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Created by the Public Governance Directorate

This website was created by the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI), part of the OECD Public Governance Directorate (GOV).

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Design an open government strategy or initiative

Open Government initiatives should not exist in isolation. A whole-of-government approach is needed to ensure the widest possible impact. This requires strategic thinking and practical coordination across levels and branches of government. In this section, you will find guidance on how to design an open government strategy, as well as key considerations to keep in mind for successful open government initiatives.

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Toolkits

Helpful Technology
This web-based resource contains ideas and practical help to use digital and social media in the public sector. It is organised by techniwues, strategies, examples, and (user generated) questions. This resource can assist governments with service delivery and stakeholder engagement. The publisher's main website also contains other resources for online communication.
Open Government Partnership
This is a collection of tools for an Open Government Partnership communications team, including the OGP's tips on blogging, branding, talking points, press guide, etc. While this is specifically created for Open Government Partnership partners, it it can be adapted for other public sector initiatives, services, or programs.
United Kingdom Government
The publisher defines Open Policy Making as developing and delivering policy in a fast-paced and increasingly networked and digital world through collaborative approaches, new analytical techniques, and testing and iteratively improving policy. The manual includes information about Open Policy Making in the United Kingdom government as well as tools, step-by-step guidance and techniques policy makers can use to create more open and user led policy.
World Bank
A collection of online guidance and knowledge to assist countries and others in setting up open data strategies and platforms. The resource is comprised seven sections: Open Data Essentials, Starting an Open Data Initiative,Technology Options, Demand & Engagement, Supply & Quality of Data, Readiness Assessment Tool, and Technical Assistance and Funding.
GovLab
A platform for researchers to share findings and methodologies and a repository of theoretical and applied research on open and innovative governance techniques and tools. It includes: A platform for researchers to share findings and methodologies; A repository of theoretical and applied research on open and innovative governance techniques and tools; A diversity of publication types – from research reports and journal articles to books and dissertations; A taxonomy for browsing research by type of innovation, objective, region, sector or tool; The ability to submit new research for inclusion on the site; and A community for those interested and committed to studying the impact of governance innovations and a place for those with research questions to connect to those with projects to study.
Open Data Labs
A collection of tools created during the Open Data Innovation Week, which was a gathering of innovators from across the Asia-Pacific region to build a box of tools and methods for improving the design, practice and implementation of open data initiatives to help solve the region’s key political, economic, and social problems. Tools range from ethnography to mapping and analysis. Each tool contains instructions: purpose, prerequisites, who to involve, difficulty, time-frame, and step-by-step guidance.
Open Government Partnership
This resource describes open government good practices and presents them to encourage further adoption and innovation. The publisher's goal is to help government reformers and civil society partners in improving the quality and output of co-creation processes across the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The resource was created to aid OGP partners but is applicable to others interested in open government. The Toolkit contains content organised in a Question & Answer format, a matrix of participation and co-creation standards, and a map of 100 case studies from 39 countries.
Etalab
The OGP Toolbox is a collaborative platform that gathers digital tools developed and used throughout the world by organizations to improve democracy and promote transparency, participation and collaboration. It is designed as a social network and includes use cases and tool "collections," technical criteria informed by the community and recommendations based on the experience of users that have already implemented existing solutions. The goals of the publisher and platform are to: - allow actors to identify the digital tools better suited to their needs, by collecting and describing them in the most objective way possible; - collaborate to make digital tools more accessible and easier to use; - create favourable conditions to further the development of better digital tools; and, - foster the sharing of experience between actors and giving feedback on existing tools.
Reboot
A hands-on resource that provides practical advice, guidance, and an 8-phase process from concept development to implementation for building an open government program, with each step referencing principles, lessons learned, case studies, and a checklist for determining whether you are at the right phase. This resource complements Open Government Partnership Action Plans and and was developed as part of a year-long project with the Mexican government.
National Democratic Institute
DemTools is a suite of free, open source software solutions developed by NDITech and distributed for supporting democracy building efforts around the world. The software includes contact management, issue tracking, crowdsourcing, election monitoring, open data, and petition development tools. These were built with the developing world in mind but can also be used in other contexts. An associated DemTools Guide Book offers an overview of each of the suite of tools, including use cases, user consideration, technical specifications, security considerations, languages/translations, the type of support offered by the publisher, instructions for deploying and hosting the tools and case studies of the tools in practice. The publisher also offers free and paid hosting service and technical support, but some resources and expertise will be required of the user for setup and ongoing maintenance of the tools.
GovLab
The term data collaborative refers to a new form of collaboration, beyond the public-private partnership model, in which participants from different sectors — including private companies, research institutions, and government agencies — can exchange data to help solve public problems. This resource outlines 8 Phases for designing and implementing a data collaborative (partnership) at an institutional level. The online resource includes examples, enablers, tools, and resources for each phase.
Frog Design
The Collective Action Toolkit (2nd edition) is a set of activities and methods that enables groups of people anywhere to organize, collaborate, and create solutions for problems affecting their community. It guides users through methods according to six action areas, with suggested pathways from one method to the next. For each method, step-by-step instructions are given, in addition to the time, roles, and materials needed. Some methods include canvasses to guide activity. The toolkit is available in English, Chinese, French, and Spanish.
Making Sense
Produced as part of the Making Sense project, which draws on nine citizen sensing campaigns in Holland, Kosovo and Spain in 2016 and 2017. Based on that experience, the publisher developed a framework and methods and tools for citizen participation in environmental monitoring and action. Their approach is bottom-up and participatory, which the publishers call "citizen sensing." The publishers offer a software platform for collecting data, methodologies for making sense of data, and best practices and tools on community engagement and co-creation.
Australian Government
The Australian Public Service (APS) Framework for Engagement and Participation provides guidance, principles, and links to interactive tools that support public servants and managers to adopt and improve the participation and engagement of stakeholders and citizens as ways to earn trust and overcome complexity in dealing with society's challenges in the 21st century. Public servants and managers are invited to subscribe to the principles that underpin this vision and actively use this toolkit to enable stakeholders and citizens to provide inputs and share expertise on public sector initiatives. The resource provides practical advice and examples about a whole range of possible engagement formats (Share, Consult, Deliberate and Collaborate). It also offers pathways to embed approaches to participation and engagement, which include sharing information and consulting citizens. The resource also helps public officials to venture into innovative and transformative approaches that rely on shared action and adaptive thinking. The instructions given to public officials cover principles, ways to engage and standards of practice that sustain the importance of community expertise to improve policies, programmes and services, and to deliver better outcomes for citizens. The APS Framework for Engagement and Participation includes supporting tools to ensure that the work with citizens is open, meaningful and supports objectives, including the Guide to the Right Engagement, an interactive decision tool to help public servants choose the right engagement for their problem, and the Open Dialogue Roadmap, which builds the case for deliberative engagements (namely, through a practical method to conduct "Informed Participation").
The Engine Room
This resource is developed by and for open government influencers - civil servants and civil society representatives seeking to collaboratively make governance processes transparent, participatory and accountable. It is intended for those who want to be an open government influencer. The original guidance includes recommendations and experiences from experienced leaders in Europe and Central Asia. It follows the publishers' joint journeys in navigating challenges to creating an enabling environment for open government. It was developed based in insights and lessons from those journeys. The guidance follows three steps: 1) Reflect on constraints, build core competencies, 2) Identify and prioritise shared challenges; and 3) Develop processes for programs and policies It contains step-by-step guidance for facilitating conversations as well as avoiding common pitfalls.

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