It’s time to start thinking differently

You have a big role to play this year. Scotland is developing its second Open Government Action Plan and we’re well placed as a network to bring new ideas to the forefront of discussions around building a government that works better for the people of Scotland.

Before launching into the next plan, there’s still some work to do on Scotland’s previous action plan, which officially ended in December 2017. This week’s workshop on Scotland’s commitment to align the National Performance Framework with the Sustainable Development Goals brought a number of us together to support and challenge the government on its open government plans.

Not only was I pleased to see so many people from the network participate, I got a sense of what Scotland’s next action plan could be like. I saw government and civil society colleagues come together to have frank yet positive conversations that can move us towards the same goal. It was a great event to start the year with!

In March, we’ll receive the final independent report on the progress the Scottish Government made on its first action plan. I’m sure that the report will provide helpful recommendations on how the partnership in Scotland can improve. But I don’t get a sense that we’re waiting around until then to start thinking differently.

The Network’s Action Plan Sub-group has been meeting with the government to develop proposals for a clearer, more robust and representative governance for the next action plan, which will be shared in the coming weeks. We’re also developing a clear mobilisation plan to take us from February through to July when it’s hoped that the next action plan will be signed off. The Open Government Partnership’s Annual Summit takes place on 17-19 July, which seems a key milestone.

We’ll also be kicking off again with our profiles of network members, interviews on open government issues and themes, and sharing more information during the course of developing the next plan. My priority is to make sure that you are well informed, engaged and kept updated throughout the process!

I’d also like to welcome all of our new members and encourage each of you to use the Network’s forum to share stories, ideas and events that you think other members might like to hear about or engage with.

I hope you find the rest of this update helpful and I’m excited to work with you over the course of this year. Watch this space for more information about the next action plan!

Thanks

Paul Bradley
Network Coordinator

UK Conference

The four Open Government Networks across the UK are coming together to host an all-day conference on 15th March as part of the Imagine Belfast Festival! The event will be held at The Mac in Belfast and will also be livestreamed through twitter. Save the date andfind out more!

The Gathering

The Big Lottery Funded Open Government Pioneers Project is co-hosting two events on youth participation at this year’s Gathering with partners The Wood Foundation and IDEAS: “Mobilising youth action: perspectives from the youth & third sectors” and “Are you a young citizen advocate for change?“

SDGs and the NPF

There was fantastic input from the OpenGov and SDG Networks at Wednesday’s workshop on aligning the National Performance Framework with the Sustainable Development Goals. More information will be shared with the network soon. The SDG Network’sOpen Letter, which a number of you signed, has also been published with over 300 signatories.

Firestarter event

The OpenGov Firestarter event ‘When OpenGov met co-production” is taking place on 1st February and is open for registration. As Scotland prepares to co-produce our second Open Government Partnership Action Plan this event provides an opportunity to learn from the process of developing the first plan, and help shape the process this time around.

International

The Open Government Pioneers Project will turn its attention to a summer of international engagement between June and August, supporting the Open Government Partnership to share learning and experience between partners across the world. Get in touch if you would like to help shape our webinar series!

Meetups

We’ll be hosting a range of meet-ups in 2018 as part of efforts to deliver a far reaching mobilisation plan to bring new people and ideas into the development of Scotland’s next Open Government Action Plan. Ourmeet-up groups have over 300 members, many of who are not in the network and don’t normally talk to us.