Launch of the OGP Multi Donor Trust Fund Support to OGP Participants

Making governments more open and accountable to citizens improves the effectiveness of service delivery, reduces corruption, and improves trust in government. However, the road to change can be difficult to embark upon and even more challenging to complete.  Improving the nature of government requires a special commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... to identifying problems, crafting effective solutions, and monitoring results.

The World Bank, Agence Française de Développement, the Government of Canada, and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development are committed to supporting the 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) mission to unite government and civil society to make government more transparent and responsive. We are excited to announce the launch of the next phase of our Multi-Donor Trust FundWith the support of development partners and working together with the World Bank, OGP established the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) to support World Bank client countries and local entities that part... (MDTF). The MDTF was established with the support of development partners and the World Bank to provide OGP eligible countries and locals an additional mechanism to access enhanced support, with the aim of seeing if such support can help further strengthen OGP processes or lead to more credible delivery of reform.

OGP, the World Bank and many others have been supporting OGP processes at the country and local level in different ways. The MDTF forms an additional mechanism to access enhanced support in a subset of eligible countries. This new support can play a role at two different, but vital, stages in the OGP process. This launch includes support to (i) participation and co-creation in the early stages of the OGP 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... cycle, and  (ii) to the implementation of transformative commitments from ongoing Action Plans.

ENHANCED CO-CREATION SUPPORT

Call for Expressions of Interest Open, Deadline for submission is February 13, 2019

At the core of OGP’s principles is the equal representation of government and civil society at the policy-making table. The early stages of the action plan formation are crucial to opening dialogue, engaging a wide variety of actors, and agreeing upon priority commitments for both government and civil society. To achieve these goals in national or local contexts, the MDTF will provide support to a co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... to enhance existing efforts. The first round of co-creation support, launched in 2018, demonstrated the progress awarded organizations made towards engaging previously marginalized actors, working directly with government officials, and sensitizing the public to OGP principles.

In the second round, we continue to seek civil society actors who will play the critical role of a facilitator –  one that leverages the expertise in the multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple... and connects government, other civil society groups, and the community to create an ambitious, inclusive action plan. Beyond coordinating and aligning the engagement of actors, the selected organization must also contribute to the prioritization of commitments put forth, communicate the selection process to the wider community of stakeholders, and implement effective mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of the action plan. Together with the OGP Support UnitThe OGP Support Unit is a small, permanent group of staff that work closely with the Steering Committee and the Independent Reporting Mechanism to advance the goals of the Open Government Partnership...., we will work to provide countries and local governments with financial and technical support in these early stages of their OGP process. These early interventions can have a cascading effect on the journey towards improving the quality of engagement and dialogue during the OGP action plan process.

Applicants must be from countries that are developing action plans in 2019, have a multistakeholder forum, and from a  country where the World Bank provides lending. Based on these criteria, civil society from the following countries and locals are eligible to apply: Afghanistan, Argentina, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Liberia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Jalisco, Mexico, Nariño, Colombia. If you are eligible and interested in applying, more details include program scope, application process, and selection criteria are explained here. The deadline for submitting expressions of interest for the 2019 OGP MDTF co-creation grants is February 13, 2019.

We look forward to receiving impactful ideas that will enhance the co-creation process beyond business as usual.

IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT

Call for Expressions of Interest Open on January 23

Although OGP participants propose commitments to open governments around the world, truly transformative ideas that challenge the status quo can be difficult to bring to fruition. Without the adequate resources and support, successful execution of these commitments can be elusive. Open Government Partnership’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... data shows that only 20 percent of commitments are actually completed. Therefore, while countries are committing to innovative policies on paper, there is an implementation gap that is hampering the advancement of open government principles worldwide.

Through the MDTF, we hope to provide customized, real-time support to government leaders and civil society stakeholders struggling with implementation – whether that be policy capture, lack of funding, or technical capacity. In providing this support we will work jointly with the OGP Support Unit and other partners, and leverage our presence on the ground through country offices. Ambitious ideas bring a lot of work. But we are excited to embark on this work with you to achieve goals that may seem far-off, but with the enhanced support, can build a foundation for generations of open government reform. This is the first time that the MDTF will support the implementation of commitments, and we see this as a momentous opportunity to work together with reformers on the ground towards achieving extraordinary ideas. At the onset, we will focus on a few countries where the targeted assistance can make a difference.

The World Bank looks forward to working with more OGP stakeholders on your priorities for sustainable, long term changes to government. The call for Expressions of Interest is now open!

Click here for more information on Request for Expressions of Interest for Support to Implementation of Commitments and eligible countries and locals.

Environmental and Social Commitment Plan
(ESCP) (Updated December 2023)