Dickson Ng`hily
TANZANIA is among 15 sub-national governments that
will be part of a pilot programme, designed to identify and involve
more people in efforts to promote open government around the world.
The Guardian 
The
initiative was announced by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) which
received 45 applications to participate and the final cohort represents
a huge diversity of interest, with good regional balance and a variety
of different approaches to open government.
Informational availed to this paper indicates that many more have expressed interest in being involved as part of a wider network of reformers working in and around sub-national governments.
Those chosen for the sub-national pilot project include Kigoma Municipality, Tanzania; Austin, US; Buenos Aires, Argentina: Jalisco, Mexico: La Libertad, Peru; Ontario, Canada; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Egeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya; Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Scotland, UK; Bojonegoro, Indonesia; Seoul, Korea and Tbilisi, Georgia.
In a press briefing availed to The Guardian yesterday, the incoming OGP Chief Executive, Sanjay Pradhan, said; “I am so excited about this wealth of interest in transforming people’s experience of their governments at a local level.
I know from my earliest experiences in Bihar, India, how important transparency and accountability are at all levels of government, and how much their absence impacts all levels of society.”
He added: “Strengthening open government at the local level can directly improve citizens’ lives because many crucial public services are administered locally.
I am thrilled that OGP is able to support and encourage some of the most interesting reform and innovation we’re seeing anywhere in the world.”
This first cohort will join a broader network of reformers and work with OGP to advance their existing open government programmes. They have each committed to work with civil society groups and citizens in order to share ideas about how to reform government and to develop specific commitments.
OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism will assess the implementation of these commitments and hold the governments to account for their progress.
OGP is currently a 69 country partnership aiming to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
The selected 15 sub-national governments will be working with civil society organisations to develop their own, specific commitments to open government, which will be assessed by OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM).
They will become part of a broader network of sub-national governments, civil society organisations, academics, and others, who are passionate about changing and improving the culture of government and see OGP as a route to do this.
Every one of the sub-national governments chosen for this project has already distinguished itself by recognising that open and responsive governments are better governments.
OGP is tapping into a growing desire from governments who are looking for new ways to interact with citizens, build trust and harness the opportunities provided by new technologies to improve the lives of all citizens.
OGP will also be creating a broader network of reformers working in and around sub-national governments. OGP will also encourage national governments to involve more sub-national participants in the development of commitments in National Action Plans.
At the end of the pilot period (end 2017) OGP’s Steering Committee will review how each of these elements of the pilot have worked and decide what the ongoing role for sub-national governments should be.
While OGP has learnt a lot about how to support participating governments to make ambitious commitments and share experience on how citizens and civil society organisations are using OGP to spur change, the Steering Committee is keen to test new ways in which OGP can have an impact on people’s lives.
The OGP pilot programme for sub-national governments is one way of doing that. The amount of interest shown by sub-national governments, and civil society organisations and others, demonstrates that that there does seem to be space and demand for OGP to play a role and bring the model that is working nationally to a more local level.
Among others, the objective of the pilot programme is to foster more diverse political leadership and commitment from different levels of government to OGP and to hold governments accountable at a local level, where many citizens are directly accessing services and information
Informational availed to this paper indicates that many more have expressed interest in being involved as part of a wider network of reformers working in and around sub-national governments.
Those chosen for the sub-national pilot project include Kigoma Municipality, Tanzania; Austin, US; Buenos Aires, Argentina: Jalisco, Mexico: La Libertad, Peru; Ontario, Canada; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Egeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya; Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Scotland, UK; Bojonegoro, Indonesia; Seoul, Korea and Tbilisi, Georgia.
In a press briefing availed to The Guardian yesterday, the incoming OGP Chief Executive, Sanjay Pradhan, said; “I am so excited about this wealth of interest in transforming people’s experience of their governments at a local level.
I know from my earliest experiences in Bihar, India, how important transparency and accountability are at all levels of government, and how much their absence impacts all levels of society.”
He added: “Strengthening open government at the local level can directly improve citizens’ lives because many crucial public services are administered locally.
I am thrilled that OGP is able to support and encourage some of the most interesting reform and innovation we’re seeing anywhere in the world.”
This first cohort will join a broader network of reformers and work with OGP to advance their existing open government programmes. They have each committed to work with civil society groups and citizens in order to share ideas about how to reform government and to develop specific commitments.
OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism will assess the implementation of these commitments and hold the governments to account for their progress.
OGP is currently a 69 country partnership aiming to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
The selected 15 sub-national governments will be working with civil society organisations to develop their own, specific commitments to open government, which will be assessed by OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM).
They will become part of a broader network of sub-national governments, civil society organisations, academics, and others, who are passionate about changing and improving the culture of government and see OGP as a route to do this.
Every one of the sub-national governments chosen for this project has already distinguished itself by recognising that open and responsive governments are better governments.
OGP is tapping into a growing desire from governments who are looking for new ways to interact with citizens, build trust and harness the opportunities provided by new technologies to improve the lives of all citizens.
OGP will also be creating a broader network of reformers working in and around sub-national governments. OGP will also encourage national governments to involve more sub-national participants in the development of commitments in National Action Plans.
At the end of the pilot period (end 2017) OGP’s Steering Committee will review how each of these elements of the pilot have worked and decide what the ongoing role for sub-national governments should be.
While OGP has learnt a lot about how to support participating governments to make ambitious commitments and share experience on how citizens and civil society organisations are using OGP to spur change, the Steering Committee is keen to test new ways in which OGP can have an impact on people’s lives.
The OGP pilot programme for sub-national governments is one way of doing that. The amount of interest shown by sub-national governments, and civil society organisations and others, demonstrates that that there does seem to be space and demand for OGP to play a role and bring the model that is working nationally to a more local level.
Among others, the objective of the pilot programme is to foster more diverse political leadership and commitment from different levels of government to OGP and to hold governments accountable at a local level, where many citizens are directly accessing services and information
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