Support Unit Update on Peer Exchange
I. Bilateral Exchanges
OGP encourages bilateral exchanges between participating governments to share expertise on drafting
and implementing commitments. Some of these exchanges have occurred as a result of networking
initiated at the OGP Global Summit or OGP regional meetings; others were supported by the Working
Groups or OGP’s multilateral partners. The Support Unit aims to scale up these sorts of exchanges as
part of its new four-year strategy, given positive feedback thus far and the value of these exchanges in
improving action plan design and implementation.
To inspire more such exchanges, we are highlighting below several recent examples:
Mexico - Georgia Study Visit - August 2014
The Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection of Mexico (IFAI) organized a study
visit for representatives from Georgia’s Ministry of Justice, Parliament, and civil society. The visit helped
the Government of Georgia learn from the experience of Mexico in developing and implementing its
right to information program in line with international best practices.
U.S - Sierra Leone Peer Exchange Event - August 2014
The United States and Sierra Leone participated in a day-long event on the margins of the US-Africa
Leadership Summit in Washington DC. U.S. government officials from various departments and agencies
presented their approaches to open government reform along with suggestions to Sierra Leone as it
begins implementing its action plan.
Brazil - Tanzania Videoconference - November 2013
Brazil shared with Tanzania lessons learned from its experience of drafting and implementing Access to
Information legislation. The exchange helped Tanzania prepare for the challenges of passing effective
access to information legislation.
Going forward, the Support Unit aims to increase the number of bilateral and regional peer exchanges
occurring across OGP. It plans to do this by: 1) designing effective peer exchange and networking
sessions at OGP events (e.g. panels , workshops, networking events); 2) mobilizing the expertise of the
Working Groups, and 3) directly brokering exchanges between peer governments based on needs
identified by the Direct Country Support team.
II. Europe Regional Meeting: Peer Exchange on OGP Action Plans
At the Europe Regional Meeting in Dublin, the Support Unit organized a series of parallel workshops for
the many Cohort 2 countries in the Europe region to discuss their second OGP national action plans in a
small group setting. The session provided an opportunity for governments to present their draft action
plans and receive targeted feedback from peer governments, IRM researchers, and civil society in order
to strengthen them before being finalized. Based on positive feedback received, the Support Unit plans
to organize a similar session at the upcoming Americas Regional Meeting in Costa Rica.
III. OGP Working Groups: Summary of Recent Activities
OGP thematic Working Groups serve as an expert resource for countries in developing and
implementing their action plan commitments. The Working Groups support governments through
various activities, such as providing peer review of specific OGP commitments, facilitating bilateral
exchanges, conducting research and analysis, and organizing events and workshops.
Action Plan Feedback
One or more Working Groups have provided feedback on the draft national action plans of El Salvador,
Peru, New Zealand, Romania, Croatia, Paraguay, Ireland, and Sierra Leone to improve the quality of their
commitments.
Bilateral Exchanges
The Working Groups have facilitated exchanges between peer governments around specific issues. They
are exploring opportunities to replicate these exchanges in other countries. Highlights include:
● The Legislative Openness Working Group facilitated an exchange between representatives of the
Honduran National Congress and Mexican Senate and civil society to share experiences on
developing a bicameral commission on transparency within the Congress and explore the
development of legislative openness action plans.
● The Government of Paraguay asked for support in drafting and implementing a new budget
transparency commitment. In response, the Fiscal Openness Working Group worked with
Paraguayan civil society and Fundar, a Mexican civil society organization, to develop a proposal to
support this effort. The proposed collaboration would include technical assistance and workshops
during the Americas Regional Meeting and study visits between the two countries to share
experiences and learning.
● The Open Data Working Group facilitated a conference call between the Government of Canada
and Georgia to discuss strategic approaches to implementing Georgia’s open data portal.
Research & Analysis
The Fiscal Openness, Access to Information, and Extractives Working Groups have analyzed
commitments in the first set of action plans to compare them against best practice standards of
openness and uncover opportunities for assistance. Also, the Legislative Openness Working Group is
conducting a survey to gather comparative data on parliamentary openness across OGP countries. The
Support Unit and the Working Groups are exploring research opportunities presented by new
commitments in action plans.
Events & Workshops
The Working Groups organized a number of workshops and panel discussions at the OGP Regional
Meetings in Bali and Dublin. The Legislative Openness Working Group is also organizing Global
Legislative Openness Week (GLOW) from September 15 - 25 to encourage commitments towards
legislative openness by governments and parliaments.