22nd September 2015
140 media bodies, campaign groups and others [1], including members of the Open Government Network, have written to the Prime Minister expressing ‘serious concern’ at the government’s approach to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The organisations are particularly concerned at the Commission on Freedom of Information, announced on July 17th this year. They say its terms…
8th September 2015
One of the central elements of the Open Government Partnership is the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM), which provides an annual independent assessment of each country’s progress on the OGP. In this post, the UK’s IRM Researcher, Ben Worthy, summarises some of the key findings from the UK’s new IRM report. How Did it Work? Across the CSOs I spoke…
2nd September 2015
The findings of research commissioned by Hivos and undertaken by three academics – Mary Francoli, Alina Ostling, and Fabro Steibel – on improving government-civil society interactions within OGP has just been published. Civic engagement is at the heart of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). In signing the Open Government Declaration, OGP members commit to engaging…
14th August 2015
Members of the UK Open Government Network have written to Matthew Hancock, Minister for the Cabinet Office, to express concern at recent developments that threaten the Freedom of Information Act, including the terms of reference of the Government’s Freedom of Information Commission. The Open Government Network calls on the Government to ‘publish its reasons for limiting the…
13th August 2015
How subnational governments and civil society can be involved in the Open Government Partnership is an important question that we’re grappling with in the UK. It’s a particularly pressing issue in a country such as the UK, where significant powers are devolved to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and increasingly to cities and regions. Nathaniel…
10th August 2015
Colm Burns and Paul Braithwaite from the Northern Ireland Open Government Network have written for the OGP blog on the importance of devolved governments and civil society being involved in OGP action plans: The Open Government Partnership has spread rapidly since its inception in 2011 and now boasts 65 member countries with more likely to…
3rd August 2015
Open government can be an abstract idea. We want to give people a better idea of what it is, and who is in the UK Open Government Civil Society Network. We’ve asked some existing members of the network to give us their thoughts on what open government means to them, why it’s important, where they have…
22nd July 2015
PWYP UK has urged the UK Treasury to require open data reporting by all London Stock Exchange-listed extractive companies: With the UK Treasury still appearing reluctant to prescribe open data payment reporting for non-UK-incorporated London-listed extractive companies, PWYP UK members have written to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP, highlighting this inconsistency…
21st July 2015
The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) has released the UK progress report for public comment. The report covers the first year of implementation of the second UK action plan. The entire report is available here. The OGP invites all stakeholders to make comments on the draft document to ensure that the final version represents all possible…
19th July 2015
Rachel Davies, Advocacy Manager at Transparency International UK and OGN Steering Group member, has written a blog post reflecting on the launch of the process to develop the UK’s third OGP National Action Plan: ‘Corruption hurts the poorest in society, in the UK and abroad. We need to ask ourselves: what kind of society do…