3. Conclusion: Towards an integrated open government ecosystem in Canada

Abstract

The concluding Chapter includes the main policy recommendations for Canada to move forward with the creation of an ecosystem that puts the open government principles of transparency, accountability, integrity and stakeholder participation at the heart of decision-making processes and that will ultimately allow for the development of an open government culture in all public institutions.

    

In most OECD Member and Partner countries, including in Canada, the enabling environment for open government is the result of a combination of different layers of laws, policies and institutions, coupled with very diverse implementation modalities and practices. This is due to the fact that, traditionally, public policies that aim to foster the open government principles of transparency, accountability, integrity, and stakeholder participation and related policies and practices (e.g. open data) have most commonly been treated through separate policy agendas, each with their own (often well-established) governance processes and mechanisms. The emergence of the concept of open government invites countries to put all policies that aim to foster government-citizen relationships under one common umbrella to foster synergies and achieve more and better outcomes for citizens is still fairly recent.

Through the design of its first-ever Open Government Strategy, Canada is leading the way for the next generation of reforms and taking first steps towards an integrated open government ecosystem. The findings of this OECD Open Government Scan confirm that the Canadian federal government is ready to take on the challenge to design and implement a far-reaching holistic Open Government Strategy and establish a new benchmark for other OECD Member and Partner countries.

The OECD recognizes that the policy recommendations proposed in this Scan are ambitious and not all of them can be implemented at once. Taken together, they propose an agenda for Canada to move towards an ecosystem that puts the open government principles of transparency, accountability, integrity and stakeholder participation at the heart of decision-making processes and that will ultimately allow for the development of an open government culture in all public institutions and each individual public officials (Figure 3.1). While some recommendations can be implemented fairly quickly, others may require changing decrees and mandates and will therefore take longer to achieve. The OECD stands ready to accompany Canada in this process.

Figure 3.1. The OGS could be a first step towards a fully integrated open government ecosystem in Canada

Source: Author’s own elaboration.

Policy recommendations

1. 1. Create the framework conditions for a successful Open Government Strategy.

   • Fully involve the senior leadership of the Canadian government in the design and implementation of the Strategy.

     • Identify political champions and involve them in all steps of the development and implementation of the Strategy.

   • Build the Strategy on a broader understanding of the concept of open government, by including elements relating to the promotion of transparency, accountability, citizen and stakeholder participation and the protection of civic space in it.

     • Consider including the revised definition of the concept of open government in the Strategy and make efforts to disseminate it widely in order to ensure that the whole-of-society understands that open government refers to a wider agenda that focuses on fostering the government-citizen nexus.

   • Establish a clear roadmap for the development of the Strategy, including an overview of key steps (e.g. planned launching date; intermediary steps that are needed; etc.), a citizen and stakeholder participation plan and a communications plan.

2. 2. Ensure the existence of the necessary legal, regulatory and policy frameworks for the Open Government Strategy.

   • Consider coupling the design of the Strategy with a review of the existing Directive on Open Government or – eventually – with the design of a Policy on Open Government. The updated Directive or a new Policy could, for example, be used to introduce the new broader understanding of open government and fully integrate the wider participation and accountability agenda into the open government agenda.

   • Ensure that the Strategy complements and strengthens existing policy frameworks, including the National Action Plan on Open Government and the Policy on Service and Digital and associated policy documents.

     • Use the Strategy as a tool to promote initiatives that are less appealing to an external audience but that are nevertheless fundamental to a successful open government agenda, such as the establishment of governance mechanisms and processes.

3. 3. Create institutional arrangements and co-ordinate the implementation of the Open Government Strategy.

   • Empower the Open Government Office of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) for it to become the co-ordinator of and / or centre of expertise for a new broader open government approach that fully integrates the transparency, accountability, citizen participation and civic space agendas.

     • Consider reviewing the positioning of the open government file within TBS to elevate its profile.

       • In the short- to medium-term, the current Open Government Office could be elevated to the Assistant Deputy Minister level and be given additional responsibilities (e.g. the citizen participation file).

       • In the long-term and as a means to further raise the profile of the open government file, Canada could be the first OECD Member country to create the position of the Chief Open Government Officer at the Deputy Minister level. This could be coupled with the creation of a Centre of Expertise for Open Government within the structure of TBS.

   • Consider giving the leadership of the citizen and stakeholder participation file to the Open Government Office of TBS. This would mean that TBS would, for example, take ownership for disseminating the existing Public Engagement Principles and ensure that they are applied across the whole federal government. TBS would further become the primary entry point for advice and support on any kind of participatory initiative conducted by departments and agencies and for leading the elaborating of regulatory and policy frameworks on citizen participation.

     • Make the Open Government Strategy the primary tool to move forward the participation agenda.

   • Coordinate the process to design and implement the Strategy across government and with non-public stakeholders.

     • Update the activities, roles, and responsibilities of both the Open Government Co-ordinators and Director Generals to reflect the new approach to open government. The Co-ordinations could function as their departments’ contact points for the OGS, while the Director Generals (DGs) could support efforts to ensure policies their institutions design and implement follow open government approaches.

     • Upgrade existing co-ordination mechanisms for open government.

       • In the short term, consider creating a mechanism that facilitates the implementation of the OGS. This Open Government Mechanism could be based on the existing Multi-stakeholder Forum, retaking its current composition and expanding its mandate.

       • In the medium- to long-term, consider creating a National Open Government Committee composed of all relevant public and non-public stakeholders as the main co-ordination mechanism for all policies and practices that fall under the realm of the concept of open government.

4. 4. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Open Government Strategy.

   • Consider coupling the development of the Strategy with the design of an open government maturity model based on a clear theory of change, indicators, targets and benchmarks.

   • Create an integrated system to monitor the Strategy and its implementation and make results available on the Open Government Portal to allow public and non-public stakeholders to track progress on a constant basis.

   • Provide a mandate to TBS to develop an annual M&E plan for the Open Government Strategy.

5. 5. Communicate around the Open Government Strategy.

   • Make dedicated efforts to ensure that all public officials are aware of the Strategy’s existence and that high-ranking officials hold their institutions accountable for implementation. This may involve the organisation of high visibility events and the establishment of a dedicated communication strategy for the OGS.

6. 6. Ensure the successful operationalisation and take-up of the Open Government Strategy.

   • Design an (online) Open Government Toolkit for public officials to facilitate the implementation of the Strategy. The Toolkit could provide an overview of concrete actions that any public official can take to foster interactions with citizens and increase his or her institution’s openness.

   • Develop an online Open Government Toolkit for citizens, explaining their rights and providing an overview of avenues for collaboration and interaction with public institutions.

   • Consider creating an online course on the Open Government Strategy and make it available free of charge on the Open Government Portal.

   • Foster the creation of an open government community of practice bringing together public officials and non-public stakeholders from all branches of the state and all levels of government that are interested in open government topics and / or have participated in trainings on open government policies and practices. The new open government community of practice could integrate the existing Public Engagement Community of Practice.

     • Consider involving non-public stakeholders such as civil society leaders as well as representatives from academia, the private sector, and trade unions in the community of practice.

   • Consider linking the implementation of the Open Government Strategy with ministers’ mandate letters.

     • Consider renaming the document “Open and Accountable Government” as “Open, Responsive and Participatory Government” and updating it to include explicit provisions on participatory practices.

7. 7. Use the Strategy to foster the move towards an Open State.

   • Use the Strategy to support existing open government agendas at the subnational level.

     • Share the new definition of open government with the subnational level in order to increase coherence and harmonization of practices across Canada.

     • Consider creating an open government maturity model adopted to the subnational level to allow provinces and territories (and possibly even municipalities) to assess their own levels of openness and take initiatives to increase them.

     • Consider including a dedicated section on open government at the subnational level in the OGS, allowing provinces and territories to outline their own vision and objectives as part of the federal strategy.

References

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[3] Campos, J. and S. Pradhan (eds.) (2007), The Many Faces of Corruption. Tracking Vulnerabilities at the Sector Level, The World Bank.

[4] Matsheza, P. (2012), Why work in sectors matters, UNESCI IIEP, pp. 10-11, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000219686.

[1] OECD (2020), Taking an integrated approach to the promotion of transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholders’ participation: Towards an Open Government Strategy, Working Party on Open Government, GOV/PGC/OG(2020)4/REV1.

[5] OECD (2015), Consequences of Corruption at the Sector Level and Implications for Economic Growth and Development, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264230781-en.