Chapter 2. Towards an open government strategy
Countries worldwide have been designing and implementing open government initiatives for many decades. With the creation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), countries have started creating open government action plans that assemble a series of initiatives, include a calendar and milestones. While action plans have enabled governments to unite several actors around the same vision and create further awareness about ongoing initiatives, they do not offer a long-term vision with strategic objectives and corresponding actions. The OECD Recommendation on Open Government (hereafter “the OECD Recommendation”) therefore recommends to “take measures, in all branches and at all levels of the government, to develop and implement open government strategies and initiatives in collaboration with stakeholders and to foster commitment from politicians, members of parliament, senior public managers and public officials, to ensure successful implementation and prevent or overcome obstacles related to resistance to change” (OECD, 2017[1]).
An open government strategy or open government policy is “a document that defines the open government agenda of the central government and/or of any of its subnational levels, as well as that of a single public institution or thematic area, and that includes key open government initiatives, together with short, medium and long-term goals and indicators”.
Open government initiatives are “actions undertaken by the government, or by a single public institution, to achieve specific objectives in the area of open government, ranging from the drafting of laws to the implementation of specific activities such as online consultations”.
Source: OECD (2017[1]), Recommendation of the Council on Open Government, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0438.
In line with the principles of open government, such a strategy is ideally elaborated, implemented and evaluated as part of an inclusive process. Many countries have established open government committees (see Chapter 4) and developed a variety of participation mechanisms, such as online consultations and co-creation workshops.
Argentina joined the Open Government Partnership in 2012, and has enhanced its participatory approach with each new OGP Action Plan. The third plan (2017-2019) benefitted from a participatory and co-creation process including 28 government institutions, 54 civil society organisations, 11 provincial governments and 90 local civil society organisations. The process was led by a National Open Government Roundtable, created in 2017, and composed of four government institutions and four civil society organisations.
The elaboration of the action plan followed five stages: 1) idea suggestion phase through an online form and a series of meetings, coupled with an awareness-raising exercise among government institutions; 2) prioritising proposals by analysing the received ideas and categorising them according to their admissibility for the plan; 3) roundtables at national and provincial levels with government and civil society to draft commitments based on the proposals; 4) a review of the commitments by the National Open Government Roundtable; and 5) a public consultation on an online portal for comments.
Sources: OECD (2019[6]), Open Government in Argentina, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/1988ccef-en; OGP (2018[7]), OGP Participation and Co-Creation Toolkit, www.opengovpartnership.org/stories/ogps-participation-and-co-creation-toolkit-from-usual-suspects-to-business-as-usual/.
As a first step towards creating a common vision of open government, the OECD recommends adopting a definition that unites all actors around a joint understanding of what open government aims to achieve. Such a definition can be based on the OECD Recommendation, on the definition of other international actors such as the OGP, or be the country’s own creation. Some 49% of countries across the OECD have a single definition (OECD, 2016[2]). In line with this practice, Lebanon has put forth its own open government definition which states that:
Open government is the simple but powerful idea that governments and institutions work better for citizens when they are transparent, engaging and accountable. Open government is the major building block for a more democratic, equal and sustainable society.
This definition was stated by the previous Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Minister Chidiac, on 24 June 2019, and has since been used as a working definition. The definition is an important step towards creating a joint vision of open government in Lebanon, and it should be widely disseminated among the public administration and citizens. This is particularly important as currently Lebanon does not have an open government strategy or action plan, but several rather independent initiatives.
Note: MENA (Middle East and North Africa) includes Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan.
Source: OECD (2016[2]), Open Government: The Global Context and the Way Forward, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264268104-en.
As in many OECD and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries (see Figure 2.1), before the existence of a dedicated open government strategy or action plan, open government initiatives are being implemented in Lebanon in the framework of other strategies. The most notable of these strategies are the National Anti-corruption Strategy 2020-2025 and the draft Digital Transformation Strategy 2020-2030 and related implementation plan. Both strategies and action plans make reference to open government and promote the implementation of specific open government principles.
The draft 2019 Digital Transformation Strategy aims to transform the Lebanese public administration into one that harnesses digital technologies for innovation and for easier interaction with citizens. It considers a digital transformation at the heart of public service reform and provides a roadmap for how to achieve this transformation. The strategy includes open government as a focus area, highlighting that government should be based on transparency, collaboration and participation (Figure 2.2). The government strives to strengthen transparency and open data by making information accessible and clear, such as through the common portal www.lebanon.gov.lb where citizens, businesses and public sector organisations can access information on a centralised platform; by publishing government data in a high quality and open format on the open data platform www.data.gov.lb and by making processes open, which involves providing information on how processes work. The country also aims to create “digital by default” open services and be responsive to citizen feedback, which includes enhancing participation by opening up the processes and services for co-creation. In addition to the specific focus area of open government, other focus areas, such as information, common standards, digital skills and collaboration, also support the implementation of open government principles. At the time of writing, the strategy has been transformed into a draft implementation plan 2020-2030 and submitted to the Ministerial Committee for review.
Source: Government of Lebanon (2019[8]), Lebanon Digital Transformation: Strategies to Actions.
The draft implementation plan also considers open government as a foundation for digital transformation, and is built on the five pillars of people, innovation, processes, civic engagement and legal framework (see Figure 2.3).
Source: Government of Lebanon (2019[8]), Lebanon Digital Transformation: Strategies to Actions.
Based on the digital transformation framework, the draft implementation plan includes eight programme pillars with several foreseen actions. A number of these actions contribute directly to enhancing the principles of open government as they aim to facilitate access to information, create awareness about open government among the public administration and citizens, and propose means for participation. The success in implementing the digital transformation will be measured through six key performance areas and their various sub-areas, several of which measure improvements regarding open government reform implementation (see Box 2.3). The draft implementation plan specifically mentions joining the OGP as a key performance indicator.
The draft digital transformation implementation plan’s vision is “to improve the quality of life of our people and businesses by transforming Lebanon into one of the most advanced digital countries in the Arab world, ensuring a transparent open government, and implementing citizen-centric digital services so that public civil servants can better serve citizens, residents, foreign visitors, entrepreneurs and wider society” by 2030. It provides several actions that directly support the enhancement of open government principles. The most important are listed below; however, several other foreseen actions will also support open government principles more indirectly, such as the digitalisation of services.
An overview of some of the most important “open government” actions:
Permanent consultation platform for citizens and civil society
Implement the www.data.gov.lb Open Government and Public Administration Performance Portal
Review and reform of the legal framework, regulations and laws
Document the "as is" public sector organisational structure and job descriptions and define the "to be" organisational structure
Lebanon recently adopted Law No. 175/2020 on 8 May 2020 on “Fighting Corruption in the Public Sector and establishing the National Anti-corruption Institution” as well as the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2020-2025 on 12 May 2020. As part of this strategy, the government seeks to pave the way for the future establishment and activation of the National Anti-Corruption Institution. The strategy, which was adopted by the Anti-corruption Ministerial Committee, includes “enhancing transparency,” “enabling accountability,” and “ending impunity” as its objectives. Its vision furthermore highlights the principles of integrity by calling for “a prosperous society where the rule of law and integrity prevail and a democratic, fair and transparent state that manages the affairs of the country and invests its resources in a way that meets the requirements of development, quality and modernity.”
Open government is tightly linked to implementing the access to information law, proactive disclosure of information, and the involvement of citizens in decision-making processes. As such, the mission of the National Anti-corruption Strategy recognises the importance “protecting public funds and public affairs from corruption, to safeguard the rights of citizens and provide them with a decent livelihood, through the concerted efforts of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities and with the participation of public administrations, institutions, municipalities, trade unions, civil society, the private sector and the media.” (Republic of Lebanon, n.d.[9]) The implementation framework includes seven outcomes with several outputs and areas of work that directly contribute to open government initiatives (see Box 2.4).
The implementation framework of the National Anti-corruption Strategy includes a set of outputs that support open government initiatives, the most important are:
1. Completing and activating specialised anti-corruption legislation (including the Right of Access to Information law):
Creation and operationalisation of the national anti-corruption authority.
Establishment of an effective system for financial disclosure and anti-illicit enrichment.
Encouragement and protection of anti-corruption whistleblowers.
Establishment of an effective system for managing conflict of interests.
Promotion of compliance with the law on the Right of Access to Information.
2. Protecting the integrity of human resources management for the public sector.
3. Enhancing the integrity of the public procurement system.
4. Supporting the role of the judicial system in combating corruption:
5. Supporting the role of oversight and inspection bodies in combating corruption:
6. Promoting community participation in disseminating a culture of integrity:
Raising of citizen awareness on the impact of corruption and their role in rejecting it.
Investment in future generations through education and teaching.
Non-governmental organisations empowered to play a constructive role in promoting a culture of integrity.
Enhancement of the capacity of journalists to work on revealing instances of corruption and providing coverage of related reform efforts.
7. Integrating preventive measures against corruption at the sectoral level:
While the Digital Transformation Strategy and the National Anti-corruption Strategy, and their respective action plans, are the most important strategic documents linked to open government, several other ongoing public sector reforms include open government initiatives. Notably, these include the national action plan for the implementation of the Right of Access to Information law (discussed in Chapter 3), the ongoing reforms regarding human resources (see Chapter 4), efforts to strengthen public sector procurement transparency and accountability, as well as OMSAR’s co-operation with the Central Inspection Board regarding the development of key performance indicators for the public sector, some of which aim to measure the implementation of open government principles.
Thus, even though there is no national open government strategy, Lebanon is already implementing a variety of open government initiatives, and has included several more in its strategic documents. In order to build awareness among the public administration and create a common vision of open government, as well as to inform citizens about ongoing initiatives, Lebanon could consider elaborating an open government action plan. This plan would build upon the abovementioned definition of open government and regroup all ongoing and planned open government related initiatives. The plan could be made public and be widely disseminated to all public administrations. It could be used to report regularly on implementation progress to all concerned stakeholders. While this approach does not call for the elaboration of more ambitious reforms, it could be a first step to building an open government community and awareness within and outside the public administration. This action plan could be updated through an inclusive process after a certain period (for example one year) to include new and more ambitious actions. It could be managed by OMSAR’s open government team, receive strategic direction from the sub-committee on open government, and could be elaborated through a process involving the recommended open government forum (see Chapter 4).
The Open Government Strategy of the Province of Alberta in Canada is structured as follows:
Mission statement: an explanation of the identified vision and the province’s definition of open government.
Drivers: five key elements that motivated the province to design the strategy, including “A wealth of new digital opportunities transforming everyday life for many citizens and companies.”
Goals: four key objectives and related sub-objectives, including “the public service working together with citizens to make government more responsive to meeting the evolving needs of Albertans”.
Outcomes: five main intended results, including “increased transparency” and related measures of success such as “increased freedom of information requests”.
Principles: three principles that guide the implementation of the strategy, including “open by design”.
Activity streams: three “streams” of effort identified by the government, including concrete commitments and ministry accountabilities.
Source: Province of Alberta (n.d.[10]), Open Government Strategy, https://open.alberta.ca/documentation/strategic-plan.
Elaborate an open government action plan that would group all ongoing and planned open government related initiatives into a common approach in order to foster an open government culture and stakeholder community inside and outside the public administration.
Disseminate the open government action plan and the open government definition to the public and the public administration as well as inform them regularly about implementation progress.
Going forward, update the open government action plan with more ambitious commitments developed through an inclusive process and eventually transform it into an open government strategy.
References
[5] Government of Lebanon (2019), Lebanon Digital Transformation: Strategies to Actions.
[2] OECD (2019), Open Government in Argentina, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/1988ccef-en.
[1] OECD (2017), Recommendation of the Council on Open Government, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0438.
[4] OECD (2016), Open Government: The Global Context and the Way Forward, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264268104-en.
[3] OGP (2018), OGP Participation and Co-Creation Toolkit, Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/stories/ogps-participation-and-co-creation-toolkit-from-usual-suspects-to-business-as-usual/ (accessed on 15 November 2019).
[7] Province of Alberta (n.d.), Open Government Strategy, https://open.alberta.ca/documentation/strategic-plan.
[6] Republic of Lebanon (n.d.), National Anti-corruption Strategy 2020-2025.