Technology-Based Citizens' Feedback (NG0014)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Nigeria National Action Plan 2017-2019
Action Plan Cycle: 2017
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)
Support Institution(s): Federal Ministry of Communication, National Orientation Agency, , Galaxy Backbone, Other relevant ministries. Open Alliance, BUDGit WANGONET, CODE, CITAD, Enough is Enough, FOIC
Policy Areas
E-Government, Marginalized Communities, Public Participation, Regulatory GovernanceIRM Review
IRM Report: Nigeria Implementation Report 2017-2019, Nigeria Design Report 2017-2019
Starred: No
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: No
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information , Civic Participation , Technology
Implementation i
Description
This commitment seeks the introduction of technology-driven applications, portals and platform that will enhance citizen’s access to government policy process for regular input and monitoring
IRM Midterm Status Summary
14: Adopt a technology-based citizens’ feedback on projects and programs across transparency and accountability
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:
“This commitment seeks the introduction of technology-driven applications, portals and platforms that will enhance citizens’ access to government policy processes for regular input and monitoring.”
Milestones:
14.1: Mapping of MDAs already having a technology-based platform for transparency and accountability
14.2: Creation of the citizens’ interactive platform for government institutions
Start Date: January 2017 End Date: June 2018
Action plan is available here:
Context and Objectives
This commitment aims to increase citizen access, particularly from rural areas, to decision-making processes in government. At the start of the commitment, a limited number of MDAs had a technology-based platform for transparency and openness. [174] According to Dr. Usman Abdullahi of the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency, one of the challenges of governance in Nigeria is that the government takes major decisions on behalf of people in the rural areas without consulting them first. [175] Nigeria’s rank in the United Nation’s E-Participation Index has been deteriorating: from ranking 75 out of 193 countries in 2012, to 97 in 2014 and 118 in 2016. [176] The upswing in mobile and internet users in Nigeria nevertheless presents opportunities to expand e-governance platforms, even in rural areas. [177]
Specifically, this commitment calls for a mapping exercise, to determine which MDAs already maintain a technology-based platform for transparency and accountability, and the creation of a “citizens’ interactive platform” in order for government institutions to receive citizen input from any location (urban or rural) on decisions that affect communities. The commitment relates to civic participation as creating a citizen engagement platform should create an avenue for better citizen engagement.
Although the creation of a citizen engagement platform could have been verified, the commitment generally lacked specific indicators to assess implementation, beyond the suggestion in the action plan of outcomes pertaining to “increased accountability in government service delivery” and “improved access to government processes”. In addition, while the creation of an interactive platform was verifiable, the lack of specific details made it unclear what this portal would look like or how it would be developed. Details pertaining to the mapping of MDAs were also largely unclear. This lack of specificity has a direct bearing on the assessment of potential impact, as it is unclear to what extent the outlined activities will enhance citizens’ access to government policy processes for regular input and monitoring.
In addition to the limited specificity, the commitment did not discuss how the government would use the platform to engage rural communities (which seemed to be a focal point of the commitment). Therefore, the potential impact was expected to be minor.
Next Steps
Technology can facilitate better open government practices. Future commitments in this area should include:
- Consider how to enable rural communities to participate in government decision making and ensure that citizen feedback influences government decision making. This may increase the scope of results;
- Strengthen mechanisms for ensuring citizens can receive feedback, e.g., innovations like mobile phone usage;
- Consistently share the communication channels and set expectations about how government institutions will receive inputs from citizens and whether the platform or another mechanism will be used to inform citizens on how their input is used.
Commitments
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Participatory Budgeting
NG0015, 2019, Anti-Corruption
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Implement Open Contracting and the Open Contracting Data Standard
NG0016, 2019, Access to Information
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Transparent Tax Revenue Reporting
NG0017, 2019, Access to Information
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Open Contracting and Licensing in Extractives
NG0018, 2019, Access to Information
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Implement EITI Standard
NG0019, 2019, Anti-Corruption
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Establish Beneficial Ownership Registry
NG0020, 2019, Access to Information
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Strengthen Asset Recovery Legislation
NG0021, 2019, Anti-Corruption
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Implement National Anti-Corruption Strategy
NG0022, 2019, Anti-Corruption
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Improve Compliance with Freedom of Information Act with Focus on Records Management
NG0023, 2019, Access to Information
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Improved Compliance with Mandatory Publication Provisions Requirement (FOIA)
NG0024, 2019, Access to Information
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Implement Permanent Dialogue Mechanism
NG0025, 2019, Access to Justice
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Aggregate Citizens' Feedback on Programs
NG0026, 2019, E-Government
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Freedom of Association, Assembly, and Expression
NG0027, 2019, Civic Space
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Enhance Participation of the Vulnerable
NG0028, 2019, Capacity Building
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Implement New Computer Program in 6 Government Ministries to Improve Service Delivery
NG0029, 2019, Capacity Building
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Legal Instrument to Strengthen SERVICOM
NG0030, 2019, Legislation & Regulation
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Citizen Participation in Budget Cycle
NG0001, 2017, Access to Information
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Open Contracting
NG0002, 2017, Access to Information
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Extractive Sector Transparency
NG0003, 2017, Access to Information
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Tax Reporting Standards
NG0004, 2017, Fiscal Openness
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World Bank Doing Business Index
NG0005, 2017, Fiscal Openness
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Beneficial Ownership Register
NG0006, 2017, Anti-Corruption
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Anti-Corruption Informationi Sharing
NG0007, 2017, Anti-Corruption
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Asset Recovery Legislation
NG0008, 2017, Capacity Building
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Anti-Corruption Activity Coordination
NG0009, 2017, Anti-Corruption
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FOIA Compliance for Annual Reporting
NG0010, 2017, Access to Information
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FOIA Compliance for Disclosure
NG0011, 2017, Access to Information
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Permanent Dialogue Mechanism
NG0012, 2017, Fiscal Openness
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Joint Governmnet-Civil Society Legislation Review
NG0013, 2017, Fiscal Openness
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Technology-Based Citizens' Feedback
NG0014, 2017, E-Government