Who we are
At Global Integrity, we support local change agents – governments and civil society organizations – in countries and communities around the world as they craft, implement and refine solutions to the complex problems they face. We help our partners more effectively close the gaps between policy commitments, their implementation, and impact.
We use the insights and evidence that emerge from our innovative work with local partners to inform and influence multilateral and bilateral development agencies, multistakeholder initiatives, international organizations, and other external actors, encouraging and supporting them to operate in ways that prioritize the locally-led innovation, learning, and adaptation that is key to solving governance-related problems.
For more on what we do, and why, see this recent blog.
Our experience with the Open Government Partnership
We know the Open Government Partnership (OGP) well. We enjoy robust partnerships with OGP stakeholders in many countries. We’ve helped many in-country stakeholders in Latin America, Africa, and Asia work out whether and how to engage with OGP, and supported their efforts to design and implement effective action plan commitments. From our office in the Open Gov Hub, where the OGP Support Unit is also located, we support collaborative learning and action – including on OGP – among many of the international organizations working to advance the open government agenda.
We are well positioned to contribute to the upcoming OGP evaluation. We will help ensure that each of the evaluation’s four objectives – enumerated below – are met.
Objective 1: Understand the effectiveness of the OGP process
We have been involved with OGP since its launch and have spent 8 years exploring the factors that shape the ways in which reform-minded actors – in-country CSOs and government agencies, as well as international organizations – are able to leverage the OGP platform, to drive progress on open governance (as in our Learning to Open Government work). We know how to produce rich, qualitative evidence – including through country case studies – on OGP experiences, and are well-placed to further explore whether and how OGP supports effective reform processes.
Objective 2: Assess the impact of National Action Plans
We’ve studied the implementation gap – the difference between policy commitments and what actually happens in practice – for a long time. We’ve helped partners in many countries unpack the causes of implementation gaps, and work out how they might close those gaps, to design and implement effective policy commitments that address citizen priorities (as in our Follow the Money work). Our expertise on these issues make us well-suited to help assess whether and how OGP action plans help deliver solutions to the problems that affect people’s lives, and work out how they might be improved.
Objective 3: Generate continuous and participatory learning
Supporting iterative, real-time processes of learning that inform action, support communities of practice, and strengthen the impact and effectiveness of our partners, is at the very core of what we do (as in our Learning to Make All Voices Count work). We know how to help partners produce and use real-time evidence, generate and share lessons, and make informed course corrections. We can ensure that the evaluation drives action by in-country reformers and international organizations, and helps to build the global evidence base on open governance.
Objective 4: Improve the capacity and efficiency of OGP supporting institutions
We regularly support external actors – including donors, INGOs, and MSI secretariats – in their efforts to strengthen their impact and effectiveness. We know how to tailor learning products to the needs and interests of key stakeholders (see this brief, from our L-MAVC work, for example). We know how to make the links between research and action (as in our GI-ACE program), and are well-placed to help the evaluation inform action on the part of OGP’s supporting institutions.
We’re excited about the OGP evaluation opportunity. We’re keen to ensure that the evaluation generates relevant lessons, informs action, and lays the groundwork for strengthening the impact of organizations working to support progress toward more open, accountable, and effectiveness governance across the world. Interested in working with us? Let’s chat – contact us @Globalintegrity, or email michael.moses@globalintegrity.org.