21st December 2016
More than 3,000 people gathered in Paris from 7-9th December for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit 2016 hosted by the Government of France. Over the 3 days there were dozens of workshops, pitches and panel discussions on themes ranging from transparency, accountability and anti-corruption to climate and sustainable development, the digital commons and…
16th December 2016
Open Government has its own buzzwords – open data, transparency, accountability, participation, scrutiny, anti-corruption, freedom of information, open contracting, digital commons etc. Just like any other policy community this shared language unites those involved, but from the outside it can appear to set a somewhat technocratic and procedural agenda. As someone relatively new to the…
16th December 2016
Last week the Open Government Partnership Global Summit was held in Paris, bringing together 3,000 representatives from more than 70 countries, including Heads of State, government ministers, mayors, civil society representatives, public servants, members of parliament, developers, researchers, and journalists. Two significant themes of the Summit – particularly showing up in the speeches of the OGP Support…
13th December 2016
The UK Open Government Network is seeking nominations for three spaces on our steering committee, currently held by Anthony Zacharzewski (Demsoc), Simon Burall (Involve) and Tim Davies (Practical Participation). The OGN needs active, dynamic and knowledgeable steering committee members to help drive forward its development and engagement with the government. I hope that you will…
28th November 2016
Ahead of the global OGP Summit in Paris next week, the Open Government Network’s steering committee has written to Ben Gummer, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, outlining thoughts on the next phase for open government in the UK and internationally. Read and download the text of the letter below. Dear Rt Hon Ben Gummer MP, Minister for…
28th November 2016
On 10 November, the Open Government Network and Cabinet Office met to review progress on the UK Open Government Partnership process so far, consider how we can make best use of the OGP Summit, and plan next steps. Below is a note of the meeting. Participants Tim Hughes, Involve Kaela Scott, Involve Simon Burall, Involve…
8th November 2016
A group of eleven civil society organisations have written to Greg Clarke, Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, calling on the Government to open up the Land Registry. The letter is signed by Tim Hughes, coordinator of the Open Government Network, on its behalf. To: The Rt Hon Greg…
7th November 2016
On 25 October 2016, members of the OGN’s steering committee and government commitment leads met to review the implementation of the 2016-18 Open Government Action Plan and the UK OGP process. This note of the meeting was produced by the Cabinet Office. Commitment updates Commitment 1: Beneficial ownership – Matthew Brown (BEIS) said the plan is…
21st October 2016
Ben Gummer, Minister for the Cabinet Office, has responded to the Open Government Network steering group’s letter of 10th August. Read the response below. Thank you for your letter of 10th August and annexes, which I have read with interest. I am aware of the good work undertaken by Francis Maude, Matt Hancock and others…
18th October 2016
At the end of last week, the UK Government published its End of Term Self-Assessment on its implementation of the 2013-15 Open Government Action Plan. This table, presented in annex 1 of the report, summarises the government’s assessment of its completion of the 21 commitments. Commitment …