9th August 2013
The Open Government Partnership summit in London is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the growing engagement from civil society organisations. The OGP is reaching an important milestone, with the closure of its first cycle of country commitments and independent assessments. The summit will be an inclusive space where governments can announce inspiring projects and collaborate…
19th July 2013
When David Cameron said in 2010 that lobbying was ‘the next scandal waiting to happen’ he was both right and wrong. Right because it is an area which is ripe for scandal – a potentially unsavoury mix of money, power, politics and special interests. Wrong because by the time he said it, the scandal was…
17th July 2013
Today (17 July 2013) the Coalition Government published the “Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill“, which sets out its plans for a “lobbying register”. On the face-of-it, this should be a positive step on a critical aspect of open government: making it transparent who influences government’s decisions. But the devil – as…
12th July 2013
Yesterday (11 July 2013) brought revelations that two major private providers of public services, G4S and Serco, may have been overcharging the Ministry of Justice on contracts to electronically tag offenders to the tune of the “low tens of millions” of pounds. The Guardian reported that: “Whitehall sources say that a new forensic audit will…
9th July 2013
This article was originally posted on Left Foot Forward: http://www.leftfootforward.org/2013/06/what-is-there-to-play-for-in-the-second-half-of-the-uks-g8-presidency/ After the photo opportunities, early morning swims and talk of famous blues musicians last week in Lough Erne, the temptation is to think it’s all over for the UK’s Presidency of the G8. David Cameron staked his political capital on bringing together leaders to reach agreement…
27th June 2013
Today (27 June 2013) sees the publication of the UK’s draft Open Government Action Plan, which has been developed with extensive input from members of this civil society network. The draft plan sets out the case for enhanced transparency, participation and accountability in government, acknowledges the need for the UK to take a lead in…
10th May 2013
This was originally posted on the international Open Government Partnership blog: http://blog.opengovpartnership.org/2013/05/critical-components-for-engaging-civil-society-in-the-national-action-plan/ In two recent, companion posts on this site, Graham Gordon from the UK OGP Civil Society Network and Ilaria Miller from the Cabinet Office reflect on whether the process of drafting the UK’s second National Action Plan (NAP) has been worth it. Both, despite the challenges, agree that…
9th May 2013
This was originally posted on the international Open Government Partnership blog: http://blog.opengovpartnership.org/2013/05/government-and-civil-society-joint-working-on-the-uk-action-plan-definitely-worth-it-2/ I have been involved in the OGP since its early beginnings and it has been a real privilege to witness the growth of a movement so exciting and ambitious. The idea of making governments more open and transparent, because this benefits not just the…
25th April 2013
This was originally posted on the international Open Government Partnership blog: http://blog.opengovpartnership.org/2013/04/civil-society-participation-in-drafting-the-uk-national-action-plan-has-it-been-worth-it/ Today the UK government planned to publish its first draft of the new National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership. The aim was to coincide with the Steering Group Meeting in London and to show the progress made so far in developing commitments…
18th March 2013
The Guardian has published a piece on the need for data integrity if open data is to improve government transparency, particularly in the developing world. The piece, written by Dr Anne Thurston, founder and director of the International Records Management Trust, calls on the UK government to encourage data integrity as part of its international transparency…