OGP in Latin America: Opportunities for advancement in open government

Latin America boasts the highest proportion of OGP participating countries, with 15 member countries committed to promoting official transparency. And they have been successful: The first round of National Action Plans (NAP) submitted by 14 of the countries led to a combined 328 open government initiatives or activities.[1]

With most of the regional members developing or implementing their second NAP, now is an important time to reflect on lessons learned from recent experiences and explore new ways to empower civil engagement through the OGP process.[2]

This assessment is part of a larger effort to develop global comparative research on the smartness and ambition of OGP commitments, and to identify opportunities for civil society to promote more aspirational open government agendas.[3]

Newly available data collections allow for a comparative examination of the commonalities and differences between OGP member countries. Such analysis helps identify model commitments and develop recommendations to improve action plans.

The available data include information pulled from the 48 assessment reports produced by the OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) on the development and implementation of the 14 national action plans from Latin America. The IRM reports provide technical recommendations for improvements and are an important source of information to monitor the progress that has been made in fulfilling open government commitments. (See full article for more on the public databases).

This blog post is part of a preliminary assessment that looks at the impact of OGP-related activities in Latin America. It draws on IRM data and civil society perspectives to highlight ambitious commitments considered models for further open government advancement.

Some common trends emerge after speaking with experts working in fiscal 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, budget disclosure, freedom of information and expression, technology and innovation, 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. This assessment addresses these trends, examines areas for improvement, and identifies opportunities to enhance civil society engagement in the OGP process.

Experts identified a number of ambitious OGP initiatives, including:

• Commitments to enhance disclosure on state budgets and public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... More. Such initiatives have increased the availability of state-held information through the creation of transparency portals in countries throughout the region.
• Transparency measures have also spread to sector-based initiatives, including commitments to join the international Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).
• Ninety-four of Latin America’s OGP commitments related to access to public information. These included commitments to enact reforms to strengthen the implementation of existing access laws and pass new laws in countries where they did not exist. Importantly, OGP efforts also expanded open government to public entities beyond the executive to the legislative and judicial branches.

The panorama that emerges shows that OGP is providing civil society an important platform for promoting government openness at the national level.

The success of the partnership, however, varies greatly between countries across the region and, generally, citizens are demanding stronger commitments and tangible results from their governments, especially at the local level.

Civil society organizations in the region emphasize the need for commitments that expand beyond 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... measures, to promote citizen participation in the actual use of newly available information. Advances in freedom of information laws need to be backed with effective implementation at the local and national level, and they need to address obstacles to accessing to information relating to the security sector.

One notable area where experts highlight the need for stronger open government action is in the area of public security. While several governments in other regions have included commitments to promote transparency and 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... concerning police and public safety, these types of commitments have been lacking in Latin America’s NAPs.

This assessment draws on the perspectives of open government experts and civil society leaders in the region to develop the following recommendations on civil society engagement in the OGP process:

• Encourage the adoption of commitments aimed at strengthening OGP activities that enhance citizen participation at the state and local level.
• Use available data to develop comparative research that highlights open government advancements and identifies model OGP commitments.
• Take advantage of regional meetings to promote the adoption of high-priority open government measures, such as those relating to public safety and policing.
• Engage in strategic planning to coordinate open government agendas and clearly identify priority areas for advancing openness in the region. 
• Use OGP as an international platform and the IRM as an outlet to encourage adherence to international open government standards.

For government officials responsible for shaping and implementing OGP activities, it is essential to adopt commitments that extend beyond the executive agencies, in particular to the legislative and judicial branches. It is also important to including stronger commitments that enhance citizen engagement through awareness-raising activities in order to inform the public about the initiatives underway.

This is integral to increasing the legitimacy of the OGP and to encouraging broader public participation in areas where the most citizen-state engagement tends to take place – at the state and local level.

[Click here, for the full-length assessment, including a table with highlighted OGP commitments.]