This report’s findings underscore the growing maturity and results stemming from local open government processes and reforms, across 541 local member commitments and over 500 commitments by national members that affect local jurisdictions. These open government reforms have yielded real-world change, from participatory budgeting to improved public services, inclusive policymaking, and releases of essential data for local communities. Local members innovated not only in policy content but in process design—tailoring multi-stakeholder spaces for dialogue, expanding the diversity of civil society partners, and embedding inclusion into consultation processes. However, like national members, locals have also faced common challenges. Political transitions, resource constraints, and limited civil society capacity sometimes impeded the ambition and sustainability of open government reform.
As the partnership grows, locals can learn from each other’s good practices to continue strengthening open government results:
- Activate high-level support for open government, particularly during moments of political change. Embed open government by engaging political leaders, formalizing OGP processes, and achieving open government reforms that deliver local champions’ political mandates and build citizen trust.
- Collaborate with local civil society representatives to reflect unique community needs during the design and implementation of OGP action plans, including underrepresented groups. Similarly, involve local stakeholders in designing—not just implementing—local commitments in national action plans.
- Rise to the challenge with local commitments in new policy areas likecivic space, access to justice, and digital governance which have room for growth at the local level and are spotlighted by the Open Gov Challenge.
- Ensure transparency to keep implementation on track. Appoint a local monitoring body and regularly share information and feedback about the OGP cycle with the public. Use plain language for accessibility.
- Draw support from counterparts across OGP, learning from long-time members as locals continue beyond their first action plans.
The next years provide an opportunity to truly embed these open government processes and ensure ongoing reform at the local level. The Open Gov Challenge also offers a new route for local members, and others, to develop ambitious local reforms. Lessons learned and initiatives highlighted in this report offer a promising path to realize the transformative potential of open government, leading to better outcomes for communities.
