Tunisia Design Report 2018-2020
- Action Plan: Tunisia Action Plan 2018-2020
- Dates Under Review: 2018-2020
- Report Publication Year: 2021
To develop Tunisia’s third 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 country increased participation of CSOs, however, they did so without deepening their involvement to share in the decision-making power and increasing 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 the plan. It contains four notable reforms to carry forward on extending the OGP process to 10 municipalities, facilitating access to information in the extractives industry and on anticorruption measures to protect whistleblowers. Moving forward, Tunisia could consider expanding the scope of commitments to include other relevant national priorities, like opening the budget process for COVID-19 recovery efforts, contributing to tracking expenditures, taxPlacing transparency, accountability, and participation at the center of tax policy can ensure that burdens are distributed equitably across society. Technical specifications: Commitments related to c... benefits, and focus on transparent and accountable delivery of public services.
| Table 1. At a glance
Participating since: 2014 Action plan under review: 3 Report type: Design Number of commitments: 13 Action plan development Is there a Multistakeholder forum: yes Level of public influence: involve Acted contrary to OGP process: no Action plan design Commitments relevant to OGP values 13 (100%) Transformative commitments 1 Potentially starred: 1 Action plan implementation Starred commitments: N/A Completed commitments: N/A Commitments with Major DIOG*: N/A Commitments with Outstanding DIOG*: N/A
*DIOG: Did it Open Government |
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) 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. Tunisia joined OGP in 2014. Since, Tunisia has implemented two action plans. This report evaluates the design of Tunisia’s third action plan.
General overview of action plan
Tunisia formed a 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... (MSF) that developed the second and third action plan, and has convened monthly meetings from March 2018 until the end of the action plan cycle. The purpose is to review the progress on the implementation of OGP commitments. While Tunisian CSOs actively attended MSF meetings, government representatives, members of parliaments, and 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 were less regular participants. The CSO members of MSF received the OGP’s Multi-Donor Trust FundWith the support of development partners and working together with the World Bank, OGP established the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) to support World Bank client countries and local entities that part... (MDTF), which contributed to improving the 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 Tunisian third national action plan provides measures to extend the OGP process to 10 municipalities, facilitate access to information in the extractives industry, hydrocarbons, and others, and promote public engagement in the state budgetary process. While some of the commitments are ambiguous in terms of their scope and ambition, overall, they offer relatively robust measures to bring 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 reduce corruption in the government.
Table 2. Noteworthy commitments
| 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... description | Moving forward | Status at the end of implementation cycle. |
| Commitment 11: OGP at the local level
“establish initiatives on open government at the level of ten (10) municipalities… through adopting the same participatory approach” |
Consider developing specific strategies to ensure participation from groups such as women, 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 other marginalized groups to reflect their needs in the resulting open government local actions. | Note: this will be assed at the end of action plan cycle. |
| Commitment 6: Transparency in the extractives industry
“preparing to join the EITI initiative” by strengthening the EITI Multi Stakeholder Group (MSG) and expediting the process of submitting a request to EITI |
The IRM suggests promoting proactive publication of information on this sector to support CSO and citizen oversight. This would ensure that the multi-stakeholder groups address concerns regarding the private sector’s commitment to participation in the initiative; finding a balance of different interests; and—in accordance with National Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) recommendations—CSOs on the MSG should establish a rigorous communication strategy with wider civil society in order to ensure that priorities truly represent civil society needs and interests. | Note: this will be assed at the end of action plan cycle. |
| Commitment 8: Anticorruption measures
“Establish mechanisms contributing to applying integrity in the public sector and combating corruption” |
Consider promoting a public consultation process on new legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r... to combat corruption; proactively publishing declarations of assets or other relevant information that can contribute to facilitate oversight by civil society organizations; and providing further information on the establishment of the authority of good governance and anticorruption to see if it aims to build on previous work by the INLUCC, a temporary anticorruption body. | Note: this will be assed at the end of action plan cycle. |
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
| 1 | During the co-creation process, strengthen ownership of: CSO organizations in drafting commitments and milestones, parliamentarians and private sector members of the MSF and public servants at the ministerial level to improve the sustainability of the OGP process. |
| 2 | Use a results-oriented approach to develop commitments by including greater precision in descriptions of the problems and expected outcomes for each commitment. |
| 3 | Design commitments as policy solutions for public problems by expanding their focus from developing mechanisms (such as platforms) to include activities to implement the theory of change and address the underlying policy problems.
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| 4 | Incorporate 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... mechanisms into commitments that aim to engage citizens in dialogue on public policies, programs, or laws. Request their contributions and ensure their use during decision-making processes. |
| 5 | Expand efforts to open the budget process in COVID-19 recovery efforts contributing to tracking expenditures, tax benefits, and focus on transparent and accountable delivery of public services. |
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