This draft of the UK’s second National Action Plan is a result of the UK’s membership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) - a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
The UK is one of 8 founding members of the OGP which was launched formally in September 2011 (the remaining founding partners are Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa and the United States). There are now 59 governments in the OGP. To become a member, participating countries must:
- embrace a high-level Open Government Declaration
- deliver a country action plan developed with public consultation
- commit to independent reporting on their progress going forward
This is the UK’s second National Action Plan. It is a draft and interim plan that is out for public consultation in line with the requirements laid down by the OGP. This draft plan has been produced through a collaborative multi-stakeholder process involving members of the OGP Civil Society Network and government departments.
We very much welcome views on the commitments made in this draft plan, ideally supported by evidence wherever possible. The closing date for consultation responses is 19 September.
Please note however that this is an iterative process and views and comments will be taken into consideration as we develop the draft plan over the coming months into a final version, ready for publication by 31 October 2013. Views that are supported by evidence will be given more standing than those without. Members of the OGP Civil Society Network will analyse the responses in collaboration with Her Majesty’s Government.