Turning Civic Space into State Policy in the Dominican Republic

SUMMARY
A free and active civil society is key to ensuring that institutions are open, accountable, and responsive. As the Americas face growing challenges, the Dominican Republic is defying regional trends of democratic backsliding by taking bold steps to institutionalize civic participation with the launch of its National Strategy for Civic Space.

A free and active civil society is key to ensuring that institutions are open, accountable and responsive. It enables people to fully exercise their rights and participate meaningfully in democratic life, which can contribute to accelerating economic growth, reducing inequality and decreasing the risk of social conflict.

Following decades of limited citizen participation, legal reforms in the Dominican Republic have improved the relationship between government and the public. President Luis Abinader has continued this positive trajectory towards democratic renewal. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Democracy Index indicates that the Dominican Republic has made the most significant democratic gains in Latin America and the Caribbean since last year.

However, challenges remain. Freedom House still classifies the country as “partly free,” underscoring the need for sustained reforms. The government recognizes this and is committed to working with citizens to build a more open, stronger, and prosperous society by opening up civic space.

About the National Strategy for Civic Space

Opening up civic space requires coordinated efforts among various public institutions and ministries. However, these entities often operate in isolation, without coordination or a unified approach. A comprehensive and cross-cutting strategy for civic space provides an efficient and effective framework for protecting citizens’ rights to express themselves freely, assemble and associate.

As part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Open Gov Challenge, the Dominican Republic is positioning itself as a global leader in civic space through the National Strategy for Civic Space. Coordinated by the General Directorate of Ethics and Government Integrity (DIGEIG), the strategy seeks to strengthen collaboration between government and civil society, thus promoting a participatory and accountable democratic system.

The Strategy is integrated into national policy frameworks such as the Constitution, National Development Strategy 2030, the National Multi-Year Public Sector Plan 2025-2028, and various intersectional policies related to human rights, gender, social participation, territorial cohesion, and digital inclusion.

Milagros Ortiz Bosch, Director General of the DIGEIG, explains that “a consolidated democracy is not measured only by its laws, but by the daily experiences of its citizens.” The Strategy will help “more Dominicans understand their role in public life. It will create spaces where citizens perceive themselves as part of a political community, and not as mere passive observers.”

Five Objectives of the National Strategy for Civic Space

The government and civil society are working on the co-creation of the national strategy for civic space in the Dominican Republic, which will run over four years. The strategy was launched on October 2, 2025 and has the following objectives.

Objective 1: Strengthen an enabling environment for civil society

The conditions for civil society organizations (CSOs) to thrive, operate effectively, and significantly influence public decision-making will become more efficient.

Objective 2: Encourage citizen participation in public affairs

Formal and informal dialogue forums between government and CSOs will be strengthened to promote inclusive and continuous citizen participation.

Objective 3: Protect freedom of assembly, peaceful protest, and human rights

These protections will ensure that these rights are not subject to undue restrictions. Institutions will be equipped to safeguard these rights in both physical and digital spaces.

Objective 4: Ensure freedom of the press and expression

To protect these rights for journalists, independent media workers, and activists, the government also pledged to combat disinformation and promote the integrity of information.

Objective 5: Create an inclusive digital civic space

This policy integrates face-to-face and digital participation to promote citizen participation, equity, and access to services for all Dominicans. The Strategy also commits to an ethical framework for artificial intelligence that upholds human rights, transparency, and accountability.

The Role of Public Participation
in Developing the Strategy

In 2023, the DIGEIG coordinated with institutions across branches of government alongside constitutional bodies and local governments.¹ This approach seeks to integrate the Strategy into existing institutional structures, ensuring its alignment with mandates and facilitating its future implementation.

With the support of OGP, DIGEIG, and the National Multisectoral Open Government Forum (MSF), CSOs from across the country were invited to participate through virtual and face-to-face sessions. Participants worked in groups and offered feedback on the objectives and actions proposed for each objective.

Ana Contreras García, civic space expert and consultant at the OGP Support Unit, explains: “The co-creation process involved each contribution being analyzed and receiving a reasoned response on its incorporation into the Strategy. In this case, all contributions were systematized during each session, and almost all of them were incorporated into the final Strategy.”

Civil society made a number of recommendations, including improving interoperability among institutions working with CSOs, training political parties to promote inclusive participation, and improving the state’s capacity to respond to citizen complaints. Participants also emphasized addressing citizen distrust, poor knowledge of participation mechanisms, and the gap between legal frameworks and institutional capacity.

Bernice Barinas, Executive Director of DIGEIG, emphasizes the importance of this approach by stating that “for the success of a Strategy of this nature, it is essential that citizens and CSOs take ownership of the process. That is why we are not developing this Strategy alone, it is the result of a participatory and collaborative process between the government and society.”

By 2025, more than 130 stakeholders had contributed to the process in the three phases of co-creation.
 

Making the National Strategy for Civic Space a Reality

Following the official launch, 21 specific actions will be carried out over four years to advance the five civic space objectives through specific and time-bound measures. These include ambitious reforms such as the establishment of a citizen observatory to monitor public spending and government performance, expanding opportunities for meaningful participation of women, youth and vulnerable groups in participatory policy-making and budgeting, and strengthening institutional capacity to manage peaceful protests.

Each objective of the Strategy is accompanied by a set of practical activities and a detailed roadmap, from diagnostics to final evaluations, ensuring transparency and accountability at every stage.

For example, one of the activities of Objective 3 is to “promote dialogue and negotiation as mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disputes”. This will begin with the assessment of state capacity, followed by the creation and implementation of a roadmap, and finally evaluate its effectiveness. Some initiatives go beyond implementation and require legal reform. Under Objective 4 on press freedom, the government will work to strengthen the legal framework that supports independent media, which requires regulatory updates and new legislation.

A Future of Democratic Consolidation

By harmonizing the country’s Constitution with long-term visions such as the National Development Strategy 2030 and the Multi-Year Sectoral Plan of National Policy, the Strategy offers for the first time a comprehensive national vision of civic space. It transforms words into deeds and sets a bold course towards a more prosperous and participatory democracy.

As Ortiz Bosch puts it: “This strategy is not just a symbolic statement, it is a concrete initiative that is already underway. We have managed to bring together civil society, state institutions and local actors around the same table. It is no small thing. A real process of co-creation is taking place: consultation, listening and adjustment. This gives us hope because things are being done well. The conditions are being created for this strategy to be alive, participatory and functional.”

While the Strategy is ambitious, the Dominican Republic is realistic about the way forward. The framework functions as a toolkit to identify and address persistent gaps, such as limited participation of disadvantaged groups, and promote greater inclusion, greater policy harmonization, and genuine collaboration.

At its core, the Strategy seeks to protect space for future generations and strengthen democratic values in an era of disinformation and political volatility. In the face of intensifying regional pressures, the Dominican Republic’s commitment to a stronger and more resilient civil society is a sign of hope and a call to action for others.