Morocco Design Report 2018-2020

Morocco’s first 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... seeks to further realize the country’s 2011 constitutional reforms. Ambitious open government commitments include implementing the access to information law and facilitating civic participation through petitions and motions. Moving forward, the 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... should prioritize broad consultations across regions and civil society sectors during the development of Morocco’s next action plan.

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 (OGP) is a global partnership that brings together government reformers and civil society leaders to create action plans that make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... monitors all action plans to ensure governments follow through on commitments. Morocco joined OGP in 2018. This report evaluates the design of Morocco’s first action plan.

Since Morocco’s 2011 constitutional reforms, the country has seen significant open government developments. These include the passage of the Access to Information Law in 2018, making Morocco eligible to join OGP. The most ambitious open government reforms in Morocco’s first OGP action plan seek to implement the legal and regulatory framework established over the last decade. These include commitments that increase access to information (commitments 1 to 3) and strengthen civic participation mechanisms (commitments 13 to 17).

Limited opportunity for civil society input resulted in an action plan that largely reflects government priorities. The IRM did not find evidence that the government incorporated civil society or public input into the action plan. The IRM therefore found Morocco to be acting contrary to OGP process.

However, the government established a new Steering Committee with equal government and civil society representation following the action plan’s submission. The government also created a comprehensive repositoryAccess to relevant information is essential for enabling participation and ensuring accountability throughout the OGP process. An OGP repository is an online centralized website, webpage, platform or ... where meeting minutes and implementation progress is regularly updated. Therefore, Morocco has indicated its dedication to following OGP’s Participation and Co-creation StandardsCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders is at the heart of the OGP process. The Participation and Co-Creation Standards are intended to support this collaboration throug... moving forward.

During the next 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..., the Steering Committee should aim to act as a coordinating body that collects and integrates input from a broad range of civil society actors. The Steering Committee also should pay particular attention to explaining how civil society and public input were incorporated into the action plan.

This action plan addresses open government areas of national importance such as access to information, civic participation in policymaking, strengthening civic space and public service provision. Morocco should consider building on these efforts in future action plans by expanding the legal and regulatory framework for citizens to submit petitions and motions. Morocco could also build on 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... 17 to strengthen legal protections for civil society members and journalists participating in national policy dialogues through the media.

 Table 2. Noteworthy commitments

 Recommendations

The IRM recommendations aim to inform the development of the next action plan and guide implementation of the current action plan.

Table 3. Five KEY IRM Recommendations