A fresh look at OGP from Ireland

This blog post originally appeared on Salua Nassabay’s blog and has been republished with permission from the author. 

What is the first thing you do when you intend to execute a new project? You, of course conduct some research. In a large percentage of cases, the first thing you need to do is to broadly inform yourself about the subject. Generally that is one of the first lessons we learn in our lives. In fact, this concept comes from the foundation of our educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation .... This  research allows you to be better prepared to achieve the final objectives and to make your job a little bit easier.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) has launched to provide an international platform for domestic reformers committed to promoting transparency and making governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Formally launched on September 20, 2011, for eight founding governments (Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States), it has grown by more than 55 additional governments.

When countries want to join OGP, they have to prepare an Action Plan under a process which should be multilateral, open and foster citizen involvement. The government presents concrete and quantified commitments for reforms on issues such as transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, accountability and citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More, among others. One of the most important characteristics of the Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... is that it should contain a small number of commitments, but they should go deep and have a big impact. The work of civil society in such plans is very important and should start from the first day in an interactive, open and organized dialog with the government:

Solid ground –> Get Organized –> Creating a platform for dialogue –> Consult widely –> Build partnerships

Last year, in the months of July, August and September, the OGP organized three consultation meetings with the aim to prepare the Ireland‘s Action Plan. You can find the Final Report of this meeting here: http://www.ogpireland.ie/2013/10/02/final-report-ogp-consultation/

The overall opinion was that it was good… or, maybe you, like me, have another opinion. The following graphic represents the total population of Ireland against the total attendees at the meetings of the OGP Consultation (151). 

Let’s be a little bit more fair…, I mean, we have to understand that not everyone in Ireland can come to Dublin to join these meetings, so in the next graphic I will take only the population of Dublin agains the total attend by the meeting of the OGP Consultation (151). What about now?

What is the problem here? What is the reason for the low citizen participation if the “Consultation Process” says: “This consultation was carried out over approximately 12 weeks, from 10 June to 5 September 2013. All citizens and civil society organisations were welcome to take part. An open invitation was issued via a variety of channels, including NGO newsletters, e-mails, social media alerts and targeted media coverage. Three public meetings were held, attended by a total of 113 participants representing a diverse range of organisations and interests (see annexes for details of these events and information on attendees).”?

Maybe Irish people are not interested in this kind of project…? No, I don’t think so… In my personal opinion, I think that the OGP Ireland has to stick to the requirements, e.g. to try to get civil society more involved, with all this I mean: –

• Availability of timeline: Countries are to make the details of their public consultation process and timeline available (online at minimum) prior to the consultation.
• Adequate notice: Countries are to consult the population with sufficient forewarning Awareness raising Countries are to undertake OGP awareness raising activities to enhance public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio... in the consultation.
• Multiple channels: Countries are to consult through a variety of mechanisms—including online and through in-person meetings—to ensure the accessibility of opportunities for citizens to engage.
• Breadth of consultation: Countries are to consult widely with the national community, including civil society and the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More, and;
• Documentation and feedback: Countries are to make a summary of the public consultation and individual written comment should be made available online if possible.