Slovak Republic Special Accountability Report 2015-2016

In mid 2017, 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 ... published a Special Accountability Report for Slovakia’s second 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 report covers the full action plan implementation period of 11 February 2015 through 30 June 2016. This report also includes the status of progress at the end of the plan’s seventeen-month period.  

In Slovakia, IRM researcher Mária Žuffová authored the report. The findings are summarized below:

“Slovakia’s second action plan included a variety of commitments on open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... and disclosure of information in educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ... and justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi.... Commitments, largely of a technical nature, were insufficient for tackling the key policy issues. Civil society stresses the need for the action plan to include measures that directly increase government accountability.”

And in Slovak:

“Druhý akčný plán obsahoval rozmanité záväzky týkajúce sa otvorených dát a prístupu k informáciám v oblasti vzdelávania a súdnictva. Záväzky boli z väčšej časti technického charakteru a nepostačovali na riešenie kľúčových politických problémov. Zástupcovia občianskej spoločnosti zdôraznili, že ďalšie akčné plány by mali obsahovať opatrenia na zvýšenie politickej zodpovednosti vlády.”

The version of the report for public comment is available in English and Slovak below.  The two-week public comment period closed on 26 June 2017.