Annex A. Practical considerations to design an Open Government Strategy

Way to cluster actions / initiatives in an Open Government Strategy

The open government initiatives that are include in the Open Government Strategy are the concrete means to reach the identified objectives and ultimately move towards the vision. Given that open government is a wide field, before designing initiatives, it can be useful to define clusters / activity streams which initiatives will contribute to.

Clustering can be done in different ways, including through a principle-based, sectorial, open state or target-audience approach. It should be noted that these approaches are not exclusive and can be matched (e.g. a principle-based approach can be coupled with a target-audience approach). Clustering should always reflect specific priorities and take into account budgetary and human resource limitations.

Taking a principle-based approach

It is commonly accepted that open government includes initiatives that aim to foster openness through the promotion of the principles of transparency, accountability, integrity and citizen and stakeholder participation. Some countries across the OECD have taken the four principles of open government as a basis to structure and cluster their policy documents in the area.

While keeping a similar basic clustering methodology, some countries have added different / additional dimensions to their definitions of open government. For example, the United States’ Open Government Directive from 2009 was structured around the three axes of transparency, participation and collaboration. Along similar lines, Spain’s 2017-2019 OGP Action Plan has the five following axes: collaboration, participation, transparency, accountability and training.

When taking a principle-based approach the main challenge stems from the fact that the four principles of open government are, in practice, intrinsically related and that the distinctions between the principles are not always clear. Indeed, the most successful initiatives take a holistic open government approach, i.e. they incorporate elements of and contribute to each of the principles (e.g. an open data portal can contribute to making the government more transparent while also increasing citizen participation through the use of data. The increased use of data may in turn foster accountability and integrity; etc.).

Figure A.1. Example of a principle-based approach to an OGS

Taking a sectorial approach

Countries can also take a sectorial approach to the clustering of initiatives in their Open Government Strategies, or they can enrich a principle-based / functional approach with a sectorial approach. The assessment may for example identify important opportunities for open government approaches in policy-making and service-delivery in the health or education sectors, etc. In that case, it can be useful to include concrete sectorial open government measures into the strategy (e.g. design the new health strategy through a participatory approach; create an open data portal for the education sector; etc.).

Taking a sectorial perspective has important advantages (Boehm, 2014[2]; Campos and Pradhan, 2007[3]; OECD, 2015[4]):

Broad approaches do not always take into account the specificities of open government in all sectors. A thorough understanding of how a given sector works, its processes and actors, may however be required to design effective initiatives.
Promoting open government in sectors can translate into more concrete goals and results that directly affect people’s well-being. Fostering openness in a sector can create positive spill-overs to other sectors, as citizens and stakeholders start recovering trust in their government and ask for more reforms.
There may be windows of political opportunity making reforms at sector level more feasible (Matsheza, 2012[5]).
A sectorial approach can be a tool to ensure full buy-in from concerned sectors from the outset.

While a sectorial approach bears great transformative potential, initiatives should always be bound together by a common narrative and shared objectives (e.g. all sector-specific open data initiatives should contribute to the OGS’ overall open data objectives). For a sectorial approach to work in practice, it is of key importance that all actors share a common understanding of open government and of its benefits. In addition, a sectorial approach usually needs to be complemented with elements of a principal-based or target-audience approach, as some open government initiatives necessarily concern more than one sector or even the whole-of-government.

Figure A.2. Example of a sectorial approach

Taking a tool-based approach

Some countries have structured their open government agendas by organising initiatives around specific tools that can foster openness such as open data, public sector innovation, or access to information frameworks. This kind of approach can be used to empower communities that contribute to the broader open government agenda (e.g. the open data movement; the access to information community; the civic space movement; etc.). In order to ensure coherence, it will be important to ensure that there is a strong common narrative and that all initiatives contribute to shared objectives.

Table A.1. Examples of open government tools
Open government principles	Tools
Transparency	Access to information portals Physical tools (service windows) National open data portals and sectoral open data portals (contracting, budget, procurement, etc.) Websites and mobile applications Open source software Algorithmic transparency
Accountability	Citizen audit applications (fix my street, follow the money, etc.) Citizen feedback mechanisms (surveys, apps, letter boxes, etc.) Public hearings (townhall meetings, virtual/physical hearings, etc.)
Stakeholders’ participation	Online tools (consultation platforms, e-vote, e-petitions, etc.) Hackathons Physical meetings Local councils Public consultations Deliberative practices
Note: It is recognised that open government tools usually contribute to more than one of the open government principles.
Source: OECD (2020[1]), Taking an integrated approach to the promotion of transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholders’ participation: Towards an Open Government Strategy, Internal paper presented to the Working Party on Open Government, GOV/PGC/OG(2020)4/REV1.

Figure A.3. Taking a tool-based approach to an OGS

Taking a target audience approach

In some cases it may be advisable to design clusters of initiatives to be included in the OGS according to their target audience. In particular, governments may wish to include streams of activities targeting specific groups of stakeholders (e.g. CSOs, women, LGBT, minorities, etc.). For example, a government may aim to strengthen interactions with youth organisations through their inclusion in the agenda-setting and elaboration of major government policies (e.g. education, environment, health, etc.).

Figure A.4. Example of a target-audience approach

Taking an open state approach

An OGS can even include an open state perspective. Depending on country specific legal context, the strategy may, for instance, include clusters of initiatives to be implemented by each of the branches of power and of independent public institutions and / or a cluster of initiatives targeting the subnational level(s) of government.

Figure A.5. Example of an Open State approach to an OGS

Ways to design open government initiatives

No matter which clustering approach Canada ultimately selects (if any), in order to make the link to day-to-day policy-making, the Open Government Strategy needs to define practical ways to achieve its stated vision and the shared objectives. Initiatives / actions outline the steps that the government aims to take to implement the OGS.

Box A.1 details the characteristics of successful open government initiatives while Figure 1.5 above shows the key role of initiatives in building the bridge between the initial assessment and the country’s vision and objectives.

Initiatives can either be “general” or “detailed and concrete”. While general initiatives (e.g. develop standards, tools and resources to support a new spirit of participation across government) have to be complemented with actions plans that outline concrete steps to implement them, detailed and concrete initiatives which often follow a sectorial approach (e.g. involve citizens in the design of a new youth strategy through the use of a targeted mobile application) do not necessary need to rely on additional action plans to be implemented as they are usually already coupled with clear milestones and timelines.

Box A.1. Characteristics of successful open government initiatives / actions

When developing new open government initiatives or incorporating existing initiatives into the whole-of-government Open Government Strategy, certain key features of successful open government initiatives should be considered. In an ideal case, initiatives should be:

Aligned to the overall vision and the objectives of the strategy

The purpose of the open government initiatives is to give substance to the Open Government Strategy. The initiatives, therefore, have to be coherent with the strategy’s intended vision and its objectives/priorities.

Built on pre-existing work

Open government initiatives to be included in the whole-of-government Open Government Strategy do not have to be new. Initiatives that are already in place can also be assimilated to the new Strategy, which in turn legitimizes, rationalizes and strengthens them by providing them with a powerful narrative and a broader framework. A Whole-of-government Open Government Strategy can make those initiatives that are already in place more coherent and stronger by working together under the same coherent narrative and methodological setting.

Linked to other national strategies

Linking open government initiatives to other national strategies can make them more feasible and successful. For example, an open data/transparency initiative can be part of the OGS as well as the national anti-corruption strategy. Along similar lines, an indigenous consultation initiative can be in the OGS and in the local development strategy.

Linked to resources

Developing and implementing an Open Government Strategy may involve reforming laws and institutions, developing new skills, new technologies and platforms etc., all of which requires human and financial resources. Adequate funding is therefore vital for an efficient and sustainable implementation of open government reforms. The Whole-of-government Strategy should ensure that funding is as transparent and as consistent as possible. Costs should be assessed realistically and wherever possible integrated into the national budget.

Anchored by the open government approach

Initiatives should, whenever possible, be designed in collaboration with different stakeholders and foster collaboration between civil society and public bodies.

Communicated both internally and externally

Communicating about open government initiatives can help expand their impact. Internally, this helps build coalitions and strengthen commitment for this cause across the public sector, including among senior-level executives. Externally, citizens and CSOs who are more aware of such initiatives, and who understand them better are more likely to participate in such efforts.

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

There are different ways to integrate initiatives into Canada’s Open Government Strategy.

Model 1: All initiatives are included in the Open Government Strategy

In this approach, the whole-of-government Open Government Strategy defines the overall vision, sets objectives and specifies all initiatives that are going to be implemented by public institutions over the implementation period. This model is closest to the one proposed by the OGP Action Plan. The model has the disadvantage that it can never cover the entire open government agenda of a country and many ongoing initiatives will be excluded. It may therefore be most suited to countries that are not members of the OGP and that aim to initiate an open government agenda.

Figure A.6. Including all initiatives in the Open Government Strategy

Model 2: The suggested National Open Government Committee periodically defines a whole-of-government working/action plan to implement the strategy

In this approach, the strategy provides the narrative, sets the vision and details the objectives while initiatives are designed periodically (in most cases annually or biannually) along the implementation process by means of a whole-of-government open government working plan. The definition of initiatives is centralized by a single institution or by a Steering Committee which involves all key stakeholders (e.g. the suggested National Open Government Committee, in the case of Canada). In some cases, the whole-of-government working plan may be adopted by decree or another legal document.

Countries that participate in the OGP, such as Canada, can use their OGP Action Plan to implement specific targeted commitments (which should of course also be aligned with the strategy’s objectives) while the whole-of-government open government working plan defines additional initiatives and priorities that affect the whole-of-government. Initiatives that conform the working plans should be broad enough to be implemented by a variety of institutions. In this model, the strategy usually takes a medium to long-term perspective.

Figure A.7. Defining a whole-of-government open government working/action plan

Model 3: Each institution defines its own open government working plan

In this approach, the Open Government Strategy foresees that all public institutions elaborate their own open government working/action plans in order to achieve the commonly agreed vision and objectives. The resulting institutional open government working plan is an official document. Institutions have autonomy to decide initiatives that they are going to implement initiatives that contribute to the vision and objectives of the OGS. Under this scenario, OGP participants can use their NAPs for targeted key initiatives that they wish to give national and international visibility to.

Figure A.8. Defining independent open government working plans for each institution

Model 4: Institutions define initiatives that contribute to the achievement of the strategy’s objectives at their own pace

In this scenario, the whole-of-government Open Government Strategy’s vision and its objectives function as a general guideline that public institutions follow at their own pace. Each individual institution designs and implements its own open government initiatives without developing an institutional action/working plan.

This model grants a high level of autonomy to public institutions and is best applied in those countries that have a mature open government agenda. The main role of the co-ordinating institution is to raise awareness, support institutions in the elaboration of their own open government initiatives and monitor the achievement of the objectives of the overall policy.

Figure A.9. Defining initiatives at different paces

References

[2] Boehm, F. (2014), Mainstreaming anti-corruption into sectors: Practices in U4 partner agencies, Chr. Michelsen Institute, https://www.u4.no/publications/mainstreaming-anti-corruption-into-sectors-practices-in-u4-partner-agencies.

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

[5] 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.

[4] 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.

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