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OGP in the News
Week of August 1, 2017

A weekly round-up of Open Government Partnership (OGP) media coverage around the world.


Media Overview 
Touching each region of the world, this week’s OGP media coverage was particularly strong in the Americas and several of OGP’s subnational participants.
Read Full Analysis
Top OGP Stories
Europe

"Creeping tide of state secrecy” - Daily Record, Scotland

Daily Record reported growing concern about a “creeping tide of state secrecy” from Scotland’s current government. Joining some two dozen media organizations in calling for reform to the country’s current freedom of information laws, members of the Open Government Network for Scotland penned a letter to the government emphasizing that “freedom of information is a cornerstone of democracy” and proposing an independent inquiry into Scotland’s transparency infrastructure. In response to these critiques, a government spokesperson said, “Scotland has the most open and far-reaching freedom of information laws in the UK. We work closely with the Open Government Network as part of the Open Government partnership.”
 
Americas

OGP as an Open Data Force for Good  - The Guardian - Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago

The Guardian of Trinidad and Tobago called OGP a “global movement towards open disclosure” and credited the Partnership with encouraging governments to “standardise data and grant citizens more access to information on everything from oil and gas production to job losses.” Citing The Natural Resource Governance Institute’s (NRGI) assessment of Trinidad and Tobago in its latest Resource Governance Index, the article concluded that the island nation still has work to do on open data. To remedy this, the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI) is attempting to increase transparency around and public awareness of natural resource revenue by publishing EITI reports on open data portals, which can be accessed free of charge.


Adopting the Data Standard for Open Hiring - E-Consulta.com, Mexico

Commissioner of the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI), Joel Salas Suarez, underscored the link between transparency and efficient service delivery in an opinion piece. Beyond publishing contract information, Suarez encouraged public institutions to be transparent throughout the entire hiring process. He pointed out that, in partnership with OGP, the Mexican government agreed to adopt the Data Standard for Open Hiring when it joined four other nations (France, the United Kingdom, Colombia, and Ukraine) in launching the Contracting 5 (C5) initiative.
 
Africa

Benefits and Challenges of OGP - The Citizen, Tanzania

An article in Tanzanian news outlet The Citizen underscored the importance of OGP in bringing about reform in Tanzania. Citing a Global Integrity Report published in 2016, the article outlined some of the benefits Tanzania has reaped from participating in OGP, notably a formal space of collaboration between government and civil society. With more civil society organizations joining Tanzania’s OGP Steering Committee, consultation has improved and has led to “broadening participation and voice in the open government agenda.” Ongoing challenges to implementing OGP commitments in Tanzania include limited resources and political tensions within the current administration.
 
Subnational

Reporting back from #OGPLocalGov Workshop - Infromasi Harian, Bojonegoro

Several news outlets followed up on the workshop that took place in Washington, D.C. for participants of the OGP Subnational Pilot Program. In attendance was Bojonegoro’s Chief of Police representing OGP’s Indonesian subnational pioneer. During the workshop, he explained how the regency’s police department has adopted some of the principles of OGP by conducting weekly door-to-door meetings to engage the larger community. Using radio broadcasting, the department also keeps Bojonegoro residents informed of traffic flow and responds to citizen complaints.    

A Blow to Participative Planning - Jornal GGN, São Paulo

Brazil’s Jornal GGN announced the dismantling of the Municipal Council for Participative Planning and Budgeting (CPOP) of OGP subantional pioneer city São Paulo. In a featured note, executive secretary of the Nossa São Paulo Network criticized the decision, reportedly made without public consultation. The author pointed out this “setback” may undermine São Paulo’s OGP commitments, one of which promises to “to increase the power of intervention of the Municipal Participatory Councils in their respective Regional City Halls."
Last but not least, do you have an outstanding OGP success story? We are creating the second iteration of our “Early Results from OGP Initiatives” and could use your input! More details here.
Of course, we can’t catch everything in our news round-ups, so if you see we’ve missed something or think a particular story ought to be featured, please send it to jacqueline.mcgraw@opengovpartnership.org.
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