First German National Action Plan for more Transparency and Open Government

Berlin 16.08.2017 – The German federal government adopted its first Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) National 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... (NAP) today. With the NAP, the federal government takes important steps to strengthen 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. The 15 commitments in the NAP  will provide new ways to increase 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, open innovation and enhance the effectiveness of governments and administrations.

The Working Group Open Government Partnership, an open group of civil society organizations, scientific representatives and individual citizens, welcomes the fact that several of our submitted suggestions are also reflected in the NAP. During this first two year NAP cycle the focus lies on issues such as open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici..., transparency standards for development cooperation and the electronic application for parental benefits. Topics like open source software, open health policy or stronger financial transparency (including open contractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... More) do not play a major role in the first German NAP. Actions that would require changes to existing laws were neglected in the NAP, this will be left to the future government after the upcoming federal electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... More.

The concept of open governance within the framework of the Open Government Partnership is a shared task of all stakeholders, and benefits from a trustful and continuous exchange between government and citizens. The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) manages this process for the entire federal government. In preparation of the first NAP, the ministry fostered the dialogue with the civil society and received numerous suggestions, which the entire federal government then assessed internally. The Working Group OGP Germany is pleased to continue the dialogue with the government in the upcoming two years and to constructively accompany the implementation of this for the NAP.

The Federal Republic of Germany has been participating in the international Open Government Partnership (OGP) since December 2016. More than 75 national, and 15 subnational governments have already agreed upon improving global governance through the inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More of civil society organizations. At the heart of OGP lie NAPs, which are developed together with the civil society. The next NAP is planned for 2019 and shall also involve the regional and local authorities. We feel that the required public consultation for this must begin earlier.

Since 2011, the Working Group OGP Germany has been actively advocating the advancement of Open Government in Germany. It supports the government and enriches this process with civil society positions, ensuring that Open Government can be effectively and sustainably established in the federal, regional and local governments.

Working Group Open Government Partnership Germany

Members: https://opengovpartnership.de/arbeitskreis
Coordination: Michael Peters
E-Mail: info@ogphub.de
Tel: 015786320042