By Michael Moses — October 23, 2015.
Supporting progress toward open and accountable governance by conducting research, by generating data, by supporting country-level learning and through global advocacy is what we at Global Integrity are all about (see here for a short note on how we are doing this by putting learning at the centre of the open governance agenda). So, we’re excited to be joining thousands of open government champions from governments and civil society, in Mexico City, over the coming week for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit.
The OGP provides a hugely important platform for reformers to drive progress toward open governance, but one about which there are many questions. These include:
- How can OGP best contribute to improvements in the lives of ordinary people?
- How can reformers best leverage the Open Government Partnership?
- To what extent are governments keeping their OGP promises?
- How does the shrinking of civic space impact on the effectiveness of OGP?
- How can technology best be deployed to support progress towards more open government?
- How can countries develop National Action Plans that really make a difference?
- How can a stronger gender perspective inform the work of OGP? and
- What role can OGP play in implementing the recently agreed Sustainable Development Goals?
We look forward to grappling with these questions, and many more, at the Summit, where we will be participating in or leading a number of different events.
On Tuesday, we’re joining government officials at the Points of Contact Day to explore how learning – over time, across sectors, amongst countries, between initiatives – can lead to more ambitious, more participatory and more effective National Action Plans. On Thursday, along with partners from the Sunlight Foundation and civil society organizations across the globe, we’ll be discussing the relevance of money in politics to the open government agenda (click here to book your place at the event).
We’ll also present preliminary findings from the multi-country research project we’ve been leading about how OGP is playing out in particular contexts (see here for a blogpost specifically on this), and participate in discussions about whether and how OGP is working at the country level. We hope that these findings will help to inform how civil society organizations leverage OGP, including in the collaborative design and implementation of National Action Plan commitments. We will also be sharing our thoughts about how OGP might factor into the SDGs, and joining our colleagues at the Fiscal Openness Working Group to strategize about how countries’ journeys to more open fiscal governance might best be supported.
The Summit provides an excellent opportunity for collaborative brainstorming and learning on the many challenges of open government, as well for taking stock of the challenges and successes of OGP. We’re looking forward to catching up with old friends and to forging new alliances. And above all, we’ll be listening carefully to better understand the challenges that open government reformers face. Let us know how we can support your efforts to promote and push for more open governance. We’ll be happy to chat.
