Chapter 2. A structured approach to open government

OECD evidence shows that, despite the existence of many open government initiatives at national and subnational government levels, a coherent and structured approach is often lacking, even though it is important to ensure a cultural shift and to enable a strategic use of open government initiatives. Therefore, the OECD Recommendation on Open Government advises adherents “to develop, adopt and implement open government strategies and initiatives.” According to the Recommendation, “an open government strategy 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.”

The open government approach adopted by the municipality of Salé is based on a number of practices that aim to promote transparency, stakeholder participation, integrity and accountability (see discussion below). Although implemented in a regular manner, these initiatives do not form part of a global vision or strategy – a challenge shared by many cities and countries that are implementing open government reforms. While ad hoc and specific initiatives increase confidence and enable policies to be better designed in a given sector, these do not lead to the strategic use of open government to transform the administration as a whole, and its connection with its citizenry. Nor do they allow a common vision to shape the future of the city. The city of Edmonton in Canada (see Box ‎2.1) has launched the “Open City Initiative” in an attempt to define the objectives that will form the basis of the city’s vision for 2040. Similarly, the municipality of Salé could consider developing a strategy for open government. It would group together all current initiatives and propose a roadmap for the future of open government in Salé. By setting objectives, the strategy would enable activities to be prioritised – including long and medium-term ones – and define the needed budget and corresponding human resources. Such a strategy would include a vision of the human resources and training required, as well as indicators for evaluation and impact, so as to measure its success. The strategy would enable all actors to agree on the pathway to be followed, and could set out a long-term vision that goes beyond the municipal council’s current electoral mandate.

Box ‎2.1. Open City initiative, Edmonton, Canada

The Open City Initiative outlines how the City Council will advance the vision of the city and its strategic objectives, defined in The Way Ahead, the vision of the city leading up to 2040. The initiative is based on five principles (transparency, participation, collaboration, innovation and inclusion) and revolves around five key goals:

GOAL ONE: FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS - The City of Edmonton’s practices are aligned to support openness, transparency and consistency.

GOAL TWO: OPEN ENGAGEMENT - Through innovative and inclusive public engagement approaches, the City creates opportunities for people to interact with the City and impact the design, development and delivery of public programmes, services and policies. The City supports community building and leadership for engaged citizenship through education and collaboration.

GOAL THREE: OPEN DATA - The City will enhance the quality and increase the quantity of information available through the Open Data Programme. Through provisioning, delivering, consuming and crowdsourcing data, the City will enhance services, stimulate economic opportunities, encourage innovation and unlock new social values.

GOAL FOUR: OPEN INFORMATION - Information is provided to Edmontonians to promote participation and collaboration, increase knowledge and build capacity in the community.

GOAL FIVE: OPEN ANALYTICS - By leveraging the vast stores of City data and new analytic capabilities, Open Analytics supports informed policy development and decision making. Tools and resources are provided to citizens and City staff to empower them to work with data.

The initiative also includes actions for each goal, together with progress indicators.

Source: (City of Edmonton, 2017[9])

References

[9] City of Edmonton (2017), Open City Initiative, https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/Open_City_Initiative.pdf (accessed on 28 May 2018).

[10] GIZ (2017), Le Cadre législatif et réglementaire de la gouvernance participative locale.

[8] High Commissioner for Planning (2017), General Population and Housing Census in Morocco 2014, http://rgphentableaux.hcp.ma/Default1/ (accessed on 28 May 2018).

[14] International Centre for Municipal Development (1999), Local Government Participatory Practices Manual, http://www.fcm.ca (accessed on 28 May 2018).

[18] l’OBS avec Rue89 (2014), “La carte de (presque) tous les accidents de la route en 2012”, https://www.nouvelobs.com/rue89/rue89-nos-vies-connectees/20140625.RUE4560/la-carte-de-presque-tous-les-accidents-de-la-route-en-2012.html (accessed on 28 May 2018).

[11] Mairie de Paris (2018), La Charte parisienne de la participation est adoptée – Paris.fr, https://www.paris.fr/actualites/consultation-numerique-charte-parisienne-de-la-participation-4580 (accessed on 30 January 2018).

[12] Mairie de Paris (2010), Charte Parisienne de la Participation, http://www.pariscadecs.fr/medias/pdf/charte-parisienne-de-la-participation.pdf (accessed on 30 January 2018).

[22] Ministère de l’Intérieur, 2017 (n.d.), Élections, http://www.elections.ma/elections/communales/resultats.aspx#.

[15] OECD (2019), Open Government in La Marsa, Sayada and Sfax, OECD, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/governance/open-government-in-la-marsa-sayada-and-sfax-in-tunisia_9789264310995-en.

[3] OECD (2017), Recommendation of the Council on Public Integrity, http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/OECD-Recommendation-Public-Integrity.pdf (accessed on 30 January 2018).

[6] OECD (2017), Accompagner les réformes de la gouvernance locale au Maroc : Guide de Bonnes Pratiques.

[7] OECD (2017), Le rôle des élus au sein des collectivités territoriales du Maroc : vers une démocratie locale plus proche des citoyens.

[20] OECD (2017), Recommandation du Conseil sur le Gouvernement Ouvert, https://www.oecd.org/gov/Recommendation-Gouvernement-Ouvert-Approuv%C3%A9e-141217.pdf (accessed on 19 April 2018).

[1] OECD (2017), Recommendation of the Council on Open Government, https://www.oecd.org/gov/Recommendation-Open-Government-Approved-Council-141217.pdf (accessed on 19 April 2018).

[2] OECD (2016), Open Government: The Global Context and the Way Forward, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264268104-en.

[4] OECD (2015), Open Government in Morocco, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264226685-en.

[19] OECD (2013), Regulatory Consultation: A MENA-OECD Practitioners’ guide for engaging stakeholders in the rule-making process, https://www.oecd.org/mena/governance/MENA-Practitioners-Guide-%20EN.pdf (accessed on 21 March 2018).

[16] OECD (2011), Government at a Glance 2011, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2011-en.

[5] OGP (2017), OGP Local Program | Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/local (accessed on 21 March 2018).

[17] Open Knowledge Foundation (2017), Qu’est-ce que l’Open Data?, Open Data Handbook, http://opendatahandbook.org/guide/fr/what-is-open-data/ (accessed on 19 April 2018).

[21] Paris, O. (n.d.), Open Data Portal Paris, http://opendata.paris.fr/page/home.

[13] Ville de Dieppe (n.d.), Direction relation aux Citoyens, http://tablet.dieppe.fr/menus/la-mairie-5/services-municipaux-82/la-direction-de-la-democratie-locale-et-de-la-citoyennete-276 (accessed on 30 January 2018).

Chapter 2. A structured approach to open government