Response to Irish government announcement that Ireland will participate in the Open Government Partnership

We welcome the Irish government’s announcement that Ireland will participate in the Open Government Partnership (OGP).  This international initiative aims to strengthen cooperation between civil society and the state, enhancing 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 and openness through 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 and dialogue.

We commend Minister Brendan Howlin, TD, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform who played a vital role in bringing Ireland into this international effort for inclusive, open, best-practice governance. The Open Government agenda comprises measures to secure greater openness, integrity, transparency and accountability of public administration by strengthening public governance and the effectiveness of state institutions, and is an important determinant of an economy’s sustainable long‐term growth potential.

We look forward to a constructive process, in which citizens and civil society organisations work with the government to improve accountability, transparency and reform through the co-creation and implementation of an ambitious 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... to which all stakeholders will contribute.

Signed,

Denis Parfenov, ActiveCitizen  http://www.activecitizen.cc
Martin Wallace, ActiveCitizen
Nat O’Connor, TASC http://www.tasc.ie
Tom Stewart, Open Learning Ireland http://www.openlearningireland.com
Nuala Haughey, Transparency International Ireland http://www.transparency.ie

Note to editors:   Please see today’s Government statement here:: http://per.gov.ie/2013/05/20/minister-for-public-expenditure-and-reform-…

Originally posted on Open Government Ireland Google Group https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!topic/open-governmen…

Image source: government buildings2, by psyberartist, via Flickr