Co-creating policies: Provincial Government Board Opened in Córdoba
During the past Wednesday, April 12 and 19, the Open Government Office of the Province of Cordoba summoned civil society organizations at a dialogue table. This, in the framework of the elaboration of the provincial goal that will be part of the National Plan of Action of Argentina before OGP during the years 2017 to 2019.
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Within the framework of the Open Government Alliance (OGP), Argentina will have to submit a new National Action Plan in July 2017, which will contemplate new commitments regarding transparency, accountability and citizen participation.
The Open Government Alliance was launched in 2011 to provide an international platform for domestic reformers committed to making their governments accountable, more open and improving their responsiveness to their citizens. Since then, OGP has moved from 8 participating countries to the 64 countries indicated on the map below. In all these countries, government and civil society work together to develop and implement ambitious reforms around open government.
The concept of “open government” is based on 3 fundamental pillars: transparency, participation and collaboration. It implies a new paradigm, under which decision-makers put citizens at the center of public policy and include them in their design, understanding that greater citizen participation in the formulation of public policies contributes to a more open government and that Accountable to citizens.
The last plan of action presented by our country was in 2015, and included commitments assumed both by the administration of Cristina Fernandez and by the current management of Mauricio Macri. For this 2017, from the Ministry of Modernization of the Nation, it was decided to incorporate a section in the plan that is made up of subnational commitments.
In this regard, the provinces are invited to add a goal to this new plan. During the end of 2016, federal meetings were organized by the federal executive, explaining the methodology for the elaboration of commitments. In this sense and according to the process explained, the goals had to be co-created with civil society.
The relevance of the Open Government as a new cultural paradigm in the sphere of state management lies in the possibility of incorporating the citizenry in the decision-making processes of the government. A more transparent and accountable administration of society translates into stronger and more legitimate institutions.
The past Wednesday, April 12 and 19, from the Secretariat of the Governorate of the Province of Cordoba, civil society organizations were summoned to participate in two dialogue panels. During both meetings we worked on the creation of the commitment that the Province of Cordoba will assume in the National Action Plan of Argentina before OGP 2017-2019.
Among the organizations that participated in these tables are the AGA Association, the Nuestra Córdoba Citizen Network, the Córdoba Environmental Forum, FUNDEPS, the Federal Government Institute, Open Data Córdoba, among others. The debate was essentially about the need to achieve the institutionalization of the paradigm of Open Government within the government of the Province of Cordoba. Also discussed was the possibility of creating an Open Government Portal belonging to the province.
From FUNDEPS we consider this one, as an important step in the progress toward the establishment of Open Government policies in the province. The institutionalization of spaces with these characteristics would achieve, in the future, greater and better mechanisms of citizen participation. Consequently, the levels of accountability and transparency of government management in Córdoba would increase.
More information
We participated in the Open Government Partnership Summit in Paris
Climate Change and Open Government at the Global TAI Meeting
Participation in the Regional Meeting of Subnational Entities by the Open Government
Contact
Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org
