The Open Gov Challenge: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Open Government Challenge and why was it launched?

The Open Government Challenge is a call to action for all members to raise ambition in ten areas of open government to help strengthen our democracies and improve our communities. The topics are listed below. Each of these has a head line challenge and actions and reforms of what is and is not considered relevant to each challenge area to help reformers design relevant and ambitious submissions at either national or local level as appropriate. In September 2026, on the occasion of OGP’s 15th anniversary, OGP updated what reforms are considered relevant and ambitious under the Challenge to ensure ambition keeps pace with new developments and to create space for new areas of action in open government.

The Open Gov Guide is a one-stop shop for concrete recommendations, examples of reforms, and international standards and guidance, and a resource to help reformers take action. While it covers actions that go beyond the focus of the Challenge areas, it can be a useful resource for addressing the Challenge areas as well.

Note: click on the links to see the full text of the Challenge.

The Challenge operationalizes Strategic Goal 4 on accelerating collective progress on open government reforms in OGP’s 2023-2028 strategy. The topics for the Challenge were identified based on the themes that emerged as priorities for the Partnership through the extensive consultations that informed the development of OGP’s strategy.

The Challenge duration is five years, coterminous with the current strategy.

What actions or commitments are eligible for the Challenge?

Actions or commitments that meet all of the following criteria:

Thematic relevance: The action must aim to advance the goals of a Challenge area (see details below). Members are encouraged to submit ambitious commitments that are possible game changers for practices, policies, or institutions that govern a policy area, public sector, or the relationship between citizens and state; and/or generate binding and/or institutionalized changes across government. Ambitious commitments may also be actions within the Challenge areas that no one else or very few in the Partnership are addressing.
Future-oriented: The action must be ongoing or planned, with future milestones. To be future-oriented, submitted commitments must include verifiable reforms that have yet to be implemented at the time of submission.
Open government relevance: The action must be relevant to at least one open government value – transparency, public accountability or civic participation (see definitions below).
Government-led: The action must be led by a public sector institution from any branch or level of government of an OGP member. Collaboration with civil society in the design, implementation, and/or evaluation of actions is strongly encouraged.

Who can participate in the Challenge?

Any public sector institution across all branches and levels of government of an OGP member. Members are encouraged to participate in as many Challenge areas as possible. Challenge commitments should be the most ambitious, flagship actions by members.

Where more than one public institution in an OGP member wishes to participate in a specific challenge area, the OGP Support Unit will aim to facilitate coordination between the actors.

Civil society and other partners are strongly encouraged to co-create and support a Challenge, but the Challenge must be owned and implemented by a public sector institution. At the time of awards, partners and civil society could nominate governments, as long as the reform is adopted and implemented by the government.

What are considered “ambitious” actions for the Challenge?

The scope of each of the 10 Challenge areas has been designed (and updated in September 2026) to promote ambitious commitments. Members are encouraged to submit commitments that are possible game changers for practices, policies, or institutions that govern a policy area, public sector, or the relationship between citizens and state; and/or generate binding and/or institutionalized changes across government. Ambitious commitments may also be actions within the Challenge areas that no one else or very few in the Partnership are addressing.

What are the mechanisms to participate in the Challenge?

Members can participate in any of the following ways.

Submit a commitment as part of the country’s OGP portfolio or Local action plan
- OGP Points of Contact can submit a commitment as part of the country’s OGP portfolio under the updated Action Framework.
- OGP Local members can submit a commitment as part of their Action Plan.
- We encourage this as the primary method of participation in the Open Gov Challenge.
Submit a commitment outside the country’s OGP portfolio
- Public sector institutions that are not the OGP Point of Contact can also submit a commitment outside the country’s OGP portfolio. We encourage all submitters to reach out to the OGP Point of Contact in their country before submission.

Beyond these options, OGP will enable members and non members to share stories for inspiration on their work on Challenge areas. Similarly, civil society and partners can share stories of government actions. These will not be used for measurement of Challenge performance, but may be used in our narratives and communication and inspiration efforts to promote the Challenge.

Can non-member eligible countries submit challenges?

No. The Challenge is open to any public sector institution across all branches and levels of government of an OGP member. Non-members can share stories of progress towards the challenge, contributing to OGP’s storytelling and communications work in support of the Challenge. This can be done through an email to [email protected].

What are the expectations on participation and co-creation?

Commitments included in a member’s OGP portfolio must be co-created in line with the OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards and are assessed through the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM).
OGP Local commitments must also be co-created and are assessed by the Independent Monitoring Body (IMB).
In that same spirit, commitments submitted to the Challenge outside a member’s portfolio are strongly encouraged (and expected) to follow the same principle of collaboration with civil society in their design, implementation, and/or evaluation.

What are the timelines/deadlines for participating in the Challenge?

Commitments may be submitted to OGP at any time. Challenge commitments should aim to be completed before March 2028, in line with the end of the 2023-2028 OGP Strategy.
Stories for inspiration can be shared and captured at any time.

How will members know if a commitment is eligible for the Challenge?

Starting September 2026, every commitment received by OGP will be reviewed for Challenge eligibility. If it is eligible for the Challenge, submitters will be informed, with the possibility of opting out of their commitment being shared and publicized as a Challenge commitment.

If a municipality is not a member of OGP and the country is, can the municipality submit a challenge commitment?

Yes. Any public sector institution across all branches and levels of government of an OGP member can submit Challenge commitments. The commitment should be submitted through the Standalone Commitments form. Under the ‘Member type’ field, they should select “Other (non-member local jurisdiction in a member country)” to proceed with submission.

Who will determine eligibility and relevance of an action to the Challenge?

All commitments submitted to OGP will be automatically reviewed for eligibility for the Open Gov Challenge by the Support Unit, to ensure the required criteria are met. Submissions will be reviewed on a monthly basis. The final eligibility, tagging and relevance decisions will be with the Support Unit.

Will I be informed about whether my commitment is eligible for the Challenge?

All commitments submitted to OGP will be automatically reviewed for eligibility for the Open Gov Challenge, and submitters will be notified if the commitment is eligible When notified, submitters will have the option to opt-out of their commitment being publicly recognized as a Challenge commitment.

How will we maintain ambition around the Challenge?

Awards, support and other incentives will be mobilized for OGP commitments that are eligible for the Challenge.

What are the incentives for a member to develop an ambitious OGP commitment eligible for the Challenge? What does a member get out of it?

Political opportunity to fast track progress
Visibility and credibility
Technical and peer assistance
Opportunities to lead cohorts, peers
Recognition in the form of awards, spotlighting through communications, events, etc.

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