Open government: towards citizen participation in public action?

A look back at the Rendez-vous de l'Expertise on May 23, 2019

Open government: towards citizen participation in public action?

France's major national debate, politicians' income declarations, online access to public services and the attendance rate of members of parliament are just some of the data made available to citizens in the context of open government and the monitoring of public action.

Since 2011, many countries have been involved in the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which encourages them to reform their government towards greater openness and transparency. Open government is a culture of governance that promotes the principles of transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholder participation, in the service of democracy and inclusive growth. It means making information available to citizens at all stages of public action, thus guaranteeing transparency, but also involving them in the construction of public action, making it more effective and legitimate. To achieve this, the media guarantee the neutral and transparent dissemination of information, acting as a link between civil society and the administration. Digital tools enable widespread dissemination and simplified access to public services, making e-government part of the broader concept of open government.

With this in mind, Expertise France is developing the #PAGOF project in partnership with CFI in Côte d'Ivoire, Tunisia and Burkina Faso, to strengthen both administrations and governments - through training and procedures for greater openness and transparency - as well as civil society and the media, to ensure that the information disseminated is properly understood. The approach is global, since it aims to bring together all players - administrations and citizens - with a view to making public decisions transparent and co-constructed, thereby ensuring the accountability of public action.

To what extent can the development of open government guarantee effective citizen participation?

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