Promote citizen participation in public affairs (ES0046)

What is the problem/need that is desired to resolve with the commitment? In order to adequately match the expectations of the citizenry and the results of public action, it is necessary to incorporate their opinion in the public policies as early as possible. There are several resources and channels to participate in the public affairs. However, the diverse presentation and the fact that it is not centralised, hinder both the exercising of the right to participate and the exploitation of the potential of contributions from citizens in adopting the public decisions. On the other hand, people and users who receive the public services do not have clear information about the existing channels and procedures of participation, which will allow them to exercise their democratic right to participate in public affairs. During the consultation process to design the 4th Open Government Plan, held between 18 March and 10 April 2019, the citizenry and civil society presented their proposals to be included in the Plan, related to improving participation in public affairs. Objectives of the commitment To promote, strengthen and improve the conditions to guarantee the citizenry the exercising of the right to participate in public affairs.

Brief description of the commitment The commitment assumed includes a group of actions that have the objective of improving citizen participation in public affairs in order to improve the participation conditions of the citizenry and the organisations representing collective interests in the design, execution and evaluation of public plans and programmes, in advisory bodies and through electronic media and social networks. To do so, different projects have been proposed, including the development of a Participation Platform on the Transparency Website, the implementation of Innovation Laboratories for the participation, awareness‐raising campaigns about public participation and actions to disseminate among civil servants regarding democratic values and, in particular, the value of participation. Improvements in the functioning of the Open Government Forum will be introduced. The objective is to simplify and streamline the Forum and ensure the maximum participation and collaboration of its Permanent Commission, its work groups and other key actors in the defining and monitoring of the commitments. It is a quality and collaboration plan both in its planning and execution. That will require providing the Forum with the greatest dynamism possible.

How does the commitment contribute to solve the problem or cover the need? 1. Strengthening the participation of the citizenry in the different phases (design, execution and evaluation) of public Plans and Programmes. 2. Optimising the use of AGE's communication channels through electronic media and social networks, favouring a more clear and participatory communication, based on active listening and response to citizens' demands. 3. Improving the functioning of the advisory or participatory bodies, through the preparation of guides for its self‐evaluation. 4. Creating a Participation Platform, a space on the Transparency Website, which allows launching citizen consultations, collection of proposals and suggestions about open government plans or projects, including information about ongoing participatory processes and satisfaction questionnaires. 5. Incorporating the opinion and knowledge of the citizenry in the management of public affairs, through the creation of innovation laboratories for the improvement of the participation. 68 6. Generating a culture of participation through awareness raising and training activities, promoting values, attitudes and active listening behaviours among civil servants regarding the opinion of the users and beneficiaries of public policies.

Why is the commitment relevant with respect to the values of Open Government? Contribute to promote, strengthen and improve the quality of participation in public management, allowing the citizenry to participate in making public decisions. It delves deeper into transparency and accountability regarding the compliance of the plans and programmes of the AGE. It raises awareness among society about the importance of participation in public affairs and training the staff in the public sector to incorporate the perspective of the citizenry in the public policies and apply participation procedures and tools in its management.

Additional information Activities of the commitment Start date End date  Development of a Participation Platform on the Transparency Website 01/11/2020 01/11/2022  Improvements in the functioning of the Open Government Forum 01/11/2020 30/03/2021  Evaluation and improvement of the participation in public plans and programmes. a. Preparation of self‐evaluation and evaluation guides of the participation in plans and programmes b. Design and development of participation processes. Pilot experiences c. Evaluation processes of the participation in plans and programmes. Pilot experiences 01/01/2021 30/10/2024  Evaluation and improvement of the participation through electronic media and social networks. a. Preparation of self‐evaluation and evaluation guides of the participation on electronic media and social networks. b. Design and development of participation processes. Pilot experiences c. Evaluation processes of the participation. Pilot experiences 01/01/2021 30/10/2024  Evaluation and improvement of participation in advisory bodies. a. Preparation of a self‐evaluation guide of the participation in consultative bodies b. Self‐evaluation and/or evaluation processes of the participation. Pilot experiences 01/01/2021 30/10/2024  Innovation laboratories to promote participation in public policies. a. Development of the model. i. Identification of the challenge/problem. ii. Generation of the team (multi‐disciplinary with the participation of the citizenry and other Public Administrations). iii. Generation of ideas. iv. Prototype b. Dissemination/generalisation: pilot experiences. 01/11/2020 30/10/2024  Awareness raising and training about public participation. 01/01/2021 30/10/2024

Action Plan Review

Commitment 3: Plan to improve participation

Commitment cluster 3 and 4: improved citizen participation

Lead agencies: Ministry of Land Policy and Public Administration, Ministry of the Presidency, Courts and Democratic Memory

For a complete description of this commitment, see: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/spain-action-plan-2020-2024/

Context and objectives

Citizen knowledge and participation in public decision-making is increasingly relevant in OGP action plans, and is a major focus in this section of Spain’s action plan as it was highlighted during the co-creation consultations. [25]

The third action plan (2017–2019) promoted creating an open government online participatory space. However, instead of a participation space, the plan resulted in creating an information tool that was used by civil society-government working groups to support monitoring. Monitoring studies by the Participatory Observatory during the implementation of the 2017-2019 action plan identified areas to address, including ways to explain ministry procedures for drafting regulations and the variety of channels for providing input which currently hinders the creation of participation statistics. [26]

The current action goes a step beyond this previous commitment. It seeks to improve citizen participation across the various stages of public-program design by using electronic tools and social media. To this end, the commitment will include a participation space in the Transparency Portal, various self-assessment and improvement tools, pilot programs, and innovation labs to secure participation in public policy-making. The commitment will also secure traceability in the design of regulations, allowing the public to track citizen input and the influence of private and social stakeholders. This is known as “regulatory footprint.” [27]

Potential for results: Substantial

Overall, the proposed actions have the potential to bring about substantial changes in this public policy area. The participation space included in the Transparency Portal would materialize an IRM recommendation made in several previous assessments. The portal would become a true open government host not only for participatory OGP processes but also for other participatory processes promoted by the General State Administration. Implementing pilot projects in different areas allows refinement of citizen participation mechanisms. Implementing innovation labs can provide the first-ever collaborative space to allow citizens input on issues and design better public policies.

Representation and institutionalization, as described below, is key to secure sustainability and use of these initiatives. Once implemented, the methodology to track citizen input to policymaking will complement the assessments of participatory mechanisms adopted by various agencies.

A researcher who participated in the Observatory activities and is a current member of the Open Government Forum, explained that this commitment is an opportunity to create a single space to concentrate all citizen participation initiatives and to present this space in a user-friendly format with clear language. [28] In their opinion, it is important for the tool to provide responses to citizen input. [29]

Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

This commitment has the potential to create a working dynamic with increasing engagement on main issues affecting citizens, such as COVID-19 management. It also offers spaces for integrating similar pilot programs of the General State Administration, including the Social Network of the National Institute for Public Administration (http://social.inap.es). This calls for shared work, collaboration, and monitoring by the members of the Open Government Forum.

Linking this commitment with Commitment 2 could further strengthen the overall outcomes of the action plan. For instance, innovation labs can identify actions within public policies that allow for better citizen participation.

In previous action plan assessments, the IRM identified challenges to citizen participation, including engaging stakeholders beyond the usual suspects. [30] A major challenge is to ensure that greater representation not be the end, but a starting point, and that sound public policies and programs result from participatory processes.

Finally, this commitment will be strengthened as long as participation mechanisms are consistent and formal and not solely isolated events occurring only during the implementation of this action plan.