7th November 2023
Anyone who knows me will tell you I love teamwork. As I take on the role of Chair of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Scotland Steering Group, I do so seeing OGP as the ultimate in policy teamwork. And I am delighted that all five of our thematic working groups (Financial Transparency, Data and Digital,…
7th November 2023
As I hand over the chair of the Scottish Open Government Network (to the estimable Juliet Swann – read more from her here), it is a good moment to pause for reflection on what is now a journey of nearly a decade. The Open Government Partnership was founded in 2011 (now famously as one of…
10th February 2021
It’s an important year for open government. In part because of the development of a new action plan which we must shape with government. But also because the world will be watching the UK as the G7 and COP26 take place on these shores in June and November respectively. To paraphrase a recent speech, what…
30th April 2020
From the Board of the Northern Ireland Open Government Network Part 1 – Transparency in a Time of Crisis What is the role of Open Government while we face an unprecedented crisis? The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our normal way of life; it is placing substantial strain on the fabric of government, public services and…
27th February 2020
This article was originally published in The Political Quarterly on 20 January 2020. Marilyn Stathern, in her famous article on the ‘Tyranny of transparency’, asked: ‘what does visibility conceal’? While openness can shed light on some areas, it can also create shadows and shade to hide in. One of the biggest fears for transparency campaigners…
10th October 2019
This blogpost was written by Dr Judith Townend. Dr Judith Townend is a senior lecturer in media and information law at the University of Sussex. She was commissioned by Spotlight on Corruption to prepare a proposal to guide the Open Government commitment to open justice. You can download the report here: Docx | pdf Justice…
8th October 2019
Blogpost originally published here on 4th September 2019, authored by Ben Worthy. How well can we monitor what is happening at Westminster? What happens when we do? This project looks at how new data sources and web platforms have made it easier to monitor Parliament and its members. At the touch of a button, we…
25th September 2019
This blogpost was written by Professor Karim Murji (University of West London) and Asif Afridi (BRAP) Earlier this year, a blogpost made the case for high quality data on ethnicity to understand and address inequalities in the public sector. While we are sympathetic to that call, our research suggests that data quality in itself is…
20th June 2019
From 28-30 May, Canadian civil society and the Canadian Government hosted the Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Ottawa. This year’s Summit had a particular focus on participation, inclusion and impact. Over 2,000 delegates, over 100 sessions, and 130 countries (including all the UK nations) came together to learn and share their knowledge, experiences and…
19th June 2019
by Women’s Budget Group NOTE: This analysis by Women’s Budget Group was requested in early 2019 before the National Action Plan 2019-21 had been published. A number of commitments have had slight changes since this analysis was done, although these do not affect the overall assessment. Two commitments were not finalised when passed onto WBG…