G-Watch-OGP IRM Roundtable Discussion: "Did it Open Government?"

  • RTD-Did they open government
    RTD-Did they open government

G-Watch is formerly a social accountability program of a university founded in 2001 that is currently rebooting, in transition to being an independent national action research organization embedded in a citizen accountability movement of civic and advocacy-oriented organizations all over the Philippines aiming to contribute to the deepening of democracy through the scaling of accountability and citizen empowerment.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) assesses the development and implementation of national action plans to foster dialogue among stakeholders and improve accountability.

The roundtable discussion is a space for stakeholders and actors of open government in the Philippines to reflect and discuss the impact and lessons of the Philippine experience on key open government reforms in recent years, especially in light of political transition. It will be structured according to the following main guide questions:

  1. How did any of the PH-OGP the commitments in the third national action plan contribute in opening government (i.e., in making quality and useful information accessible to the public; in supporting mechanisms/ spaces and capacities to make citizens/ public better influence public decisions; and in enabling accountability)?
  2. What were the strengths and the weaknesses of the PH-OGP third national action plan and how were these points considered in the fourth national action plan?
  3. What are the opportunities and challenges for open government reforms today?

The discussion specifically targets those involved in the 3rd Philippine Open Government Partnership (OGP) national action plan (2015-2017), but it is also open to others who are involved in and/ or studying governance and reforms in a broader sense.

The discussion will be hosted by G-Watch to serve as one of the references for the OGP-IRM End-of-Term Report on PH-OGP national action plan 2015-2017 also being written by G-Watch Convenor-Director, Ms. Joy Aceron.

For inquiries and to signify interest to participate in the RTD, please send your name, organization, contact information and involvement in open government reforms to the email address indicated in this event page.