CSO registration, access to financial resources, or operations.[16] These commitments will be assessed by the extent to which they contribute to easing entry and exit by CSOs into public life. During implementation workshops, the Open Government Unit should empower CSOs to set the agenda in clarifying the dimensions of these initiatives, and to play a decision-making role in related policy measures and capacity-building efforts. Particularly for Commitment 1, ensuring that regulations closely adhere to the recommendations of the recent civil society sector risk-assessment can limit restrictions across the sector, while helping Jordan move off the FATF grey list (which in itself, could ease Central Bank regulations on CSOs).[17] It is important that safeguards are applied to ensure that such measures are participatory, endorsed by CSOs, and do not unduly restrict legitimate activities of CSOs.

Table 1. Promising commitments

[1] Mai Eleimat (Edmaaj), interview by the IRM, 22 February 2022.

[2] Emma Cantera (OECD), interview by the IRM, 4 March 2022.

[3] Cabinet Decision 3119, “السياسة الأردنية للمشاركة الالكترونية ٢٠٢١ [Jordanian 2021 E-Participation Policy],” (3 August 2021), https://modee.gov.jo/ebv4.0/root_storage/ar/eb_list_page/jordanian-e-participation-policy.pdf.

[4] Emma Cantera (OECD), interview by the IRM, 4 March 2022.

[5] Haneen Bitar (International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law), interview by the IRM, 1 February 2022; Abeer Mdanat (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 International Jordan), interview by the IRM, 9 March 2022.

[6] OGP carries out a values check assessment every year to assess whether member governments exhibit a demonstrated commitment to open government by meeting a key performance criterion regarding the government’s adherence to the democratic governance norms and values set in the Open Government Declaration. Open Government Partnership, “Eligibility Criteria & OGP Values Check Assessment,” (7 June 2021), https://www.opengovpartnership.org/process/joining-ogp/eligibility-criteria/.

[7] Avoin Hallinto, “Action Plans,” https://opengov.fi/action-plans/.

[8] Cabinet Decision 3119, “السياسة الأردنية للمشاركة الالكترونية ٢٠٢١ [Jordanian 2021 E-Participation Policy],” (3 August 2021), https://modee.gov.jo/ebv4.0/root_storage/ar/eb_list_page/jordanian-e-participation-policy.pdf

[9] Amer Bani Amer (Hayat Center – Rased), interview by the IRM, 1 February 2022.

[10] Nada Khater (Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship), interview by the IRM, 14 February 2022.

[11] The IRM received this information from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation Open Government Unit during the pre-publication period (September 15, 2022).

[12] Haneen Bitar (International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law), interview by the IRM, 1 February 2022; 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, IRM Jordan Transitional Results Report 2018-2021.”

[13] Emma Cantera (OECD), interview by the IRM, 4 March 2022.

[14] Mai Hosny, Moritz Ader, and Pietro Gagliardi, Empowering Youth and Building Trust in Jordan, (9 October 2021), https://www.oecd.org/countries/jordan/empowering-youth-and-building-trust-in-jordan-8b14d38f-en.htm

[15] The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global standard setter for anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. As a jurisdiction on the FATF grey list, Jordan is under increased monitoring and is actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in its regime to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. In terms of civic space, Recommendation 8, one of the FATF’s 40 detailed recommendations, laid out the broad requirement to regulate the nonprofit sector as a whole in order to prevent abuse of the sector for terrorist purposes. Globally, this recommendation has had the unintended consequence of governments issuing restrictions on civic space that resulted in difficulties in accessing and distributing financial resources, cumbersome registration and licensing laws, and increased state surveillance and regulation. For more, see: Financial Action Task Force, “High Level Synopsis of the Stocktake of the Unintended Consequences of the FATF Standards,” (27 October 2021), https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/Unintended-Consequences.pdf

[16] Haneen Bitar (International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law), interview by the IRM, 1 February 2022; Abeer Mdanat (Transparency International Jordan), interview by the IRM, 9 March 2022.

[17] Haneen Bitar (International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law), interview by the IRM, 1 February 2022.