Open Etat Forum (FR0041)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: France Action Plan 2018-2020
Action Plan Cycle: 2018
Status: Active
Institutions
Lead Institution: Minister of State for the Digital Sector, attached to the Prime Minister
Support Institution(s): Datactivist and Vraiment Vraiment The open government community (civil society organisation, startups, civic tech, researchers, think tanks)
Policy Areas
E-Government, Public ParticipationIRM Review
IRM Report: France Design Report 2018-2020
Starred: Pending IRM Review
Early Results: Pending IRM Review
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Civic Participation
Implementation i
Completion: Pending IRM Review
Description
Develop new formats for exchanging ideas with civil society: the "Open d’Etat" Forum
Lead institution(s):
Minister of State for the Digital Sector, attached to the Prime Minister
Other stakeholders:
Datactivist and Vraiment Vraiment
The open government community (civil society organisation, startups, civic tech, researchers, think tanks)
New commitment
OGP principles with which the commitment is associated:
Accountability, opening of digital resources, civic participation, open innovation
Challenges
Open government is grounded in the principles of accountability and dialogue between citizens and civil society. The aim of the "Open d’Etat" (open government multi-stakeholder) forums is to offer an informal discussion space where citizens and State officials can discuss a given theme, share knowledge, practices and experiences.
Their format was designed in liaison with citizens and public officials during an open participatory workshop on 12 March 2018.
"Open d'Etat" Forums are a community of stakeholders who meet to help expedite public action reform. This community brings together public officials working on innovative projects as well as civil society stakeholders with an interest in tangible projects aimed at transforming public action.
The intention is for this format to be improved in line with participants' feedback.
Ambitions
Set in motion the first cycle of "Open d'Etat" Forums on five main work packages of the National Action Plan;
Expand and consolidate the "Open d’Etat" community;
Develop an online dialogue space to enable progress on the work packages outside of the Forums;
Improve the format as and when results and feedback come in from participants, civil society and the authorities.
The road map in detail
Trial a discussion forum format by organising 5 "Open d’Etat" forums so as to monitor implementation of France's National Action Plan for the OGP Semester 2 2018
Develop an online dialogue space to enable progress on the work packages outside of the Forums Semester 2 2018
Document the format of the "Open d’Etat" forums to enable the authorities to give feedback 2019
Keepthe"Opend’Etat"Forumsgoing Semester 2 2019
IRM Midterm Status Summary
12. Develop new formats for exchanging ideas with civil society: the "Open d’Etat" Forum
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:
Open government is grounded in the principles of accountability and dialogue between citizens and civil society. The aim of the "Open d’Etat" (open government multi-stakeholder) forums is to offer an informal discussion space where citizens and State officials can discuss a given theme, share knowledge, practices and experiences.
Their format was designed in liaison with citizens and public officials during an open participatory workshop on 12 March 2018.
"Open d'Etat" Forums are a community of stakeholders who meet to help expedite public action reform. This community brings together public officials working on innovative projects as well as civil society stakeholders with an interest in tangible projects aimed at transforming public action.
The intention is for this format to be improved in line with participants' feedback.
Set in motion the first cycle of "Open d'Etat" Forums on five main work packages of the National Action Plan;
Expand and consolidate the "Open d’Etat" community;
Develop an online dialogue space to enable progress on the work packages outside of the Forums;
Improve the format as and when results and feedback come in from participants, civil society and the authorities. [51]
Milestones
12.1 Trial a discussion forum format by organising 5 "Open d’Etat" forums so as to monitor implementation of France's National Action Plan for the OGP
12.2 Develop an online dialogue space to enable progress on the work packages outside of the Forums
12.3 Document the format of the "Open d’Etat" forums to enable the authorities to give feedback
12.4 Keep the "Open d’Etat" Forums going
Start Date: 2018
End Date: 2019
Context and Objectives
In the OGP framework, co-production and the participation of civil society constitute core principles. France has not established a traditional multi-stakeholder forum for the development of the action plan and the follow-up of its implementation. Instead, France opted to establish the Forum Open d’Etat, which consists of thematic forums that are open to civil society and public officials. Etalab justifies the choice to make the forums thematic by pointing to the diversity of topics within the action plan – these topics not mobilizing the same publics. [52] Establishing a platform for dialogue with civil society contributes to the core of the OGP process and is a component of the country’s fulfillment of the OGP requirements for co-creation. Thus, it is not necessary to include formation of such a platform as a commitment of the action plan.
This commitment aims to facilitate the inclusion of civil society in the implementation of various commitments. It intends to do so through disseminating information and promoting active participation in solving problems identified by relevant government agencies. The commitment aims to make the model of the Forum Open d’Etat replicable outside of the monitoring of the OGP action plan. It also plans to bring the Forum online to build on the in-person discussions during the physical forums.
The IRM researcher considers this commitment to be relevant to civic participation. The Forum constitutes an opportunity for citizens, companies, and other public officials to take part in shaping the work of government agencies in commitments. Etalab develops accessible documentation for each of the forums, according to the participants’ knowledge level. The format of the Forum was developed together with civil society actors. The Forum could potentially represent an opportunity for the public to hold the government and the administration accountable, even if the commitment text does not clearly require any public accountability mechanism. The Forum Open d’Etat aims not to monitor the advancement of the commitments but rather to create a space where different groups can meet, learn from each other, and work together around different themes.
Overall, this commitment is verifiable. The first two milestones contain concrete actions (e.g., organize five forums, develop an online platform). The third and fourth milestones provide fewer details about the activities envisaged. (E.g., what is meant by “document the format”? should the Forum Open d’Etat exist outside the implementation of the OGP action plan?)
The IRM researcher deems this initiative to have a potential minor effect. If fully implemented, the commitment could change government practice. It could lead to the involvement of relevant groups from civil society and the business sector. These parties could help solve problems and overcome obstacles that the administration identifies and seeks assistance with (e.g., how to best present data, how to make it user-friendly, among others). Moreover, the hands-on activities of the forums enable relevant government agencies to integrate participants’ feedback in their projects, sometimes on the spot. [53] As previously mentioned, such a platform should be considered as part of the core requirements and not as a stand-alone commitment.
Next steps
Given that this commitment is already significantly underway, the IRM researcher suggests that this commitment not be carried forward to the next action plan. The government could, however:
- Generalize this original format to areas outside open government themes, to avoid limiting its scope; and
- Formalize the Forum Open d’Etat as France’s multi-stakeholder forum to develop future action plans and monitor their implementation.
Commitments
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Transparency of Public Services
FR0030, 2018, E-Government
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Transparency of Public Procurement
FR0031, 2018, Access to Information
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Transparency of Development Aid
FR0032, 2018, Access to Information
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Expand Open Data
FR0033, 2018, Access to Information
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Improved Data Policies and Administration
FR0034, 2018, Access to Information
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Transparency of Public Algorithms
FR0035, 2018, E-Government
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Open Data at Sub-National Level
FR0036, 2018, Access to Information
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State AI Lab
FR0037, 2018, Automated Decision-Making
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Administrative Capacity-Building
FR0038, 2018, Capacity Building
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Public Service Incubators
FR0039, 2018, Capacity Building
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Streamline Data Flows
FR0040, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Etat Forum
FR0041, 2018, E-Government
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Online Procedures Dashboard
FR0042, 2018, E-Government
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Govtech Summit
FR0043, 2018, Capacity Building
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Improve Public Consultation Mechanisms
FR0044, 2018, E-Government
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International Transparency and Citizen Participation
FR0045, 2018, Aid
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Public Pariticipation in Sustainable Development
FR0046, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Science
FR0047, 2018, Access to Information
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Citizen Involvement in Cour Des Comptes
FR0048, 2018, Access to Information
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Transparency of Interest Representatives
FR0049, 2018, Access to Information
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Access to Information on Public Officials
FR0050, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Regional and Local Authorities' Data
FR0001, 2015, Access to Information
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Publish Municipal Council Decisions and Reports Online
FR0002, 2015, E-Government
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Publish Building Permits in Open Data Format
FR0003, 2015, Access to Information
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Increase Transparency in Public Procurement
FR0004, 2015, Access to Information
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Improve Transparency in International Development Aid
FR0005, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Access to Public Policy Evaluations
FR0006, 2015, E-Government
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Involve Citizens in Cour Des Comptes Work
FR0007, 2015, Access to Information
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Access to Public Officials Transparency Obligations
FR0008, 2015, Access to Information
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Beneficial Ownership
FR0009, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Transparency in Extractive Industries
FR0010, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Transparency in International Trade Commercial Negotiations
FR0011, 2015, Access to Information
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Fix My Neighborhood
FR0012, 2015, E-Government
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Digital Fix-It
FR0013, 2015, Access to Information
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Co-Produce Data Infrastructure with Civil Society
FR0014, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Legal Resources
FR0015, 2015, Access to Information
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Reform Participatory Mechanisms
FR0016, 2015, Public Participation
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Mediation and Justice
FR0017, 2015, Access to Justice
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Open and Circulate Data
FR0018, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Calculation Models and Simulators
FR0019, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Platform for Government Resources
FR0020, 2015, E-Government
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Improve Public Services Through E-Government and User Interaction
FR0021, 2015, E-Government
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Empower Civil Society to Support Schools
FR0022, 2015, E-Government
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Diversify Recruitment Within Public Institutions
FR0023, 2015, Capacity Building
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Culture Change
FR0024, 2015, Capacity Building
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Spread Public Innovation
FR0025, 2015, Capacity Building
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Protect Against Conflicts of Interest
FR0026, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Civil Society & Transparency in COP21 Conference Planning
FR0027, 2015, Environment and Climate
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Open Data and Climate/Sustainable Development
FR0028, 2015, Access to Information
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Collaborate with Civil Society on Climate and Sustainable Development
FR0029, 2015, Environment and Climate