Coordination and Monitoring of Open Government Policy (GR0023)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Greece Second Action Plan for 2014-2016
Action Plan Cycle: 2014
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
Anti Corruption and Integrity, AuditsIRM Review
IRM Report: Greece End-of-Term Report 2014-2016, Greece 2014-2015 Progress Report
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: No
Relevant to OGP Values: No
Ambition (see definition): Low
Implementation i
Description
Enhancing accountability and the fight against corruption directly depend on the strengthening of audit mechanisms in public administration bodies. The Greek government is currently evaluating and re- engineering the organization of all Ministries. In this context, an organizational unit for Internal Audit will be set up in each Ministry. These units will be responsible for aiding and verifying the compliance to the Open Government policy, fundamental principles, as well as successful implementation of the open government projects undertaken by the Ministry.
In the Ministry of Administrative Reform and e-Governance, there will be a unit coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the open government action plan and values on a national level.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
Commitment 3.3. Open government policy
Commitment Text:
Enhancing accountability and the fight against corruption directly depend on the strengthening of audit mechanisms in public administration bodies. The Greek government is currently evaluating and re-engineering the organization of all Ministries. In this context, an organizational unit for Internal Audit will be set up in each Ministry. These units will be responsible for aiding and verifying the compliance to the Open Government policy, fundamental principles, as well as successful implementation of the open government projects undertaken by the Ministry. In the Ministry of Administrative Reform and e-Governance, there will be a unit coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the open government Action Plan and values on a national level.
Responsible institution: Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction
Supporting institution(s): None
Start date: September 2014 End date: June 2016
Commitment Aim:
This commitment aims to establish a unit for coordinating and monitoring implementation of the open government Action Plan and values on a national level. In addition, the commitment proposes an internal audit unit within each ministry. These units would oversee and verify that open government policies are implemented correctly. A permanent coordination mechanism for open government policies has been an outstanding issue for Greece ever since the phrase “open government” entered the public debate in 2009, following the release of the initial opengov.gr website.
Status
Midterm: Limited
The overall implementation of this commitment was limited at the midterm review. An initial step toward implementation occurred in August 2014 with the adoption of Presidential Decree 99/2014, art. 11. It mandates the creation of a Transparency, Open Government, and Innovation Department within the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction. However, this solution lacks adequate enforcement powers as a Department stands at the lowest hierarchical level of public administration.
End of term: Substantial
The original commitment did not provide a concrete means of addressing Action Plan ownership and commitment implementation. Following the IRM researcher's recommendations to improve OGP coordination and commitment ownership, the Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction formed an interministerial OGP government working group tasked with coordinating necessary NAP implementation actions and follow its progress. The original commitment’s goal is complete to a substantial degree due to this new group. To more fully complete this commitment, the government could have established open government units in all public agencies that would be responsible for engaging in the design and implementation of the action plan.
Did it open government?
Marginal
Implementation of open government policies, and particularly OGP plans, requires an institutional mechanism to coordinate and monitor progress. The government did seek to achieve this commitment’s goal by tacitly adding a new milestone, specifically the formation of a new interministerial team responsible for OGP. However, this team only came into effect at the very end of the implementation period. It has thus far only contributed to the creation of the Third Action Plan and could do very little to assist with the implementation of the Second Action Plan. As a result, the commitment had only a marginal effect on opening governance.
Carried forward?
The broad policy area of managing open government policies is the opening commitment in the third Greek action plan. Introducing a legal framework on Open & Participatory Governance indicates a significant upgrade from the previous commitment that was narrowly focused to coordination matters regarding open government policies.