Panel on Open Government
Frans Jorna, Saxion University, The Netherlands, f.b.a.jorna@saxion.nl
Eduard Mihalas, College d’Europe, Bruges, Belgium
Alina Östling, European University Institute,
Firenze, Italy
For the occasion of the 23rd annual NISPAcee conference in Tblisi (Georgia), three researchers on Open government[1] with roots and an interest in Central Eastern Europe organize a special open panel on Open Government. The purpose of this panel is to identify lessons learnt and best practices in the field of Open Government.[2]Open Government is a government where people have:
- Have access to information about the decisions that interest them.
- Can participate in decision-making at all levels.
- Can hold officials accountable for decisions and actions.
- Use technology to promote the above values.
The general theme of the conference is innovation in public service delivery, insourcing/outsourcing and administrative reform. The convenors especially invite prospective contributors to focus on open government in association with better service delivery and value for money. Country-case studies, comparative papers and thematical contributions are welcomed. Next, questions of methodology and impact measurement could be picked up. For this purpose, the panel could discuss the measurement techniques for public sector innovation and collaborative service production proposed by the EC.[3]
The panel is first and forementioned a working place for researchers associated with the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The convenors invite their Independent review colleagues and will constitute a working agenda, assuring the OGP database is made available. Second, the panel is open to contributions from other researchers and lecturers from the CEE-region who have an interest in Open Government. More specifically, the IRM-researchers would like to establish working relations with research networks and universities that have the topic of open government as part of their agenda and/or curriculum. This would help to make the academic work of the panel more demand-driven.
Involvement of practitioners is highly appreciated. We therefore request presenters to add at least a few paragraphs of their papers that are to focus on the practical relevance of their papers, and invite them to involve practitioners as ‘peer- reviewers’ in this respect. Papers written in cooperation between practitioners and researchers are highly welcomed.
[1] Independent Review Researchers for The Netherlands, Moldova, Sweden (respectively)
[2] The need to identify best practices in Open Governmentis also emphasized in the DG CONNECT’s "A vision for public services".
[3] See section "6.3. Measurement” in the DG CONNECT’s "A vision for public services".