Open government
Last updated
Last updated
Introduction
Internet, social media, phones, and all the different contemporary gadgets** that allow citizens to communicate have changed our life dramatically. From our day to day relationships, to our long time friends and partners... every communication channel has experienced a change in the last two decades and so has the way of accessing the governments platforms, products and services.
The change in the business area with e-commerce as one of their biggest new branches has made a change in the populations minds and now we demand something similar with every other aspect, including politics. People demand transparent access to information and a competent service delivery from their governments. As a result of this, we also demand tailored services and policies that solve our needs and address our concerns.
The new way of properly addressing this population from a government point of view would have to be open government. The opening up of governments proceedings, documents and data for public scrutiny and involvement is now considered as a fundamental element for a democratic society. This will pay an essential role for regaining the trust of citizens in the neutrality and reliability of public administrations
What is an Open Government?
An open government is one with high levels of transparency, meaning that the public should have access to government-held information and be informed of government proceedings, and mechanisms for public scrutiny and oversight in place, with an emphasis on government accountability. It also increases citizen participation & collaboration in government proceedings through the use of the new technologies.
In this TEDx Talk video Martha Mendoza talks about the importance of open government and about using Freedom of Information laws around the globe to ensure transparency.
Open Government services
Overall, there are three types of open Government services: 1. Human services: which includes services to citizens that provide concrete support, such as health, education, and culture. 2. Administrative services: which refer to services that are compulsory and necessary to the functioning of government. 3. Participatory/policymaking services: which refer to the open, participatory decision-making services.
Technology and Open Government :computer:
Open Governments use new technologies as a tool for increasing their transparency. For example they use open data platforms to publish information online and the theory of open source governance.
Different initiatives
In the United States, president Obama signed the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, ushering in a new era of open and accountable government meant to bridge the gap between the American people and their government
In the Netherlands, the growing influence of televisions in the 1960s and the large social unrest led to a more open government. Access to information legislation was passed in 1980 and since then further emphasis has been placed on measuring the performance of government agencies.
In India, The Right to Information (RTI) movement, created the RTI law in 2005 after environmental movements demanded the release of information regarding environmental deterioration due to industrialization. Another catalyst for the RTI law and other similar laws in southeast Asia, may have been due to multilateral agencies offering aid and loans in exchange for more transparency or “democratic” policies.
In Chile, since the early 2000s, transparency has been an important part of Chile's Anti-Corruption and Probity Agenda and State Modernization Agenda. In 2008, Chile passed the Transparency Law has led to further open government reforms. Chile published its open government action plan for 2016-18 as part of its membership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
