UNCLASSIFIED / NON CLASSIFIÉ
Open Data Working Group – Action Plan 2.0 Peer ReviewCountry: Australia
Specific / All open data commitments are clearly described and include defined objectives and milestones. Commitments are clearly designed to be achievable, focusing on specific actions or initiatives.
In commitment 2.1 (“Release high-value datasets and enable data driven innovation”) there are a number of activities mentioned in the text of the commitment (e.g. Productivity Commission report on high-value datasets, program to incentivise local councils to open up their data) that are not specifically referenced as milestones in the commitment. Consider reframing the text to ensure all activities are attached to measurable, time-bound milestones.
Measurable / All open data commitments are accompanied by measurable milestones.
Actionable / Open data commitments are all actionable. Action Plan clearly describes both the expected outputs (e.g. roundtable discussions with private, research, and not-for-profit sectors) and the expected results (e.g. understanding how Australian businesses and not-for-profits are using public data) for each commitment.
Relevant / All open data commitments are relevant to the OGP grand challenges, and many seek to address important, advanced open data themes such as measuring impact and supporting demand-driven release.
Time-Bound / All open data commitments are accompanied by clear timelines for implementation.
General Comments / It is encouraging to see a strong focus on public engagement and consultation as it relates to open data. Consideration should be given to adding or reframing some commitment text to focus on the particular importance of engagement with marginalized or underrepresented groups (indigenous communities, youth, rural communities, immigrants, etc.) in order to ensure that open government initiatives, and particularly open data initiatives, support more equitable social and economic benefits.
Note that the Open Data Working Group is currently accepting applications for its Steering Committee. The Government of Australia is strongly encouraged to apply for this important position of leadership and influence in the OGP.
Working Groups have been asked to share their feedback with civil society partners in the country, and to encourage governments to do the same. If you know of any CSOs that should receive this feedback, please list them below
Suggested Civil Society Organizations
Instructions
Country Commitments
Commitments should be structured around, at least, one of the five grand challenges defined by OGP:
1. Improving Public Services—measures that address the full spectrum of citizen services (including health, education, criminal justice, water, electricity, telecommunications and any other relevant service areas) by fostering public service improvement or private sector innovation;
2. Increasing Public Integrity—measures that address corruption and public ethics, access to information, campaign finance reform, and media and civil society freedom;
3. More Effectively Managing Public Resources—measures that address budgets, procurement, natural resources and foreign assistance;
4. Creating Safer Communities—measures that address public safety, the security sector, disaster and crisis response, and environmental threats;
5. Increasing Corporate Accountability—measures that address corporate responsibility on issues such as the environment, anti-corruption, consumer protection, and community engagement.
As mentioned before, commitments should be developed through a consultative, multi-stakeholder process where government actively involves citizens and civil society. Developing commitments without input from citizens and civil society is contrary to the OGP Declaration of Principles.
What’s in a Commitment
Each commitment should have its own short paragraph identifying what the commitment is; how it will contribute to greater transparency, accountability and/or citizen engagement; who will be involved in implementing the commitment and; what the government hopes to accomplish by making this commitment.
There should also be a brief discussion of how specific commitments respond to public feedback generated through consultation. Where possible, commitments should also identify key implementation benchmarks and related timelines, indicating what will be accomplished during each year of implementation.
Smart Commitments
It is a good practice to keep commitments succinct. At a minimum SMART criteria should be followed when formulating OGP country commitments. SMART criteria require that each commitment should be:
1. Specific. The commitment must clearly articulate what the government wants to accomplish by outlining concrete activities that will be implemented to achieve the country’s open government objectives.
2. Measurable. Each commitment must be benchmarked through the use of measurable targets and milestones. Benchmarks – metrics by which action can be measured – are necessary for tracking progress and will feed into the Independent Reporting Mechanism assessment process. These metrics should be designed to measure the outputs generated by the commitments.
3. Actionable. The commitment should explain how the open government outputs and goals are to be achieved. The commitment should include brief explanations of the actions, methodologies, tools and processes that will be used by the government to meet its goal.
4. Relevant. The commitment must address open government issues rather than broader government reforms. The key aspects of open government include information transparency, public engagement/citizen participation, and accountability and the commitments formulated should reflect these principles.
5. Time-bound. Commitments should not be open ended and should have deadlines to spur action. Every commitment should specify a realistic deadline by which progress towards implementation can be demonstrated.
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