The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. To participate in OGP, countries must meet minimum eligibility criteria, develop country action plans with specific open government commitments through public consultation, and undergo independent reporting on their progress. OGP is overseen by a steering committee of governments and civil society organizations to encourage sharing of best practices among participating countries.

1. About OGP Additional Elements
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a global Peer Consultation
effort to make governments better. Citizens want To encourage the sharing of best practices and
more transparent, effective and accountable innovation and maintain high standards, all OGP
government — with institutions that empower people countries will participate in working level sessions
and are responsive to their aspirations. But this work with other participating countries and the OGP
is never easy. Steering Committee during the commitment
development phase.
It takes political leadership. It takes technical
knowledge. It takes sustained effort and investment.
It takes collaboration between government and civil
society.
Independent Reporting Mechanism
All governments will publish a progress report
The Open Government Partnership is a new approximately three months after the end of the
multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete 12-month OGP implementation cycle. As a
commitments from governments to promote complement to the self-assessment, an
independent assessment report will be written by
promoting transparency,
transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption,
and harness new technologies to strengthen well-respected local governance experts from each empowering citizens,
governance. In the spirit of multi-stakeholder OGP participating country.
collaboration, OGP is overseen by a Steering fighting corruption, and
Committee of governments and civil society
organizations. harnessing new technologies
OGP Networking Mechanism
To become a member of OGP, participating countries OGP offers a ready-made network of governments
to strengthen governance
must: and non-governmental actors that have remarkable
track records and experience tackling these
embrace an Open Government Declaration challenges in innovative ways. All OGP countries will
deliver a concrete action plan, developed with benefit from a networking mechanism — a technical
public consultation and feedback assistance facility established to connect countries
with the networks, expertise, and resources they
commit to independent reporting on their
need to develop truly innovative open government
progress going forward
initiatives.
The Open Government Partnership will formally
launch in September 2011, when the governments on
the Steering Committee will embrace the Open
OGP Portal
Government Declaration and announce country The OGP portal is the initiative’s online presence. It is
action plans. We invite you to stand with us in the primary repository for all OGP country action
September, signal your intent to join OGP, and deliver plans as well as the declaration of principles.
your own commitments when we meet again in
Brazil in March 2012.
www.opengovpartnership.org

2. Grand Challenges Country Action Plan Concrete Commitments
OGP commitments will be structured around a set of Governments will develop OGP country action plans All OGP commitments should reflect four core open
five “grand challenges” that governments face. In that elaborate concrete commitments. Governments government principles.
year one, countries will choose at least one of these should begin their OGP country action plans by
grand challenges and develop concrete sharing existing efforts related to their chosen grand Transparency: Information on government
commitments around open government to address challenge(s), including specific open government activities and decisions is open, comprehensive,
it. OGP welcomes and encourages countries to strategies and ongoing programs. Action Plans timely, freely available to the public and meets basic
tackle more than one challenge in year one. should then set out governments’ OGP grand open data standards (e.g. raw data, machine
challenge commitments, which stretch government readability).
Improving Public Services: practice beyond its current baseline. These
the full spectrum of citizen services including health, commitments may build on existing efforts, identify Citizen Participation: Governments seek to
education, criminal justice, water, electricity, new steps to complete on-going reforms, or initiate mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide
telecommunications and any other relevant service action in an entirely new area. OGP recognizes that input, and make contributions that lead to more
areas, by fostering public service improvement or all countries will be starting from different baselines. responsive, innovative and effective governance.
private sector innovation Countries are charged with selecting the grand
challenges and related concrete commitments that Accountability: There are rules, regulations and
Increasing Public Integrity:
most relate to their unique country contexts. mechanisms in place that call upon government
corruption and public ethics, access to information,
campaign finance reform, media and civil society actors to justify their actions, act upon criticisms or
freedom requirements made of them, and accept
responsibility for failure to perform with respect to
More Effectively Managing Public Resources: OGP Steering Committee laws or commitments.
budgets, procurement, natural resources and foreign
assistance Technology and Innovation: Governments
The OGP is overseen by a multi-stakeholder embrace the importance of providing citizens with
Creating Safer Communities: International Steering Committee, comprised of open access to technology, the role of new
public safety, the security sector, disaster and crisis governments (blue) and leading civil society technologies in driving innovation, and the
response, environmental threats representatives (orange). importance of increasing the capacity of citizens to
use technology.
Increasing Corporate Accountability: Norway
corporate responsibility on issues such as the United Kingdom
environment, anti-corruption, consumer protection, United States
and community engagement National Security Archives (US)
International Budget Project (Intl) MKSS (India)
Mexico Transparency and Accountability Initiative (Intl) Philippines
Countries may focus Instituto Mexicano para Revenue Watch Institute (Intl)
their commitments at the la Competitividad (Mexico) Africa Center for Open Governance (Kenya)
national, local and/or Twaweza (Tanzania) Indonesia
sub-national level — Brazil
Instituto de Estudos
wherever they believe
Socioeconômicos (Brazil) South Africa
their open government
efforts will have the
greatest impact.

3. Minimum Eligibility Criteria
In order to participate in OGP, governments Disclosures Related to Elected
must exhibit a demonstrated commitment to or Senior Officials
open government in four key areas, as Rules that require public disclosure of income
measured by objective indicators and and assets for elected and senior public officials
validated by independent experts. are essential to anti-corruption and open,
accountable government.
Fiscal Transparency
The timely publication of essential budget Citizen Engagement
documents forms the basic building blocks of Open Government requires openness to citizen
budget accountability and an open budget participation and engagement in policymaking
system. and governance, including basic protections for
civil liberties.
Access to Information
An access to information law that guarantees
the public’s right to information and access to
government data is essential to the spirit and
practice of open government.
Roadmap to Participation
Meet the Signal the Undertake broad Develop an OGP Participate in Publicly endorse Publish a
minimum government’s public consultation country plan with peer consultation the OGP self-assessment
eligibility intent to to inform the concrete on the OGP Declaration of report on
criteria (see participate in government’s OGP commitments on country plan with Principles and progress after 12
reverse side), OGP by commitments, and open government other deposit the final months of OGP
and agree to sending a identify a that address at participants and country plan on implementation,
the OGP’s five letter to the multi-stakeholder least one grand the Steering the OGP portal. and cooperate
common OGP Steering forum for regular challenge, drawing Committee. with the
expectations. Committee for public consultation on the expertise independent
posting on the on OGP provided by the reporting
OGP portal. implementation. OGP networking mechanism in
mechanism as generating its
needed. own report.