Fiscal transparency€¦ · Web viewGIFT: Mapping of the Budget Transparency Commitments of Countries in the Open Government Partnership. This note maps Open Government Partnership

Third draft 29 July 2013

GIFT: Mapping of the Budget Transparency Commitments of Countries in the Open Government Partnership

This note maps Open Government Partnership (OGP) country commitments on budget transparency against the High Level Principles promulgated by the Global Initiative on Fiscal Transparency (GIFT). The source of the data is a spread sheet compiled by Global Integrity (dated 3 July, no year indicated), comprising individual country commitments coded by the five OGP ‘Grand Challenges’: public resource management; public services; public integrity; corporate accountability; and safer communities.1

In addition to the commitments on public resource management, many of the commitments tagged as public services or public integrity are also relevant to fiscal transparency, participation and accountability, and have been included in this mapping.

Each commitment is briefly described in the Global Integrity spread sheet, ranging, in a small number of cases, from just one or a few words, to a number of paragraphs, with the typical entry being 1-2 sentences.

Table 1 below shows which countries have made a commitment against each of the ten GIFT High Level Principles.

The full ‘commitment activity’ descriptions have then been copied to Table 2 (below), and grouped, first, under the relevant GIFT High Level Principle. Within High Level Principle (HLP) 3 - past, present and forecast fiscal information - there are nine sub-categories that generally follow the PFM/budget cycle.2

In addition to mapping by the ten HLPs, there are three additional cross-cutting categories: Sub-national government; anti-corruption; and information and communication technologies (ICT).

In order to aid identification of relevant material by readers who may be interested in only one or selected topics, many commitments have been mapped to more than one category. For instance, all commitments that refer to sub-national government have been mapped both to that category, and to the specific topic category(s) to which they also relate. For example, a commitment to support wider public participation in budgeting at SNG level would be coded both to sub-national government and to public participation. Many commitments have similarly been categorised both to Legal Framework (HLP 5) and to another HLP. In some cases a commitment has been mapped to three or four categories, but only where there are specific references to each

1 For 4 countries the GI spread sheet contained information in Spanish (Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras). These were translated into English by GIFT.2 The Global Integrity spread sheet also included columns for the OGP number of each commitment, and the short title of each commitment. This information has not been included in Table 2 at this stage, as the Table is already a long one. In some cases the commitment description contained an indication of timing or phasing of stages e.g. complete by a specific date. All the commitments have been included in Table 2, including those that may have been completed (no information is to hand on progress in implementing commitments).

1


category in the text of the commitment. Without a specific reference, no cross-mapping has been conducted – so for instance, while it might be argued that procurement reforms are always relevant to anti-corruption, only those country procurement commitments that specifically refer to corruption have been mapped also to the anti-corruption category.

The multiple coding of commitments has not been attempted in an exhaustive or comprehensive manner; not all relevant cross-codings are picked up. In view of diminishing returns, it is hoped that something approaching an ’80:20’ result has been attained, so that the bulk of commitments have been coded to all directly relevant categories.

The categories and sub-categories are as follows:Page number

HLP 1: Right to information 6

HLP 2: Aggregate fiscal policy 7

HLP 3: Past, present and forecast fiscal information:

a) Budget transparency general 7b) Citizens’ Budgets 9c) Revenues general 10d) Natural resource revenues 11e) Aid and external financing - development assistance as well as EU transfers to member states 12f) Public investment management 15g) Fiscal reporting 16h) Asset and liability management – including debt management, SOEs, and privatisation 17i) Open data 18

HLP 4: Outputs and outcomes

a) Performance orientation – including planning, publication of service delivery standards, and M&E 23

Page number

2


b) Public services – recipient feedback 27

HLP 5: Legal framework 28

HLP 6: Government sector and private sector 31

HLP 7: Clarity of roles and responsibilities 34

HLP 8: Legislative oversight 37

HLP 9: Independent audit - including relationship with internal audit 3 37

HLP 10: Right to direct public participation

a) Participation general - includes general enabling environment for CSOs, and govt./CSO relations, as well as non-specific forms of participation 38

b) Participation specific - includes multi-stakeholder initiatives, and participation commitments specific to a sector, function or topic. 42

Cross-cutting issues:

A) Sub-national government – all issues involving SNGs 47B) Anti-corruption 50 C) ICT i) GFMIS 54ii) Other ICT 55

3 Internal audit itself is also included here if it is included in the same commitment as independent audit.

3


Table 1: Pattern of OGP Country Commitments Against GIFT High Level Principles

GIFT High Level Principle Countries making related OGP commitmentsHLP 1 Right to Information Bulgaria; Chile; Croatia; El Salvador; Honduras; Latvia; PeruHLP 2 Aggregate fiscal policy

Bulgaria; Croatia; Honduras; Spain

HLP 3: Past, present and forecast fiscal information:3a) Budget transparency general

Brazil; Croatia; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Greece; Honduras; Indonesia; Israel; Jordan; Kenya; Mexico; Montenegro; Peru; Turkey

3b) Citizens’ Budgets Bulgaria; Croatia; Honduras; Indonesia; Jordan; Kenya; Montenegro; Tanzania3c) Revenues general Albania; Bulgaria; Greece; Honduras; Indonesia; Malta; Tanzania; Uruguay3d) Natural resource revenues

Albania; Bulgaria; Colombia; Guatemala; Indonesia; Jordan; Peru; Ukraine

3e) Aid and external financing

Bulgaria; Canada; Denmark; Jordan; Slovak Republic; Spain; Sweden; Tanzania

3f) Public investment management

Colombia; El Salvador; Guatemala; Indonesia; Jordan; Slovak Republic

3g) Fiscal Reporting Albania; Bulgaria; Colombia; Croatia; Kenya; Moldova; Tanzania3h) Asset and liability management

Bulgaria; Croatia; Jordan; Mexico; Montenegro

3i) Open data Brazil; Canada; Chile; Colombia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Israel; Italy; Kenya; Latvia; Mexico; Moldova; Netherlands; Slovak Republic; Sweden; Uruguay

HLP 4: Outputs and outcomes

Brazil; Colombia; Denmark; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Indonesia; Israel; Italy; Jordan; Kenya; Lithuania; Mexico; Montenegro; South Africa; Spain; Tanzania; Uruguay

HLP 5: Legal Framework Albania; Bulgaria; Canada; Chile; Croatia; Denmark; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Honduras; Jordan; Italy; Latvia; Moldova; Montenegro; Tanzania; Ukraine

HLP 6: Government sector and private sector

Brazil; Bulgaria; Colombia; Croatia; Czech Republic; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Estonia; Georgia; Greece; Honduras; Indonesia; Jordan; Malta; Moldova; Montenegro; Peru; Slovak Republic; Turkey; Uruguay

HLP 7: Clarity of roles Albania; Bulgaria; Colombia; Croatia; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Indonesia; Israel; Italy; Jordan; Malta; Montenegro; Peru; Slovak Republic; South Africa; Spain; Ukraine; Uruguay

HLP 8: Legislative Croatia; Georgia; Montenegro; South Africa

4


OversightHLP 9: Independent audit Bulgaria; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Honduras; Jordan; Montenegro; TanzaniaHLP 10: Right to directpublic participation

Albania; Brazil; Bulgaria; Canada; Colombia; Croatia; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Estonia; Georgia; Greece; Honduras; Indonesia; Israel; Italy; Jordan; Kenya; Latvia; Lithuania; Mexico; Moldova; Montenegro; Netherlands; Peru; Slovak Republic; South Africa; South Korea; Spain; Tanzania; Turkey; Ukraine; Uruguay

5


Table 2: GIFT: Mapping of OGP Country Budget Transparency Commitments Against the GIFT High Level Principles

GIFT High Level Principle Country Commitment ActivityHLP 1: Right to fiscal information

Bulgaria • Ensuring that the rules regulating the second level budget spending units are public and their financial results and reports are accessible to the public.

Chile • Development of the Public Information Access Act. Through this directive, and after 3 years of the Transparency Act in effect, there would be improvement to the exercise of the right to access public information. Transparency Portal: This initiative seeks to strengthen compliance with the Access to Public Information Act by public agencies and 2 municipalities, by sharing information about its transparency obligations on a centralized portal, that will provide citizens access and benefit of this information, through common standards for publishing information. See Open data HLP3 h).

Croatia Harmonise the Data Confidentiality Act with the amendments to the Act on the Right of Access to Information, depending on the results of expert discussions and the discussions with the interested public. Amend the Act on the Right of Access to Information

El Salvador Amend the OMBUDSMAN Act and Right of Reply. Handing out User Rights Pages• Opening of Information and Response Offices in all institutions in the Executive Branch.Opening of 14 Information and Response offices in 14 Provincial Governments, others in regional and departmental offices of other State ministries.• Development of a distance learning program to improve public servants' knowledge about the issue of access to information.

Honduras • Increase citizen access to information and public management through improved, more effective monitoring mechanisms and strict application of sanctions according to the Transparency and Access to Public Information Act. Moreover, greater commitment is demanded of the National Anti-Corruption Board as the surveillance mechanism intended to ensure enforcement of the Law.

Latvia Facilitating freedom of information and introducing an open data system. The Objective: facilitate economic development and civic participation in public administration by ensuring the required political, legal and technical change as well as a change in administrative practice with regard to making the public sector data public.

Peru Access to Information/Freedom of Information

6


HLP 2: Aggregate fiscal policy

Bulgaria • Amendments to the budget legislation aimed at establishing fiscal rules4 and procedures ensuring more effective and transparent management of public funds, including introduction of the so called Citizens Budget containing a short description of the policy changes as well as the financial allocations for significant civic sectors.

Croatia • Update the annual report on the state budget execution for 2012 with an explanation about the difference between the original macroeconomic forecasts for the budgetary year and the real outcomes and publish it within statutory deadlines.• Update the semi-annual report on the state budget execution for 2013 with:a) An explanation about how the changed economic conditions and proposals of new statutory solutions will influence the planned revenue and expenditure by the end of the year; b) Modified revenue and expenditure plan for the budgetary year with detailed explanations within statutory deadlines; c) Information about where the updated revenue and expenditure forecasts for the two years following the budgetary year can be found.• Publish the proposal of the state budget timely and update it so that it contains the following:a) Information which shows how proposals of new statutory solutions will influence the revenue and expenditure of the budgetary year in comparison with the existing legislation; b) Functional classification of expenditures for the budgetary year and the year preceding it; c) The state of public debt at the beginning and end of the budgetary year; d) Structure of public debt for the budgetary year and the year preceding it; e) Arrears with current state on 30 June; f) Information on contingent liabilities for the budgetary year (guarantees); g) Information about where it is possible to find the data on the impact of macroeconomic presumptions on budget revenue, expenditure and debt (sensitivity

Honduras Implement the contents of the Great National Agreement in relation to public spending, prioritizing vulnerable sectors and meeting debt structuring needs according to the government's repayment ability.

Spain This Organic Law fulfils the mandate set forth in Article 135 of the Spanish Constitution, and is to be the legal and economic foundation of the budget policies of all Public Administrations. Thus, Spain is leading the way as one of the first countries to incorporate the European Union's budget discipline rules into a text of the highest legal rank.The draft Organic Law, the basic aims of which are to ensure the budget sustainability of all Public Administrations and achieve greater rigor in budget information and the implementation and monitoring of the budget of the Public Administrations is based on the European Union's regulations regarding fiscal discipline, and is currently being debated in Parliament. Its definitive approval is expected for the first half of 2012.

HLP 3: Past, present and forecast fiscal informationa.Budget transparency

4 This may or may not be a reference to aggregate fiscal rules.

7


generalBrazil Created in 2004, the Brazilian Transparency Portal is a successful tool to provide access to data and information on Brazilian

Federal Government Budget. The Restructuring project aims to update the tool so that it can integrate with the current scenario and resources available on the Internet, such as Open Data initiatives, social networks, geocoding.

Croatia Increase accessibility of information from the state budget by publishing the proposal of the state budget and monthly, semi-annual and annual reports in an updated and timely manner. Publish the proposal of the state budget timely and update it so that it contains the following: a) Information which shows how proposals of new statutory solutions will influence the revenue and expenditure of the budgetary year in comparison with the existing legislation; b) Functional classification of expenditures for the budgetary year and the year preceding it; c) The state of public debt at the beginning and end of the budgetary year; d) Structure of public debt for the budgetary year and the year preceding it; e) Arrears with current state on 30 June; f) Information on contingent liabilities for the budgetary year (guarantees); g) Information about where it is possible to find the data on the impact of macroeconomic presumptions on budget revenue, expenditure and debt (sensitivity analysis). Give recommendations and instructions to all local and regional self-government units to publish, on their official web sites, key budgetary documents (budget proposal when the executive bodies send it to the representative bodies; budged adopted by the representative body when the representative body adopts it; semi-annual and annual report on execution when the executive bodies send it to the representative bodies).

Dominican Republic

Creation of the Single Treasurer Account platform as a financial tool that centralizes all public resources in a single bank account. This commitment relates with the Action Plan in its contribution to increase information on government activities, citizens participation and the use of new technologies for accountability, also on its contribution to fiscal transparency.

El Salvador Opening of a Fiscal Transparency Portal with information about revenue and tracking spending.Greece Operate central ERP information system (budgeting)Honduras Publication by the Secretary of Finance of periodic, timely and accessible information about public finances in the framework of

transparency, access to public information and alliances for an open government. During the term of the current Action Plan, update and disseminate the off-cycle report on Public Expenditures and Financial Accountability (PEFA), in order to understand public finance transparency and management performance in Honduras.

Indonesia Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of government subsidies for education in elementary and junior high schools. The data and information to be published are: budget allocation, disbursement, and expenditure data. The publication of information should be conducted at every single elementary school and junior high school in 411 regional government (district level). (Track I, by December 2012). Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of government subsidies in health sector. The data and information to be published are: budget allocation and expenditure data, list of the recipient of health insurance, process to obtain health insurance services. The publication is conducted at every single community hospital (sub-district level) in 497 regional governments (district level). (Track I, by December 2012). Promoting transparency and accountability on budget information at National level. The data and information to be published include: national budget (proposed & enacted), project and budget list, periodical budget disbursement, annual budget report,

8


audited budget report, citizen budget. (Track II, by July 2012).Israel Since 2011, due to public demand, the Finance Ministry has been publishing budget details in Excel files. Using the information

published, the NGO Workshop for Public Information created the Open Budget Website, that allows the budget to be searched and analyzed from different perspectives. The site includes participatory platforms that enable discussion about sections of the budget and participation on social media sites.

Jordan Expanding the application of the chart of accounts' components for the general budget and budgets of government units through classifying the current expenditure programs at the activity level of the government units in the government units’ budgets law for the fiscal year 2013. Classifying the current and capital expenditures at the lowest level of the functional classification in the general budget law for the fiscal year 2014, and classifying the budget at the directorate level based on the organizational classification in 2015. Budget classifications provide comprehensive analytical information for fiscal management; they also provide the means to track government spending. They provide more information pertaining to spending distribution on projects and activities, allowing for all transactions to be reported in accordance with international standards, and to record monetary assets and liabilities using modified cash basis of reporting.

Kenya Improve the management of public resources by increasing Kenya’s ranking in the Open Budget Index (OBI) from providing “more information” to “significant information” Promote transparency and accountability on budget information by involving the public in budget preparation using technology channels, publishing data on proposed and approved budgets and Citizen’s budgets in machine readable format.

Mexico This will specifically strengthen budgetary transparency, through the publication and constant update of investments, public finance, transfers to states of Federal assets, indicators and audits, amongst other things

Monte-negro

In order to increase transparency of use of public funds, the Government of Montenegro will amend the Organic budget Law to define budgeting calendar dates more specifically, aiming to provide sufficient time to all participants in the planning process, including also the parliamentary procedure. Furthermore, introduction of specific fiscal rules and medium-term budgeting is also planned, which will increase significantly the transparency, accountability in planning and implementation, as well as precision in budget planning.

Peru Improve the access mechanisms and understanding of citizenship to the budgetary information (preparation, approval, implementation and closure of the Budget of the Republic) at all levels of government, incorporating consultation mechanisms are structured to obtain the views of the population. Budgets & Financial Planning

Turkey Transparency in Public Expenditures – www.spending.gov.trHLP 3:b. Citizens budgets

Bulgaria Amendments to the budget legislation aimed at establishing fiscal rules and procedures ensuring more effective and transparent management of public funds, including introduction of the so called Citizens Budget containing a short description of the policy changes as well as the financial allocations for significant civic sectors.

9


Croatia Publishing 'Budgets for Citizens' will make budgetary information accessible and understandable to most citizens, which will have the effect of increasing democratic control over public resources. Make a standardized format for publishing guidebooks for citizens to accompany the local and regional self-government unit budgets and recommend their timely announcement to local authorities. Make simple and easily understandable summaries guidebooks for citizens (e.g. Budget for Citizens) of key budgetary documents (economic and fiscal policy guidelines, state budget proposal and projections, state budget and projections adopted by the Croatian Parliament, semi-annual and annual reports on the state budget execution) and publish them in a timely manner.

Honduras Develop a strategy to empower citizens with information regarding public budgets to facilitate their contributions to the decision making process.

Indonesia Promoting transparency and accountability on budget information at National level. The data and information to be published include: national budget (proposed & enacted), project and budget list, periodical budget disbursement, annual budget report, audited budget report, citizen budget. (Track II, by July 2012).

Jordan Enhancing the transparency of the general budget preparation and disseminating information on the budget, through publishing a “Citizen's Guide to the Budget”, and “Budget in Brief” that explains each of the definition of budget headings and making it available on the web. Budget in Brief” document is also available in English language. Budget in brief features more technical detail targeting Parliament, international financial institutions and others, while the Citizen's Guide targets the public and the media using more simplified presentation and narrative. These documents provide user-friendly guides to Government spending and promote public awareness.

Kenya Promote transparency and accountability on budget information by involving the public in budget preparation using technology channels, publishing data on proposed and approved budgets and Citizen’s budgets in machine readable format.

Monte-negro

The Ministry of Finance will introduce, as a standing practice, a presentation of the annual budget in a visually comprehensible and simple manner, in order to ensure better understanding and increase public interest for budget operations. The same practice will be established for the amended budget as well.

Tanzania Produce annual citizens’ budget document in a simplified language (both in Kiswahili and English) and in a format that will make it easy for ordinary citizen to understand.

HLP 3:c. Revenues

Albania The Tax Administration will develop the terms of reference and bidding procedures for starting the full implementation of the e-Tax system. The new Excise system will include online access and services for economic operators

Bulgaria Publication of information about the tax expenditures (preferences) by the Ministry of Finance. Publication of information about the tax audit reports of the National Revenue Service upon completion of the tax audits.

Greece Offer additional taxation dataHonduras Improve tax education through citizen consultation mechanisms offered through the Secretary of Finance electronic portalIndonesia Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the public area services that indicated high risk on corruption

10


as Tax Court Office, Immigration Office and Custom Office. The data and information to be published include: institution and officer profile, type and service mechanism, time and cost required, case status/progress and annual report. The data and information are required to be published at institutional website. (Track I, by December 2011).

Malta Setting up of different boards to ensure internal accountability and transparency and the amalgamation of the revenue earning departments that includes legislative amendments, HR, systems, and logistical arrangements to ensure a smooth transition process. Increase in off-site income tax inspections and enhance enforcement of tax collection; investment in more human resources in the investigation/compliance functions; introduction of measures to encourage moves from informal or undeclared work to regular employment; audit exercises through liaison between various government department and entities to curb abuse.

Tanzania viii. Publish quarterly all Tax Exemptions granted in Health, Education and Water related sectors on the Ministry of Finance (MOF) website, in machine readable format;

Uruguay A new regime for the documentation of operations by means of the electronic fiscal receipt (CFE). It will allow substituting the paper documentation with electronic documentation. One CFE is a digitally signed and generated document which holds the same legal and tax validity as a receipt and other paper generated documents. The Organizations involved are: the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs and the National Tax Office. By the year 2014, it is expected to have electronic receipts and tickets available for all nationals companies.

HLP 3:d. Natural resource revenues

Albania In 2012, the Albanian Secretariat for EITI, ALBEITI, will continue to implement the International Secretariat of EITI recommendations (the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative), including the reorganization of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group of the ALBEITI

Bulgaria New National Strategy for the Mining Industry. New Law on the Underground Resources incorporating the European and global practices of effective management of the underground resources. Public information system with data about the location, group of mineral resources and their status and/or found deposits of underground resources, specialized maps and registries of exploration permits and concessions. Every citizen will be entitled to receive an official copy of the documents. The transparency of managing mineral resources will be achieved by involving established experts from the academic circles and NGOs in carrying out tender and competitive procedures for obtaining rights on the underground resources; approving geological reports drafted by the right holders; carrying out control over the exploration and mining of mineral resources.

Colombia In order to guarantee transparency in the investment of royalties, the execution of funds transferred to the regions will be published and disclosed, so that the civil society will have effective control over investment in the local agencies. The initiative for transparency in the extractive industries (EITI) will be implemented to publish the track of the extractive sector (oil, gas and

11


minerals), and to promote transparency and accountability. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: National Planning Department, Ministry of Public Finance, Ministry of Mining and Energy.

Guatemala Continue with control and transparency efforts - Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative –EITI.Indonesia Develop One-Map Portal to Promote efficiency on Forestry Management. The initiative will digitalize the data and information

related to primary and secondary forests (including peat lands) on a single portal. Those data and information will be synchronized with licenses data attached to the land area. (Track II, by December 2013). Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of environment, natural resources, and spatial data management. The key actions include:- Publication of revenue information of the government (central & region) from the extractive industry (oil & gas, coal). (Track III, by October 2012).- Establishment of multi-stakeholders forum for spatial plan development. (Track III, by July 2012)- Publication of spatial plan document. (Track III, by December 2012)

Jordan Initiating discussions to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).Peru To consolidate the EITI Committee, extending the representation of the three sectors and ensuring the development and

dissemination of annual reconciliation studies, as well as evaluating its implementation, under the same methodology for consultation and regional level similar composition

Ukraine Providing for implementation in Ukraine of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in compliance with the Initiative criteria.

HLP 3:e. Aid and external financing: development assistance as well as EU transfers to member states

Bulgaria Enhancing the public use of the information system for management and monitoring of the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund Wider scope of the available public information in order to achieve the project' and operational programs' indicators and expanding the opportunities for repeated use of the system data, including in formats allowing automated processing of information.

Canada The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) will make information about Canadian aid spending easier to find, use, and compare. Transparency is key to fostering accountability which is a hallmark of Canada’s tradition in providing international aid. Those involved in aid programs will be able to better track what aid is being used for, and what it is achieving, helping us to ensure that each dollar goes as far as possible toward stated goals. In Year 1, we will review all IATI requirements and publish our plan to make information about the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) activities available and accessible, and in

12


Years 2 and 3, we will focus on implementation and reporting. As a result, donors, partner countries, civil society organizations and citizens will be able to access and use Canadian information and compare it with the data from other participating organizations and countries.

Denmark Public hearings on the design of foreign aid programmesIn connection with the forthcoming new law on foreign aid and development assistance, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs will conduct public hearings on the design of future foreign aid programmes, allowing citizens and civil society to contribute input and suggestions to key development assistance issues and budgets of a certain size. Transparency in foreign aid programmesIn 2012, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs will launch a comprehensive transparency initiative that will present to Danish citizens as well as to partner countries detailed information about all foreign aid and development assistance projects and programmes.

Jordan Increasing transparency of foreign assistance through the completion of the second phase of the Jordan Aid Information Management System-JAIMS to include on-going assistance targeting civil society and regional projects.

Slovak Republic

The Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant mechanisms constitute significant resources of public finances used by local government bodies, business persons, and non-governmental organizations. Therefore, it is important that citizens obtain as much information as possible about these mechanisms. A specific website and application will be set up for this purpose in order to provide citizens with information about the use of the financial mechanisms listed above and results achieved by the use of these mechanisms, about the impact on regions having the highest unemployment rate, but also about opportunities for citizens to participate in on-going projects or to obtain financial assistance. As the Slovak Government seeks to promote transparent and open operation of public resources, interactive and transparent provision of information about the allocation of Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant mechanisms is considered a matter of prime importance. This action builds on Resolution No. 689/2011 of the Government of the Slovak Republic establishing the Register of Projects funded from the repayable and non-repayable financial assistance from public funds. The reach of the web application is broader than the reach of the planned Register of Projects, because it will also provide additional Ministry grant schemes that are not provided in the Register of Projects. The State administration bodies are required to provide the same amount of information for this web application as for the Register of Projects. Objectives of the web application:Provide information in the scope defined for the purposes of ITMS about all programs implementing the Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes implemented in the context of the Slovak Republic in one place.Provide up-to-date information about all opportunities associated with the allocation of Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes provided in the context of the Slovak Republic for different target groups (citizens, beneficiaries, candidates for public procurement, public

13


institutions, etc.);Enable public control of the effectiveness and transparency in the use of public resources from the Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes used in the context of the Slovak Republic.Basic characteristics of the web application :Provide comprehensive and easy-to-find information from all programs and Ministries implementing the financial mechanisms listed above (the Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes), and the search options meeting the needs and interests of the users.Provide interactive information about the amount, purpose, and other relevant data of provided grants on the map of Slovakia.Enable the distinction between approved projects, submitted project applications, projects currently implemented, and already implemented projects.Provide links to documents and sources, to include the system for metadata correction and amendment (crowd sourcing).The web application builds on the existing websites like www.nsrr.sk or the ITMS system, from which the application will partially collect information, but its reach is broader. Firstly, the objective of the web application is to cover all grant mechanisms listed above (the Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes used in the context of the Slovak Republic). Unlike the ITMS, this web application is intended for the general public use and its objectives and characteristics are more interactive than those defined for "www.nsrr.sk".The objective of the web application is to cover not only completed projects, but also projects currently being implemented in the case where systems of a particular Ministry also include such information about projects in progress (e.g. the ITMS). The web application will use access to required data through the Open Data Portal.

Spain The Spanish Government considers that the transparency and accountability of international development assistance must become one of the pillars of Spain’s cooperation policy. Therefore, we are committed to establishing a system that fully ensures transparency in Spanish Cooperation funding and actions. The system shall be implemented gradually, designing targets whose scope and quality may be broadened over time. To this end, progress will continue on Spain's Official Development Assistance information system (info@OD), incorporating, over the course of 2012, a tool for information access and analysis, accessible to any institution or citizen. Likewise, work shall be done to publish, through info@OD, regular information updates on Spanish Cooperation, and to shorten the deadlines for making available to the public data on the Annual International Cooperation Plan and its monitoring. In addition, Spain shall work to continue fulfilling the commitments undertaken within the framework of the International Aid Transparency Initiative, publishing information in accordance with its standards and increasing the frequency of updates. Moreover, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) has taken on the commitment to create a plan covering the documents to be published on its website, the deadlines and mechanisms for requesting information, and citizen participation. In the first quarter of 2013, and for the first time, an annual report will be published, containing information on implementation of the previous year's budget, the monitoring of the planning, and a report on the actions carried out. With regard to all the subsidies granted by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the obligation of total transparency shall be implemented; not only regarding announcements of subsidies and decisions taken, but

14


also the criteria for evaluation thereof. To this end, all actors receiving Spanish public funds, whether DNGOs, multilateral organizations or governments, shall be required to act following the same principles of greater openness and transparency, providing information on the financing and implementation of the projects approved. As for evaluation, there is a commitment to improve publication of and access to all the evaluation reports on cooperation policies, strategies, programmes and projects, as well as to promote access to evaluations of funds and programmes financed by Spanish contributions and carried out by other actors.

Sweden Further, support to initiatives related to open data and information and communication technology (ICT) that create opportunities for increased participation from a broader spectrum of the population. The upcoming strategy will broaden the initial focus on effectively managing public resources in development cooperation to include the government as a whole. The upcoming strategy will thus provide a coherent policy framework for a smart and open government supporting innovation and participation. (ii) monthly updated information from all public actors allocated funds under the international development cooperation expenditure area, (iii) an expanded range of published documents explaining when, to whom and why money has been made available, common, open standard for the electronic publication of aid information by December 2015, making the full range of information publicly available, focusing on transparent public financial management and aid information management systems, and making development cooperation more predictable.

Tanzania Encourage donors to exercise greater transparency of donor funding given to Tanzania (Government, Civil Society, and Private Sector) consistent with International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) principles. Likewise, Government, Civil Society and Private Sectors should post online revenues and expenditures, in machine readable format on an annual basis;

HLP 3:f. Public Investment Management

Colombia One of the strongest indicators for corruption around the world is investment in public services infrastructure, particularly utilities. In order to promote transparency, the Government is implementing criteria for efficiency and accountability in water supplies and sewerage companies, and it will develop a system for the Ministry of Housing and civil society to follow up on the execution of investments. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Ministry of Housing and the Transparency Secretariat.

El Salvador Streamlining and transparency in public investment processes Publication of a catalog of priority government projects, with compiled information on a Transparent Government Portal.

Guatemala Continue with control and transparency efforts - Construction Sector Transparency Initiative –COST.Indonesia Promoting transparency and accountability on budget information at National level. The data and information to be published

include: national budget (proposed & enacted), project and budget list, periodical budget disbursement, annual budget report, audited budget report, citizen budget. (Track II, by July 2012).

Jordan In order to enable citizens to participate in decision-making concerning the development of their communities, the General Budget Department (GBD) in coordination with other ministries and departments will work in the year 2012 on deepening the

15


implementation of decentralization through preparing a strategy for the financial decentralization project including strategic planning as well as the preparation, implementation, review and assessment of the budget on governorate and municipality level to link the local development requirements with the national policies and to ensure the effective utilization of the capital spending priorities according to these requirements.

Slovak Republic

As the Slovak Government seeks to promote transparent and open operation of public resources, interactive and transparent provision of information about the allocation of Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant mechanisms is considered a matter of prime importance. This action builds on Resolution No. 689/2011 of the Government of the Slovak Republic establishing the Register of Projects funded from the repayable and non-repayable financial assistance from public funds. The reach of the web application is broader than the reach of the planned Register of Projects, because it will also provide additional Ministry grant schemes that are not provided in the Register of Projects. The State administration bodies are required to provide the same amount of information for this web application as for the Register of Projects.

HLP 3:g) Fiscal reporting

Albania Based on the law On the Right to Information, as well as the Albanian government’s initiative to fight corruption and increase transparency, the Ministry of Finance’s General Directorate of the Treasury has disclosed the list of payments made daily by all general government units since January 2012. This document reflects such details as: the beneficiary, invoice number, description, the institution to which the treasury branch makes the payment, the respective amount and the date of registration of this bill in the Treasury system.

Bulgaria Publication of the financial and technical reports of second level budget spending units. Ensuring that the rules regulating the second level budget spending units are public and their financial results and reports are accessible to the public.

Colombia Colombia has an economic transparency website (www.pte.gov.co), with information on budget execution and payments available to the citizens. The plan is to strengthen this mechanism, particularly with stronger pedagogy in the use of information for the civil society, and its application at regional level, since it will provide adequate social control over the functioning of contracts, payments, investments and debts. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Ministry of Public Finance, regional agencies.

Croatia Access to information on expending public resources and contents of relevant registers will be improved in the field of political activity and electoral campaign financing, public procurement, television and media services, state property management, payments executed through Treasury Single Account, NGO financial statements and timely publishing of regional and local representative bodies' sessions' agendas and materials. Increase accessibility of information from the state budget by publishing the proposal of the state budget and monthly, semi-annual and annual reports in an updated and timely manner. Create prerequisites in the strategic and financial plans of the Ministry of Finance for designing and announcing a publicly searchable database on payments executed through the Treasury Single Account in line with the stipulated budget classifications

16


taking into consideration other on-going IT projects. Update the semi-annual report on the state budget execution for 2013 with: a) An explanation about how the changed economic conditions and proposals of new statutory solutions will influence the planned revenue and expenditure by the end of the year; b) Modified revenue and expenditure plan for the budgetary year with detailed explanations within statutory deadlines; c) Information about where the updated revenue and expenditure forecasts for the two years following the budgetary year can be found. Update monthly reports on the execution of the state budget for 2013 with the data on expenses incurred according to the organisational classification and publish them no later than a month following the completion of the period to which they pertain.

Kenya Promoting transparency, accountability in government services by providing published datasets online, and in simplified formats that relate to public expenditures and disbursements in health, education, water and other essential services on the Kenya Open Data Portal.

Moldova Increase of public spending transparency will contribute to efficient management of public resources.Tanzania Post quarterly disbursements and execution reports on Ministry of Finance (MoF) website in machine readable format, updated

in real time; Publishing of Para-statal Organizations, Executive Agencies and Regulatory Authorities revenues and expenditure on websites and newspapers.

HLP 3:h) Asset and liability management - including debt management, SOEs, and privatisation

Bulgaria New Strategy for Public Debt Management 2012-2014 to ensure alignment of the general debt management policy guidelines for a period of three years. The publication of the strategy will create favourable conditions for transparent and accountable public debt management

Croatia A system of participatory drafting and monitoring of state and local budget implementation will be set up by supporting public discussions on budget allocation priorities and financial statements of companies of special state interest, by enabling citizens to participate in Croatian parliament discussions about key budgetary documents and by supporting NGO programs aimed at promoting such processes at the local level Access to information on expending public resources and contents of relevant registers will be improved in the field of political activity and electoral campaign financing, public procurement, television and media services, state property management, payments executed through Treasury Single Account, NGO financial statements and timely publishing of regional and local representative bodies' sessions' agendas and materials. Conduct a public discussion about the financial statements of all companies of special state interest.

17


Create prerequisites for publishing information on financial and non-financial property managed by the state. Publish annual business activity reports of the companies of special state interest no later than 30 September of the current year for the previous year. Publish the proposal of the state budget timely and update it so that it contains the following:a) Information which shows how proposals of new statutory solutions will influence the revenue and expenditure of the budgetary year in comparison with the existing legislation; b) Functional classification of expenditures for the budgetary year and the year preceding it; c) The state of public debt at the beginning and end of the budgetary year; d) Structure of public debt for the budgetary year and the year preceding it; e) Arrears with current state on 30 June; f) Information on contingent liabilities for the budgetary year (guarantees); g) Information about where it is possible to find the data on the impact of macroeconomic presumptions on budget revenue, expenditure and debt (sensitivity).

Jordan Expanding the application of the chart of accounts' components for the general budget and budgets of government units, including recording monetary assets and liabilities using modified cash basis of reporting.

Mexico In the telecommunications sector, transparency criteria will be determined in accordance with international parameters and accordingly, the rate of compliance by telecommunication service providers will be published since this is a subject of great interest to our citizens. Besides, it will be created a browse device to improve the way information is provided by the agencies to the citizens.

Monte-negro

Montenegro will define clear and objective criteria and carry out the procedure for enabling participation of NGOs in the work of the Privatisation Council over the coming period in line with the principle of involving civil sector in public policies. In order to increase the transparency of the privatisation process, the Government will, as one of the contractual parties, invest additional efforts, in line with international practice, for concluded contracts not to contain the data confidentially clause which prevents publications of contracts after those are signed (effective).

HLP 3:i. Open data

Brazil The objective is to stimulate and build capacity of society in the use of public open data and information and data through measures like: support to the development of application software to process, interpret, and present public information and data from distinct perspectives, including through an application software selection procedure; organization of workshops on transparency and open data aimed at training and stimulating university students and members of civil society. Development of the structure and determination of the procedures for storing data in a unified database designed to consolidate the information provided on the Transparency Portal and the Public Transparency Pages and enable dynamic and integrated processing and handling of large data volumes. This will allow the development of new transparency tools and new and more effective audit tools.

Canada To fulfil its statutory responsibilities, the Government collects resource allocation and performance management information from all departments and agencies; not all of this information is currently provided online, nor is it easily searchable across departments. Through this initiative starting in Year 1, the government will use information collected from federal organizations to publish resource management and performance data through the open data portal. Years 2 and 3 will build on usage and feedback to provide enhanced search and data visualization tools.

18


During the recent public consultations on the Digital Economy Strategy and Open Government, Canadians called for open data to be made available in more usable and accessible formats. Building on the successful open data pilot launched in 2011, we will implement the next generation platform for the delivery of open data. Over the past year, we have expanded the number of non-geospatial data sets available from 800 in April 2011, to more than 11,000 in April of 2012. When geospatial datasets are included, the total comes to more than 272,000 unique data sets. During Year 1 of our Action Plan, we will continue to expand on the number of datasets made available through the existing portal, and we will complete our requirements for the next generation platform. In Years 2 and 3, we will design and initiate implementation of the new data.gc.ca portal, as well as further improve the level of standardization of data published by departments. The Government will make use of crowdsourcing, particularly among Canada’s open data community, to make sure that this new open data portal meets the needs and expectations of those who will use it most, and provides the best possible opportunity to support entrepreneurs eager to make use of Government of Canada data. Throughout our consultations with Canadians, it became clear that a more organized and accessible web presence for the Government of Canada is a key enabler for openness and transparency. To facilitate access to the wealth of information and services available to Canadian through the Web channel, we are committed to the development of an approach for a new user-centric, consolidated web presence for the Government of Canada within the first year of our Action Plan. In Years 2 and 3, we will initiate the implementation of this new platform, which will include a one-stop, federated search window to government information to provide simultaneous searching of federal web pages, data, and publications. To support the Open Government Directive and reduce the administrative burden of managing multiple licensing regimes across the Government of Canada, we will issue a new universal Open Government License in Year 1 of our Action Plan with the goal of removing restrictions on the reuse of published Government of Canada information (data, info, websites, and publications) and aligning with international best practices. In developing this new license we will also coordinate with other OGP members to allow more seamless collaboration across borders. The purpose of the new Open Government License will be to promote the re-use of federal information as widely as possible. It is our goal that federal departments will have adopted this new universal Open Government License by the end of Year 2 of the Action Plan. In Year 1 of our Action Plan, we will anchor our policy direction for Open Government by developing and issuing a new Directive on Open Government. Our on-going consultations with our Open Government Advisory Panel will inform the development of the Directive. The Directive will provide guidance to over 100 federal departments and agencies on what they must do to maximize the availability of online information and data, identify the nature of information to be published, as well as the timing, formats, and standards that departments will be required to adopt. Moving forward in Years 2 and 3, we will progressively implement the Directive in order to establish consistency and standard practices with regard to open publishing across government departments and agencies. The clear goal of this Directive is to make Open Government and open information the default approach.

Chile National Archives Policy. A panel will be formed comprised of various relevant actors to discuss public archives, with the general object of establishing the necessary recommendations for an adequate, efficient National Archives Policy that reflects the current state of the nation and consistent with good governance and transparency practice. Transparency Portal. This initiative seeks to strengthen compliance with the Access to Public Information Act by public agencies and 2 municipalities, by sharing information about its transparency obligations on a centralized portal, that will provide citizens

19


access and benefit of this information, through common standards for publishing information. It also provides for the development of tools to help facilitate searching public information, analysis and publication in open formats. The Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency and the Council for Transparency are in charge of its development. With the object of facilitating citizens' access to transparency and participation structures, and devoting a standard and tools to government services to help them meet their commitments, it will be encouraged to integrate these initiatives into a one-stop-shop style portal, combining the best international experiences (as in the case of the American Open Government Initiative). The portal will be a way to centralize into one unified platform all the initiatives of transparency, participation and public data, giving them consistency throughout the government and facilitating their understanding and use by the citizens. Public servants will be trained on open government and establishing standards, methods and promoting data publication. The standards to be defined for the Government Administration in order to make data available will be established taking into consideration citizen usability needs and applying the same methodologies as mentioned in this plan.

Colombia Colombia has implemented a pilot project in which four Government agencies participate (www.datos.gov.co), providing unified and open access to all data published by them. This data can be used by anyone to develop applications or value-added services, to perform analysis or research, or to exercise civil control. The objective here is to work on guidelines so that all Government agencies publish and disseminate data on their various individual webpages. The open data site will become a mechanism for coordination and instruction on the access and use of a range of data published by the different agencies. Implementation: 2 years. Agencies responsible: ICT Ministry, (e-Government Program), National Planning Department.

Czech Republic

The creation of an open data infrastructure in the Czech Republic.

Denmark ‘Open Government Camp’Based on previous experience with similar initiatives, an ‘Open Government Camp’ event will be organised where citizens, businesses and NGOs may collaborate with public authorities and institutions on developing ideas, concepts and functional solutions based on government data, open source software, digital tools and new methods of collaboration. The camp will explore how civil society and public authorities can work together on problem-solving in new ways and together exploit digital technologies to make public welfare services more open, efficient and innovative. At the same time, the camp will serve as inspiration for public bodies to organise their own similar events or, in other ways, initiate co-creation and citizen involvement projects and practices. Renewed effort for open government dataThe government’s ‘Open Data Innovation Strategy’ (ODIS) initiative will be continued as part of the common public sector e-government strategy 2011-2015 to allow the public easier access to more re-useable public data. Guidelines and assistance will be provided to help public authorities make their data available for re-use, the public “Data Catalogue” will be maintained, knowledge sharing and collaboration will be facilitated, and examples of re-use of open data will be documented and shared. Regional initiative on open dataIn partnership with municipalities and businesses, the Central Denmark Regional Authority will establish a regional public-private initiative to help realise the potentials associated with the re-use of data and better use of data. The initiative will be integrated with the regional authority's work on geographic information systems (GIS) and digital self-service solutions.

20


Reuse of open source software in the public sectorThe Public portal, “Software Exchange”, where authorities can publish, share and re-use open source software, will expand co-operation with the ICT industry associations to stimulate the development of open source software for the “Software Exchange” and support the re-use of existing open source software in the public sector. Disclosure of status reporting from the National IT Project CouncilIn order to support open government and increase the sharing of knowledge and experience as a basis for improving public ICT solutions and services, status reports from the National IT Projects Council on public ICT projects will be published.

Estonia Drawing up a green paper on making public data available in a machine-readable form.Creating a repository of public data. A single window for accessing public data in a machine-readable form has been created and it also works as a channel for exchanging information and allows citizens and undertakings to make proposals for opening new data or developing new services Launching pilot projects of public data services based on the cloud tech.

Israel The Government will publicize information and datasets that are of importance to the public to allow private enterprises to develop applications for the benefit of the public. Similarly, the Government will offer grants and support for private social organizations that work towards these goals.

Italy Amending national legislation to incorporate provisions to facilitate publication and re-use of public data, including through the definition of automated processes (e.g. "open by default"). Enhancing the National Open Data Portal www.dati.gov.it Promoting National standards for open data, to be defined in line with the perspective pan-European open data portal Promoting an annual National contest for creative re-use of public data.

Kenya Promoting transparency, accountability in government services by providing published datasets online, and in simplified formats that relate to public expenditures and disbursements in health, education, water and other essential services on the Kenya Open Data Portal.


Mexico In addition, through the interoperable open data mechanism, the Government will strive to promote the integration of processes related to digital services an the use of common platforms and information systems in order to foster the use of raw databases by citizens

Moldova The government will draft the Law on public sector information re-use to facilitate the use and re-use of public information, will elaborate open data standards, will release more public data and will encourage use and development of applications based on open data.

Nether-lands

Enhancing accessibility and facilitating reuse of government informationIn 2012 and 2013 the Ministries of the Interior & Kingdom Relations and Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation are carrying out a joint open data programme.

Slovak Following and building on the Central Register of Contracts and the planned Central Register of Projects funded from repayable

21


Republic and non-repayable financial assistance from public funds (Resolution No. 689/2011 of the Government of the Slovak Republic), the Open Data Portal "data.gov.sk" aims to provide data to the public. Yet it goes beyond the CRC intention by creating a specific portal for collecting data at the disposal of the public administration bodies in Slovakia. The data will be provided in a standardized form to enable further processing, either automated or through development of applications to be used directly by citizens. The major difference is that the Open Data Portal is not a standard website providing various data. It is a catalogue of available public administration data that will be accessible on the portal and enabled for further computer processing. This means that the portal will provide information regarding the location of data required by citizens, business persons or the public administration for further processing. It is a unique and innovative portal, which has not to this date been implemented in Slovakia, but provides better access to data at the disposal of public administration bodies.Objectives of the Open Data Portal - data.gov.sk:Publish remotely accessible data available for machine processing using open standards and public licences.Publish metadata (i.e. data description, description of individual "columns in the table" or boxes in an application form), remotely accessible and available for machine processing using open standards and public licences.Basic characteristics of the portal:Provide data and access to data in compliance with open and technologically neutral standards using public licences enabling further use of data.Enable searching for documents - browsing, full text or filter search, searching by metadata.Provide links to documents and sources including the system for metadata correction and amendment (crowd sourcing).Data and databases published on the portal will be available to the public and usable solely for information and analysis purposes only, not for legal acts.For the successful operation of the Open Data Portal, the following has to be ensured:Develop common technical standards, binding rules and internal regulations for the public administration and organizations disclosing data that describe recommended practices for data disclosure, data structure in which new data is processed, as well as procedures for processing feedback received from users.Elaborate on a plan for progressive data and metadata disclosure at individual ministries (including the definitions of minimal scope of data to be disclosed annually).The provided data will also be evaluated by the public regarding its quality and usability. This evaluation will be performed on the Open Data Portal, for which individual datasets provided by public administration bodies will be assessed.After the setup of the Open Data Portal, pilot datasets of the ministries that have such data available will be published. The Central Register of Contracts will be one of the first datasets published on the portal. The setup and launch of the Central Register of Contracts (CRC) on 1 January 2011 has been one of the major achievements in the field of open governance. Still, its functioning and operation can be further improved. The improvements in the CRC will mostly affect the implementation of comments and requirements provided by public users at meetings with the Government Office, as well as on the Portal.Within the pilot project of data disclosure, selected ministries will prepare datasets that provide data in key areas relating to services delivered to citizens and transparent use of public funds.The Government Office will, in cooperation with other ministries, develop common standards and a plan for progressive

22


disclosure of existing data and metadata for the public administration bodies and will publish the data on the data.gov.sk. Individual ministries will provide datasets as scheduled in tasks, in accordance with, applicable technical and content specifications and guidelines for data disclosure. The published data will also be governed by Decree No. 312/2010 Coll. on the Standards for the IS because open data standards also need to have a common binding form.

Sweden Further, support to initiatives related to open data and information and communication technology (ICT) that create opportunities for increased participation from a broader spectrum of the population. Common, open standard for the electronic publication of aid information by December 2015, making the full range of information publicly available, focusing on transparent public financial management and aid information management systems, and making development cooperation more predictable.

Uruguay In the framework for the optimization of the resources of the State, the objective to develop a National Public Software strategy has been established. The goal for 2012 is to implement the portal of the National Public Software and make available the first application in accordance with the policies that will be defined. The responsible agency is AGESIC. Encourage the disclosure of public data through the creation of a Platform for Government open data (datos.gub.uy) and a campaign of public awareness on the subject of Open Government Data at a national level. The responsible agency is: AGESIC. The goal for 2012 is: to have established by November of 2012 an official data catalog, an open data community and manuals addressed to the different public (Civil Society Developers and the Citizenship in general).

HLP 4: Outputs and outcomesa) Performance orientation - including planning, publication of service delivery standards, and M&E

Brazil The School Development Plan (Plano de Desenvolvimento da Escola PDE Escola) is a school management planning methodology that seeks to assist institutions in the effort to expand the quality of education and learning by strengthening the respective underlying policy-education framework. Through an online platform, schools can identify problems. This diagnosis is used to craft a action plan to address identified challenges and whose activities may be funded by the Ministry of Education or by other resources.The Brazilian Government undertakes to make the tool available to public schools and to publish the individual action plans prepared by participating interactive PDE schools, that have been approved by the Ministry of Education, with a view to increasing transparency and fostering public oversight.

Denmark Increasing the use of user ratings in the citizens’ portal borger.dk

23


The public citizens’ portal borger.dk will implement user assessment and comment functionality on self-service solutions and other content in the portal. The goal is to utilise user inputs as a support for the continuous improvement of borger.dk and related services, including services provided by third parties. Ratings and comments will be made available for public authorities, ICT developers and citizens to drive and support innovation.

El Salvador Installation and get running of an electronic section within the One-Stop Transparency Portal called "Focused Transparency," through which the Government offers up useful information to citizens to improve their decision making about products, procedures, price, quality and services

Guatemala Implementation of the Performance Based Management Evaluation SystemHonduras Deepen the decentralization processes, including the regionalization of planning and budgeting, participative formulation of

Regional Development Plans with a Territorial Regulation Focus (PDROT) in the nation's 16 regions. To meet these commitments, there are plans to create 10 plans in 2011 and remaining 6 regional plans in 2012.Expand dissemination and training actions under the Country Vision and Nation Plan, with the purpose of laying solid foundations for the empowerment of the population with knowledge about the objectives, guidelines, goals and measures on the matter. Furthermore, online seminars will be delivered, and a civil society and public-private operating platform will be created for the design and management of the Country Image Strategy. Perform joint evaluations with organizations in civil society, fiscal management and public services. Additionally, the Regional Development Boards (or CDR's) will be supported in their monthly monitoring of the AOB-Budgets for the Regions

Indonesia Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation on police and public prosecution service. The data and information to be published include: institution and officer profile, type and service mechanism, time and cost required, case status/progress and annual report. The data and information are required to be published at institutions’ website. (Track I, by December 2011). Promoting transparency and accountability of public services at Land Administration Office. The data and information to be published include: types of services, processes required for service provisions, estimated time to complete a service, costs for service provision, status/progress of service request. The data and information are required to be published at the institutional website. (Track II, by December 2011).

Israel The work plans developed by Government offices and the goals defined in these plans will be publicized on the Prime Minister’s Office Internet site under the direction of its Policy Planning Division. A special Website was established (http://www.plans.gov.il) to display these plans. The Government will measure the level of Government service and publicize a Government service report, seeking to promote the principle of accountability. By gathering measurement information and publicizing a comparison of performance by different Government offices, it will enable the public to supervise Government activities and judge its operations, leading Government offices to define new goals and programs for improvement. The Government is currently establishing a central headquarters for improving Government service to the public. This unit will develop guidelines for governmental customer service, determine standards and develop central projects for improvement. It will run a set of measurements to review government services and publish its results for the public, coordinating its activities with officials in charge of different services at various Government agencies.

24


Italy The Transparency Portal. The portal will be realized and administered by CIVIT in cooperation with DIGIT PA. As provided for by the Law, it will contain PAs' performance plans and reports. Moreover, it will make information available as regards administrations' strategic and operational objectives, alongside information on relevant indicators, targets, stakeholders (leaders and contributors) as well as on the results achieved. Deviations from standards and the reasons for not achieving set targets will be indicated too. The Portal will also contain the full texts of the three-year Programmes for transparency and integrity. As for these Programmes, the Portal will display data which could prove to be useful to assess completion rates in terms of publication of mandatory data and information, together with an analysis of deviation from standards set forth by the Programmes themselves. Finally, the Transparency Portal, once consolidated, will have to contain quality standards of services provided to external users (citizens, business, etc.) by each administration. For each service, it will indicate standards concerning the various dimension of service quality (accessibility, transparency, timeliness, efficacy). With a view to ensuring a better data readability by citizens, we will also set up a reporting system. Such a system will result in an open dataset, to be published on the relevant Portal.

Jordan Amending “the Government Services Improvement Bylaw” number 64 for the year 2006 in a view of introducing adequate follow-up and accountability mechanisms and to improve the legislative framework governing the delivery of public services. In addition, the amended bylaw will enhance transparency and strengthen the trust between the recipients of services and the government entities. The amended bylaw will also assist in combating administrative and financial corruption. Equality and justice will be ensured to all citizens based on the fact that their voice and suggestions will be taken into consideration, by virtue of the bylaw. Improving and ensuring wider implementation of the “Government Services Improvement Guidelines Manual” to enable Governmental entities to deliver services through unified general scheme and best international practices. This will institutionalize the culture of constant improvement of the government services. Adopting additional measures aimed at increasing transparency in public spending and improving the allocation of budget resources in accordance to the national priorities. These measures include:Assessing the performance of ministries as well as government entities and units based on targeted performance indicators and exploring deviation from targets, reviewing the public spending for all sectors in the General Budget Law. This will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of services, resulting in enhancing the accountability and allowing citizens the access to all services and activities provided by the government. Public expenditure reviews assess the current situation, and the future opportunities. Upgrading the content and format of the annual Government Units’ Budgets Law in accordance with the advanced phases of ROB concept whereas it is planned that the 2014 Government Units’ Budgets Law will come out according to the new orientation. This will provide data about services provided by the government units at the program level. It will provide information about strategic objectives; duties entrusted; programs, projects and activities undertaken by these units and their costs; and identify performance indicators on the level of strategic objectives and related programs on the medium term. General Budget Department will enhance the orientation towards the social gender and child concept within the Government Units’ Budgets for the fiscal year 2014. This will identify programs, projects and activities oriented towards “social gender and child” along with resources allocated over the medium term.

25


Kenya Initiated under the Office of the Prime Minister, it is a citizen’s portal for integrated service delivery. The portal will enable access to all citizen-related service through a singular portal. The portal’s approach, also known as ‘cradle-to-grave’, seeks to harmonize individual citizen records such as birth, immunization, national identification, marriage, voter registration and death records.

Lithuania Centralised publishing of information on Government activities. Information on the implementation of the Government activity priorities / Government Programme provisions and the performance of assigned functions by public administration authorities will be published in a centralised fashion and in line with a uniform policy for information provision to the public. Increasing the accessibility of services provided to the public. An inventory of all the administrative and public services administered and supplied by public administration authorities will be made, a list/catalogue of the descriptions of these services will be compiled and indicators for the monitoring and analysis of the said services will be created. The number of electronic services provided by public administration authorities will be increased with the help of existing and currently developed common-use solutions of information and communication technologies. In addition, solutions for the adaptation of the certificates contained by the personal identity card for use in e-banking, e-health, e-business and e-university will be developed and tested. In order to create better conditions for the public to receive electronic services and take a more active part in the adoption of the decisions important to it, the infrastructure of electronic mail will be developed and its use promoted. Promotion of public participation in the process for the improvement of service provision. The quality of the services provided by public administration authorities will be assessed, the public needs with regard to the quality of the services provided to them will be determined, the abilities of the public to use electronic services will be developed, and public awareness of new technologies and electronic services will be raised.

Mexico Increasing the quality of education provided through strict social surveillance: to have and to increase the hiring of better qualified teachers through public contest; to increase the number of schools and teachers that participate in the ENLACE program, as well as continue publishing information regarding performance of education centers; to improve the ENLACE program; to define budgets for every single public primary/secondary school

Monte-negro

Taking into account that the Programme Budgeting significantly improves efficiency in spending of budget resources of some budget users, the Ministry of Finance will continue its implementation and work on identifying and developing performance indicators, as a mechanism for monitoring planned activities. Moreover, with the objective to increase transparency of the use of public resources, the Ministry of Finance will make amendments to the Chart of Accounts, which will improve the expenditure control.

South Africa

Formalise partnerships with civil society organisations in all nine provinces to establish Service Delivery Improvement Forums (SDIFs) at local level to provide timely citizen report cards on service delivery levels at community level, especially in relation to primary health care, water, sanitation, environmental management and housing.

Spain The procedure for granting public subsidies must respond to specific criteria set forth in an announcement governed by the principles of publicity, transparency, competitive concurrence, objectivity, equality and non-discrimination, complemented by the necessary effectiveness in meeting the goals set and efficiency in the use of public resources. The existence of nominative subsidies has led to an abusive use of such grants, aimed at sidestepping the guiding principles that should regulate them. We are committed to the rational use of public funds, and therefore during 2013 an amendment will be introduced to eliminate

26


nominative subsidies as a general rule in legislation on subsidies, to increase transparency regarding how they are granted and in their implementation and impact evaluation, and to define standard granting criteria.

Tanzania Posting orders and receipts of medical supplies from the Medical Stores Department (MSD) online and on notice boards to the facility level and updated in real time. Strengthen existing LGAs Service Boards and Committees in order to make them serve citizens more effectively.

Uruguay System of planning, information and management, which allows introducing efficiency and effectiveness into the use of economic and material resources. The involved agencies in the trial run are: AGESIC, Presidency of the Republic and Ministry of Economy and Financial Affairs. The goal is: for every Ministry to have a solution that will support its administrative management in one of its Executing Units by the year 2015 and use the PGE (E-government Platform) as the base for all information exchange between the involved systems.

HLP 4:b) Public services – recipient feedback

Colombia Colombia has a follow-up system of government targets which monitors the performance of public agencies. This system is available for the citizens and the objective is to obtain greater use and feedback from the civil society so that decision-making can be improved. It is also an aim of the country to implement this follow-up system at the regional level. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible. Presidential Advisor for Good Government and Administrative Efficiency, National Planning Department, ICT Ministry.

El Salvador Amend the OMBUDSMAN Act and Right of Reply. Handing out User Rights Pages. Citizen monitoring of public services ("The worst process of my life") and improvement of main services within 60 days. Install and get running a private public system that offers legal aid within each government institution to citizens who wish to file a complaint, notice or action in relation to failed tasks or services by the State, creating a structure in alliance with the private sector, academic sector and civil society.

Jordan Amending “the Government Services Improvement Bylaw” number 64 for the year 2006 in a view of introducing adequate follow-up and accountability mechanisms and to improve the legislative framework governing the delivery of public services. In addition, the amended bylaw will enhance transparency and strengthen the trust between the recipients of services and the government entities. The amended bylaw will also assist in combating administrative and financial corruption. Equality and justice will be ensured to all citizens based on the fact that their voice and suggestions will be taken into consideration, by virtue of the bylaw. Improving and ensuring wider implementation of the “Government Services Improvement Guidelines Manual” to enable Governmental entities to deliver services through unified general scheme and best international practices. This will institutionalize the culture of constant improvement of the government services. The Government will also ensure wider implementation of the Manual, and will conduct a comprehensive customers’ satisfaction survey in 2012. This will enhance citizens’ satisfaction by empowering citizens to be active partners in the

27


development of service delivery mechanisms. It will also improve constant monitoring of service providers which will ensure the good quality of service delivery, and accordingly strengthen the trust among citizens and service providers. Adopting a new Unified Procurement By-Law (final stages for approval) based on three central departments as mentioned above, with a recommendation from the specialized technical committee formed at the Governmental Tender Directorate to establish a procurement policies unit at the Prime Ministry, in addition to a procurement complaints unit. In addition, a new system that transforms the present procedures into automated tendering system will be developed. This will regulate the procedures, processes, and control the procurement expenditures, and will increase the accountability and transparency, and enhance performance.

Kenya Promote transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of essential services, especially education and health by developing a collaborative CSO-Government public complaints portal. The portal will be an affirmation of the spirit of the new constitution that recognizes the rights but also responsibility of citizens in improving services.

South Africa


Tanzania ii. Develop and/or review Clients Service Charters of Health, Education and Water sectors for both national and facility level services, and make them accessible to citizens; iii. Review existing complaints register to ensure that complaints received are attended and feedback on action taken is adequately documented and posted to the prioritized sectors‟ website quarterly;

HLP 5: Legal framework

Albania The Minister for Innovation and ICT will also draft a special law "On Notice and Consultation" for the legal regulation of structured consultation processes with civil society actors and interest groups, including economic and social partners.

Bulgaria Ensuring that the rules regulating the second level budget spending units are public and their financial results and reports are accessible to the public. Amendments to the budget legislation aimed at establishing fiscal rules and procedures ensuring more effective and transparent management of public funds, including introduction of the so called Citizens Budget containing a short description of the policy changes as well as the financial allocations for significant civic sectors.

Canada In Year 1 of our Action Plan, we will anchor our policy direction for Open Government by developing and issuing a new Directive on Open Government.

Chile Lobby Bill: The Government will submit to the National Congress a bill to regulate lobbying, centered around making transparent the agendas of government agencies that are targeted by lobbying.

Croatia Give recommendations and instructions to all local and regional self-government units to publish, on their official web sites, key budgetary documents (budget proposal when the executive bodies send it to the representative bodies; budged adopted by the representative body when the representative body adopts it; semi-annual and annual report on execution when the executive bodies send it to the representative bodies). The practice of consulting the interested public in procedures of adopting new laws, other regulations and acts will be enhanced

28


by amending the Government's Rules of Procedure, standardizing internet consultations, training civil servants to efficiently implement the Code of Practice and preparing annual reports on the implementation, and by including members of interested public in sessions of Parliament working bodies.

Denmark Public hearings on the design of foreign aid programs: in connection with the forthcoming new law on foreign aid and development assistance, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs will conduct public hearings on the design of future foreign aid programmes, allowing citizens and civil society to contribute input and suggestions to key development assistance issues and budgets of a certain size.

Dominican Republic

Promote the enactment of the Act on Affidavit of Assets and Illicit Enrichment enacted and its Regulations.

El Salvador Amend the OMBUDSMAN Act and Right of Reply.Honduras Submit to the National Congress the Internal Control Bill to set provisions for the National Internal Control Office (ONADICI for

the Spanish) so it will have the proper legal framework.Jordan Adopting a new Unified Procurement By-Law (final stages for approval) based on three central departments as mentioned

above, with a recommendation from the specialized technical committee formed at the Governmental Tender Directorate to establish a procurement policies unit at the Prime Ministry, in addition to a procurement complaints unit. Amending “the Government Services Improvement Bylaw” number 64 for the year 2006 in a view of introducing adequate follow-up and accountability mechanisms and to improve the legislative framework governing the delivery of public services. In addition, the amended bylaw will enhance transparency and strengthen the trust between the recipients of services and the government entities. The amended bylaw will also assist in combating administrative and financial corruption. Equality and justice will be ensured to all citizens based on the fact that their voice and suggestions will be taken into consideration, by virtue of the bylaw. Approval by Parliament and enactment of the amended Anti-Corruption Law (approved by Government in 2011). See anti-corruption category for details. Amending “the Government Services Improvement Bylaw” number 64 for the year 2006 in a view of introducing adequate follow-up and accountability mechanisms and to improve the legislative framework governing the delivery of public services. See HLP 4 for details. Amendment of the Audit Bureau Law to ensure enhancing the independence of the Audit Bureau as a Supreme Audit Institution according to international best practices.

Italy Amending national legislation to incorporate provisions to facilitate publication and re-use of public data, including through the definition of automated processes (e.g. "open by default"). Approval of a more efficient regulatory framework to prevent and fight against corruption within PA, to ensure better market conditions for competition while promoting a reduction of public spending. Draft legislation provides for mandatory implementation of anti-corruption plans by all administrations, with the coordination of the Department for Public Administration, the designation of a person in charge of corruption prevention, the enhancement of a widespread network on the territory (namely Prefects) as a tool to support and provide information to local authorities and acting as an intermediary between the latter and the National Anti-corruption Authority. Other provisions concern awards and anonymity for individuals

29


reporting crimes against Public Administration (protection of whistle blowers), a rotation system for officials working in high-risk sectors, new incompatibility provisions and a better management of conflict of interests, enhanced transparency on assets of PA managers.


Moldova The government will draft the Law on public sector information re-use to facilitate the use and re-use of public information, will elaborate open data standards, will release more public data and will encourage use and development of applications based on open data.

Monte-negro

In order to increase transparency of use of public funds, the Government of Montenegro will amend the Organic budget Law to define budgeting calendar dates more specifically, aiming to provide sufficient time to all participants in the planning process, including also the parliamentary procedure. Furthermore, introduction of specific fiscal rules and medium-term budgeting is also planned, which will increase significantly the transparency, accountability in planning and implementation, as well as precision in budget planning. A conceptual design for the project of assistance, within a framework agreement to be financed by the Delegation of the European Commission to Montenegro called Strengthening of the Public Procurement System in Montenegro is submitted, covering improvement of the Law on Public Procurement. See HLP 6 for details. In order to provide a comprehensive protection of persons who report corruption in Montenegro, the Government of Montenegro will propose adoption of a special Law on persons who report corruption, which will: define a comprehensive protection of persons who report corruption; stipulate clear procedures for reporting corruption; define competent institutions; establish a reporting system on several levels, including media outlets, parliamentarians and civil society organisation as protected channels for reporting corruption; define clear and detailed measures for protection, sanctions and remuneration to motivate employees to report corruption.

Slovak Republic

To eliminate corruption, circumvention of laws or ineffective actions of public institutions, the Government of the Slovak Republic will adopt effective legislative measures to support people from inside public and private institutions who have knowledge of and want to give notice of such actions. See anti-corruption for further details.

Tanzania Prepare legislative amendments and regulations to strengthen asset disclosures of public officials.Ukraine Introduction to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of draft laws on implementation of recommendations made to Ukraine following the

3rd round of GRECO monitoring and monitoring under the OECD Istanbul Action Plan with regard to:- criminalization of corruption offences;- funding of political parties;- improvement of provisions regulating forfeiture of property;- introduction of liability of legal entities for corruption offences;- strengthening safeguards for protection of persons reporting offences. Amending resolutions by the Cabinet of Ministers regulating collaboration with civil society bodies as related to holding

30


consultations with the public, evaluation by the public of executive agencies' activities, and anti-corruption public evaluation of draft regulations. Introduction to Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine of the draft amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Public Self-Organization Bodies (Community Associations)", amendment of regulations concerning their establishment and activities so as to facilitate procedures for establishing community associations, expand their financial and material resource base, introduce safeguards for their operation etc., as well as of a bill regulating issues pertaining to organizing and holding general assemblies (conferences) of members of local communities at their residence.

HLP 6: Government sector and private sector- Procurement and tendering

Brazil The Registry of National Prices (Registro de PreÌ¤os Nacional RPN) is a centralized procurement model designed to serve all states and municipalities. The RPN provides for a single procurement procedure, centralized under National Educational Development Fund (Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento da EducaÌ FNDE), where the prices of a number of select educational supplies are stored (price tables). The measure leads to an economy in purchases and a decrease of the time of public procurement procedures. The Brazilian Government undertakes to increase the number of supplies with registered price tables, as a means to optimize procurement procedures in the Brazilian educational system.

Bulgaria The transparency of managing mineral resources will be achieved by involving established experts from the academic circles and NGOs in carrying out tender and competitive procedures for obtaining rights on the underground resources; approving geological reports drafted by the right-holders; carrying out control over the exploration and mining of mineral resources.

Colombia As a means for greater transparency and efficiency in public contracts, and given the recent creation of the agency Colombia Compra Eficiente, public policy mechanisms and instruments will be implemented to organize and articulate public procurement, establish reference prices, and determine price framework agreements, amongst other things. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: National Planning Department, the Agency Colombia Compra Eficiente.

Croatia Access to information on expending public resources and contents of relevant registers will be improved in the field of political activity and electoral campaign financing, public procurement, television and media services, state property management, payments executed through Treasury Single Account, NGO financial statements and timely publishing of regional and local representative bodies' sessions' agendas and materials. Publish all concession contracts for the provision of television and radio media services (without tender documents). Publish public procurement contracts and framework agreements concluded by the Central Procurement Office on the Office’s website. On the website www.javnanabava.hr provide a consolidated and publicly available list of links to individual Registers of public procurement contracts and framework agreements which were published individually.

Czech The creation of an open data infrastructure in the Czech Republic and the establishment of rules for the public procurement

31


Republic sector.Dominican Republic

Develop and manage a transactional portal that reflects all the operations of government procurement in a transparent way, competitive and easy public access.

El Salvador Implement Integrity Pledges in the Government's distinguishing projects.Estonia Interactive guidelines and training in implementation of the Good Practice of Public Participation Public ProcurementGeorgia New platform for public procurement was introduced: www.procurement.gov.ge. Public procurement can be conducted

exclusively online. There is zero possibility of corruption as the bidding process is being carried out online on the web-site and any interested party can follow it. The competitiveness is fully guaranteed.

Greece Publicise Public Sector procurement informationHonduras Implement Master Agreements and Corporate Procurement in order to coordinate and strengthen State Procurement

negotiating abilities, and publish and update Annual Procurement and Contracting Plans for the Institutions in connection with SIAFI (Integrated System of Federal Government Financial Administration), and the Register of Suppliers and Contractors, reinforcing the central axes of transparency and anti-corruption.

Indonesia Promoting transparency and accountability on procurement activities of government institutions. E-procurement software will be installed and operated at 56 central government institutions. (Track II, December 2012).

Jordan Undertaking the self-assessment using the Methodology for the Assessment of National Procurement Systems developed by the OECD-DAC Task Force on Procurement. The methodology includes baseline indicators to compare a country’s systems to international-accepted good practice, as well as a new set of indicators. These indicators assess overall performance of the system, compliance with national legislation and standards and whether there is a reform programme in place to promote improved practices, and also the final PEFA report about financial reform that concentrated on enhancement of procurement transparency and its indicators.• Adopting a new Unified Procurement By-Law (final stages for approval) based on three central departments as mentioned above, with a recommendation from the specialized technical committee formed at the Governmental Tender Directorate to establish a procurement policies unit at the Prime Ministry, in addition to a procurement complaints unit. In addition, a new system that transforms the present procedures into automated tendering system will be developed. This will regulate the procedures, processes, and control the procurement expenditures, and will increase the accountability and transparency, and enhance performance.

Malta Procurement procedures should incorporate a balance between simplification, transparency and accountability. This could be achieved through better use of electronic means and more openness in tender evaluation

Moldova Increased transparency of public procurement will lead to better management of public resources.Monte-negro

A conceptual design for the project of assistance, within a framework agreement to be financed by the Delegation of the European Commission to Montenegro called Strengthening of the Public Procurement System in Montenegro is submitted, covering improvement of the Law on Public Procurement in the segment of municipal services sector, institutional framework and strengthening administrative capacities of the Public Procurement Administration (trainings), consolidation of public procurements or implementation of the public procurement procedure by another contracting authority, as well as a solution for development of the technical specification geared towards the introduction of an electronic public procurement system. The

32


commencement of the project implementation is planned for 2 May 2012, with the completion date being 1 May 2013. A contracting authority designated by way of a Government regulation will carry out public procurements for the needs of state authorities and public services, while for the needs of local self-government units a contracting authority will be designated by way of regulation of the competent local self-government authority. Montenegro will commit to adopt relevant regulations and define training modules; regulations on the programme and manner of taking a professional exam in the area of public procurement; development of a manual, flyers, bulletin on increasing awareness in the segment how corruption distorts the public procurement process and development of instructions on how to report irregularities in public procurement procedures. Furthermore, the focus will be on carrying out a campaign on raising awareness of transparency in public procurement. Regulatory framework has been improved by the adoption of the Law on Public Procurement aimed at full harmonisation with European standards in the area of public procurement and full efficiency, competitiveness and transparency of the public procurement procedure. In view of improving the procedure for corruption reporting to the Public Procurement Directorate by third parties, campaigns and seminars are continuously organised, and a hotline for corruption reporting has been open. Focus of Montenegro in the next period will be directed towards the development and improvement of the Help desk for advisory and consulting services and special group for reporting irregularities Special care will be dedicated to the improvement of concessions and development of the public-private partnership model. The Government of Montenegro will set a regulatory framework for the public-private partnership and concessions in cooperation with consultants of SIGMA, and such framework will be aligned with the European standards and UNECE standards. Consequently, said regulation would enable public access to the following data from contracts: name of the public-sector partner or grantor; name of the private partner or Concessionaire; description of the subject-matter of a contract and start date for the project implementation; signing date of a contract and its duration; location of contracted activities. An enabling regulation will be prepared to address these needs that would govern the functioning of the register of contracts, to provide detailed explanation of procedures for contracts submission and disclosure of data.

Peru ProcurementSlovak Republic

The setup of the Central Register of Contracts (CRC) has been the first and foremost step of information disclosure in Slovakia. The CRC enables citizens to monitor the allocation of state funds. This is the highest ranked action among experts, personalities, and non-governmental organizations.

Turkey Electronic Public Procurement PlatformUruguay Setting up of the Agency for State Purchases and Contracts. The purchases are a vital component of the public administration of

a country which links the financial system with economic and social results. The state of public purchases determines in great measure the governability and performance of the community services and cuts across almost all areas of pacification, program management and budget. The Organization responsible is: Presidency of the Republic. It is expected to be implemented during this 5 year term.

HLP 7: Clarity of roles and responsibilities

33


Albania • In 2012, the Albanian Secretariat for EITI, ALBEITI, will continue to implement the International Secretariat of EITI recommendations (the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative), including the reorganization of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group of the ALBEITI.• The Minister for Innovation and ICT will also draft a special law "On Notice and Consultation" for the legal regulation of structured consultation processes with civil society actors and interest groups, including economic and social partners.

Bulgaria • Amendments to the budget legislation aimed at establishing fiscal rules and procedures ensuring more effective and transparent management of public funds, including introduction of the so called Citizens Budget containing a short description of the policy changes as well as the financial allocations for significant civic sectors.• The transparency of managing mineral resources will be achieved by involving established experts from the academic circles and NGOs in carrying out tender and competitive procedures for obtaining rights on the underground resources; approving geological reports drafted by the right-holders; carrying out control over the exploration and mining of mineral resources.

Colombia The initiative for transparency in the extractive industries (EITI) will be implemented to publish the track of the extractive sector (oil, gas and minerals), and to promote transparency and accountability.

Croatia • The practice of consulting the interested public in procedures of adopting new laws, other regulations and acts will be enhanced by amending the Government's Rules of Procedure, standardizing internet consultations, training civil servants to efficiently implement the Code of Practice and preparing annual reports on the implementation, and by including members of interested public in sessions of Parliament working bodies.

Dominican Republic

• Creation of the Single Treasurer Account platform as a financial tool that centralizes all public resources in a single bank account.

El Salvador • Opening of Information and Response Offices in all institutions in the Executive Branch.Opening of 14 Information and Response offices in 14 Provincial Governments, others in regional and departmental offices of other State ministries. Formation of auditing committees

Guatemala • Continue with control and transparency efforts - Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative –EITI.Honduras • Submit to the National Congress the Internal Control Bill to set provisions for the National Internal Control Office (ONADICI for

the Spanish) so it will have the proper legal framework. Approve Honduras' Comprehensive Anticorruption Policy with the participation of the social, economic and political sectors of the nation.

Indonesia • Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of environment, natural resources, and spatial data management. The key actions include: Establishment of multi-stakeholders forum for spatial plan development. (Track III, by July 2012)

Israel • As part of its commitments to the Open Government Partnership, the Israel Government will establish a cross-sector forum as an official forum that will supervise approved Government plans and provide consultation on Open Government issues through the Minister in charge of Improvement of Government Services. The Forum will comprise senior representatives of the Government, the academic world and third sector organizations.

Italy • Approval of a more efficient regulatory framework to prevent and fight against corruption within PA, to ensure better market

34


conditions for competition while promoting a reduction of public spending. Draft legislation provides for mandatory implementation of anti-corruption plans by all administrations, with the coordination of the Department for Public Administration, the designation of a person in charge of corruption prevention, the enhancement of a widespread network on the territory (namely Prefects) as a tool to support and provide information to local authorities and acting as an intermediary between the latter and the National Anti-corruption Authority.

Jordan • Initiating discussions to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).• Amending “the Government Services Improvement Bylaw” number 64 for the year 2006 in a view of introducing adequate follow-up and accountability mechanisms and to improve the legislative framework governing the delivery of public services.• Adopting a new Unified Procurement By-Law (final stages for approval) based on three central departments as mentioned above, with a recommendation from the specialized technical committee formed at the Governmental Tender Directorate to establish a procurement policies unit at the Prime Ministry, in addition to a procurement complaints unit.• Amendment of the Audit Bureau Law to ensure enhancing the independence of the Audit Bureau as a Supreme Audit Institution according to international best practices. Approval by Parliament and enactment of the amended Anti-Corruption Law (approved by Government in 2011). The proposed amendments will further empower the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and will facilitate its daily work.

Malta • Setting up of different boards to ensure internal accountability and transparency and the amalgamation of the revenue earning departments that includes legislative amendments, HR, systems, and logistical arrangements to ensure a smooth transition process.

Monte-negro

• In order to increase transparency of use of public funds, the Government of Montenegro will amend the Organic budget Law to define budgeting calendar dates more specifically, aiming to provide sufficient time to all participants in the planning process, including also the parliamentary procedure. Furthermore, introduction of specific fiscal rules and medium-term budgeting is also planned, which will increase significantly the transparency, accountability in planning and implementation, as well as precision in budget planning.• A conceptual design for the project of assistance, within a framework agreement to be financed by the Delegation of the European Commission to Montenegro called Strengthening of the Public Procurement System in Montenegro is submitted, covering improvement of the Law on Public Procurement in the segment of municipal services sector, institutional framework and strengthening administrative capacities of the Public Procurement Administration (trainings), consolidation of public procurements or implementation of the public procurement procedure by another contracting authority, as well as a solution for development of the technical specification geared towards the introduction of an electronic public procurement system. The commencement of the project implementation is planned for 2 May 2012, with the completion date being 1 May 2013.• A contracting authority designated by way of a Government regulation will carry out public procurements for the needs of state authorities and public services, while for the needs of local self-government units a contracting authority will be designated by way of regulation of the competent local self-government authority.• Montenegro will define clear and objective criteria and carry out the procedure for enabling participation of NGOs in the work of the Privatisation Council over the coming period in line with the principle of involving civil sector in public policies.

Peru • To consolidate the EITI Committee, extending the representation of the three sectors and ensuring the development and

35


dissemination of annual reconciliation studies, as well as evaluating its implementation, under the same methodology for consultation and regional level similar composition.

Slovak Republic

The Government of the Slovak Republic supports permanent dialogue with the civil society on topics such as transparency and open governance. Therefore, it has decided to set up a Council of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Transparency and Open Governance, which would comprise of members of the Chamber of Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Organizations of the Committee of the Non-Governmental and Non-Profit, Working Group members, representatives of selected watchdog organizations in Slovakia, and other personalities with experience in the field of enhancing transparency and openness.

South Africa

• Develop a Citizen Participation guideline for Public Sector departments that would ensure that every public sector department across all spheres have a functional, resourced and capacitated citizen engagement unit which regularly and proactively engage with civil society.• Formalise partnerships with civil society organisations in all nine provinces to establish Service Delivery Improvement Forums (SDIFs) at local level to provide timely citizen report cards on service delivery levels at community level, especially in relation to primary health care, water, sanitation, environmental management and housing.

Spain • This Organic Law fulfils the mandate set forth in Article 135 of the Spanish Constitution, and is to be the legal and economic foundation of the budget policies of all Public Administrations. Thus, Spain is leading the way as one of the first countries to incorporate the European Union's budget discipline rules into a text of the highest legal rank.The draft Organic Law, the basic aims of which are to ensure the budget sustainability of all Public Administrations and achieve greater rigor in budget information and the implementation and monitoring of the budget of the Public Administrations is based on the European Union's regulations regarding fiscal discipline, and is currently being debated in Parliament. Its definitive approval is expected for the first half of 2012.

Ukraine • Amending resolutions by the Cabinet of Ministers regulating collaboration with civil society bodies as related to holding consultations with the public, evaluation by the public of executive agencies' activities, and anti-corruption public evaluation of draft regulations.• Introduction to Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine of the draft amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Public Self-Organization Bodies (Community Associations)", amendment of regulations concerning their establishment and activities so as to facilitate procedures for establishing community associations, expand their financial and material resource base, introduce safeguards for their operation etc., as well as of a bill regulating issues pertaining to organizing and holding general assemblies (conferences) of members of local communities at their residence.• Amending resolutions by the Cabinet of Ministers regulating collaboration with civil society bodies as related to holding consultations with the public, evaluation by the public of executive agencies' activities, and anti-corruption public evaluation of draft regulations.• Providing for implementation in Ukraine of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in compliance with the Initiative criteria.

Uruguay Setting up of the Agency for State Purchases and Contracts.HLP 8: Legislative Oversight

36


Croatia A system of participatory drafting and monitoring of state and local budget implementation will be set up by supporting public discussions on budget allocation priorities and financial statements of companies of special state interest, by enabling citizens to participate in Croatian parliament discussions about key budgetary documents and by supporting NGO programs aimed at promoting such processes at the local level

Georgia A direct dialogue between legislators and an individual will be enhanced: the web-site of the Legislative Herald (www.matsne.gov.ge) will have a special module allowing everyone to comment on any article of draft or enacted laws and bylaws and provide their opinions.

Monte-negro

In order to increase transparency of use of public funds, the Government of Montenegro will amend the Organic budget Law to define budgeting calendar dates more specifically, aiming to provide sufficient time to all participants in the planning process, including also the parliamentary procedure.

South Africa

Enhance the involvement of civil society at every stage of the budgetary process across all spheres of government to enhance the progressive realisation of socioeconomic rights and enable citizens to track public expenditure.

HLP 9: Independent Audit (including relationship with internal audit5

Bulgaria Publication of information about the tax audit reports of the National Revenue Service upon completion of the tax audits.Dominican Republic

Contribute to the experience and the strengthening of the Accounts Chamber in social control through the development of a pilot exercise involving civil and community organizations and a government agency. This commitment links with the Action Plan in its contribution to citizens participation and increasing the information on governmental activities.

El Salvador Formation of auditing committees, and making Internal Auditing Units in the Executive Branch more professional in specific issues focused on combating corruption, such as fraud detection, forensic auditing, procurement processes, preparation of risk focused work plans, classification of administrative acts as criminal offenses, and so on.

Honduras Submit to the National Congress the Internal Control Bill to set provisions for the National Internal Control Office (ONADICI for the Spanish) so it will have the proper legal framework.

Jordan Amendment of the Audit Bureau Law to ensure enhancing the independence of the Audit Bureau as a Supreme Audit Institution according to international best practices Establish a modern Internal Audit function in line ministries in accordance with international good practices following a study that clarifies the appropriate balance between ex-ante and ex-post controls and the organization required for such arrangement. Setting and developing standards and indicators to measure the level of transparency, accountability, and good governance, in addition to activating the role of the internal audit units at the government institutions Publishing the annual reports for 2011 of the Audit Bureau and Anti-Corruption Commission in the first half of 2012. Increasing transparency and accountability in the use of public funds through putting in place revised Action Plans of Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Audit Bureau (AB) based on the MOU signed between both sides on separating MOF and AB

5 Internal audit itself also included if included in same commitment.

37


responsibilities with regard to internal control and external audit. Commission in the first half of 2012.

Monte-negro

In addition, the Ministry of Finance will form internal structures that will monitor reports of the State Audit Institution, its findings, stated recommendations and its implementation by the audited institution. The Government will work on improving communication and exchange of information and findings between the internal audit system and the State Audit Institution.

Tanzania Improve National Audit Office/Controller and Auditor General’s website to make it more open and user friendly and provide data in machine readable format.

HLP 10:Public participationa) Public participation – general. Includes general enabling environment for CSOs, and general govt./CSO relations, as well as non-specific forms of participation

Public participation – general includes general enabling environment for CSOs and government/CSOrelations, as well as non-specific forms of participation

Albania The Minister for Innovation and ICT will also draft a special law "On Notice and Consultation" for the legal regulation of structured consultation processes with civil society actors and interest groups, including economic and social partners.

Brazil The initiative aims at further developing studies on social participation mechanisms and forums, as well as qualifying democratic and citizen engagement. The Seminar centers on discussions relating to the National System of Social Participation, take stock of social participation processes carried out by the federal government, and discuss initiatives, perspectives and strategies to guide governmental action for the period of 2011-2014.

Bulgaria Improving and publicizing the Public Consultations Portal (www.strategy.bg) to achieve wider public participation. An overall vision and strategy for the development of non-governmental organizations in Bulgaria. The goal is to establish rules for financing organizations for which the legislation has not laid down procedures regulating their partnership with the government and the municipalities, to achieve increased transparency of the budget resources allocated for financing the NGOs.

Canada To simplify access and participation in online consultations by Canadians, we will explore options in Year 1 for the development of a new Web 2.0 citizen engagement platform that federal organizations can use to conduct public consultations. Also in Year 1,

38


we will develop a standard approach to the use of social media and Web 2.0 by federal departments to augment their engagement activities with citizens and businesses, as well as pilot a crowdsourcing initiative to involve Canadians in developing ideas and solutions for greater online dialogue and engagement on public policy initiatives. In Years 2 and 3, we will enable the use of common online tools to support engagement activities.

Colombia The Government and civil society will identify follow-up indicators to evaluate civil participation in Government actions, in order to generate strategies and capacities for it to be more effective and active. Good practices will be implemented as a means of encouraging civil participation and improved quality.Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Presidential Advisor for Good Government and Administrative Efficiency, Transparency Secretariat, National Planning Department. Through electronic media and forums, Colombia will promote spaces for civil participation in the formulation of policy and decision-making. The Ministry of Justice will promote the development of a policy document, in which there will be an opportunity for civil participation in the creation of new national norms. With the support of the civil society, the country must develop citizen capabilities so that they can cooperate and contribute in the formulation of policies. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Ministry of Justice, ICT Ministry (e-Government program). Colombia will work in the consolidation of a National Policy for Civil Participation, which seeks to generate actions to strengthen the capacity of the civil society and civil servants and authorities in the implementation of effective opportunities for participation. Within these actions, a unified methodology will be prepared for the accountability of all government entities and regional governments. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Ministry of the Interior, National Planning Department, Civil Service Department (DAFP) and ICT Ministry (e-Government program)

Croatia The practice of consulting the interested public in procedures of adopting new laws, other regulations and acts will be enhanced by amending the Government's Rules of Procedure, standardizing internet consultations, training civil servants to efficiently implement the Code of Practice and preparing annual reports on the implementation, and by including members of interested public in sessions of Parliament working bodies. Prepare annual reports on the efficient implementation of the Code of Practice on Consultation with the Interested Public in procedures of adopting new laws, other regulations and acts Conduct regular training for consultation coordinators and other civil servants so that they are proficient in using the Code of Practice efficiently. Set up a standardized internet system for consulting the public in the procedure of adopting new laws, other regulations and acts. Improve the public database on grants awarded to civil society organisations for projects and programmes of public interest Envisage in the bill on accounting for NGOs the obligation of making NGOs financial statements publicly available through the NGO Register.

Dominican Republic

Build partnerships with stakeholders to promote the rules of transparency and access to public information, so that it can affect the quality of public services. This commitment relates with the Action Plan in its contribution to increase information on government activities, citizens participation and the use of new technologies for accountability.

Estonia Adjustment of the system of funding non-profit associations and establishment of a disclosure system

39


Georgia launch ichange.ge - a platform where citizens will be able to express their opinions, criticism or ideas. A project team will work on this web-site to tackle the most discussed topics, identify major concerns and inform responsible authorities. Ichange.ge will also give the possibility to create and submit e-petitions.

Greece Capitalize on citizen comments and suggestionsHonduras Improve tax education through citizen consultation mechanisms offered through the Secretary of Finance electronic portalIsrael The Government will widen public exposure to the processes of policy planning and determination and will invite the public to

respond to key issues on its agenda.Italy Promotion of implementation of Legislative Decree n. 150/2009, which provides for a quantitative and qualitative development

of relations with citizens, stakeholders, users and service beneficiaries, with particular emphasis on citizen empowerment initiatives aimed at increasing quality of interaction and dialogue among citizens, stakeholders and public entities.

Latvia Improving the quality of the involvement of society and civil society organisations in decision-making processes. The Objective: through facilitating a high quality involvement of civil society organisations in the central and self-government decision-making, to achieve a higher public satisfaction with decisions of public institutions and the work of the Government.

Lithuania iii) More extensive public consultations. The main principles and the most efficient methods for public consultation will be established. To ensure the efficiency of consultations with the public, the outcomes of such consultations will be summarised and made public. Consultations employ the latest technological advancements, so that the public could access all information on on-going consultations in a single place.

Monte-negro

Public Consultations Decision-making citizens Public consultations are another way of engaging the public in the decision-making process. For the purpose of clear determination of cases and procedures for implementation of public consultations, the Government of Montenegro passed the Decree on the Manner and Procedure of Implementation of Public Consultations in Preparation of Laws. The process of development of this Decree and the Decree on the Manner and Procedure of Cooperation of State Administration Authorities and Non-Governmental Organisations was initiated by the Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organisations. The Government will ensure a consistent application of the Decree on the Manner and Procedure for Carrying out Public Consultations in Preparation of Laws in the coming period. Regional government communication forum in South East Europe Regional Cooperation as transparency function Regional forum for government communications in South East Europe is a regional initiative having as the objective to develop capacity of government officials for public relations in order to impact the way how public policies are created, aimed at an increased transparency of the public administration, easier access to public information and larger impact of public on the process of creating public policies, all in order to improve a participatory democracy in the region. The Forums is part of a joint project of the Government of Montenegro and UNDP Montenegro, implemented with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and USA Embassy in Podgorica. Government officials for public relations will be committed to regional cooperation in the area of public relations, as well as to an exchange of experience, and advanced practices aimed at establishing an increased transparency of national governments.

Nether-lands

The government seeks to join as a partner in existing efforts to enlarge the scope for civil society initiatives. People participate in a society when they feel they are part of it and take responsibility for their living environment, regardless of their background. People also tend to participate more when they are actively invited and encouraged to do so.

40


Peru Strengthen the opportunities for participation, consultation and oversight and accountability mechanisms at all levels of government. Give special attention to spaces where they can engage vulnerable populations, indigenous groups and rural communities. Promote the strengthening of the capacities of civil society institutions and the citizenry to ensure participation and informed and active surveillance in the management of public policies Promote the strengthening of the capacities of public servants and to give importance to public participation processes and to ensure that these are carried out successfully and according to the rules Promote public institutions using information technology to collect opinions and suggestions of citizens, and to return to this important information Citizen Engagement

Slovak Republic

The Government of the Slovak Republic supports permanent dialogue with the civil society on topics such as transparency and open governance. Therefore, it has decided to set up a Council of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Transparency and Open Governance, which would comprise of members of the Chamber of Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Organizations of the Committee of the Non-Governmental and Non-Profit, Working Group members, representatives of selected watchdog organizations in Slovakia, and other personalities with experience in the field of enhancing transparency and openness.

South Africa

Develop a Citizen Participation guideline for Public Sector departments that would ensure that every public sector department across all spheres have a functional, resourced and capacitated citizen engagement unit which regularly and proactively engage with civil society.

South Korea

Therefore, greater policy discussions will take place through the e-People to promote more public input in future policy development by reviewing relevant policy agenda and inconveniences experienced by citizens.Korean Government will actively promote the Proposal System to encourage greater citizen engagement for obtaining public opinions. This will be done not only in the form of document submission, but also through mobile applications, making public participation available, anytime, anywhere.A field administration manual will be developed to further strengthen communication between the government and public, thus embracing different voices of society in the decision-making process.

Tanzania Improve Citizens’ Website (www.wananchi.go.tz) to make it more robust and responsive as a platform for citizens to participate in the running of Government, and produce monthly reports on effectiveness of the citizen’s website; Ensure wider participation of the citizens in the running of Government by establishing a platform for citizens to be able to send comments by mobile phone, emails and other means, and receive feedback within reasonable time;

Turkey Holding an Advisory Platform for Transparency in Public and Openness, at least once a year, with the broad participation of representatives of public sector, non-governmental organizations and private sector; holding seminars, workshops and conferences with a view to increasing public awareness in the areas of integrity, transparency, accountability and combating against corruption. Engaging citizens and other concerned parties in policy-making processes – www.regulation.gov.tr

Ukraine For the needs of open governance it is essential to introduce cutting-edge information and communication technologies, especially to maintain the dialogue between state institutions and social society by exploiting of interactive cooperation methods

41


and potential of social networks, as well as to modernize the organization of government, increase government transparency and improve access to information. Permanent exchange of information between the Government, civil society institutions and the public is fundamental to formulating social and economic development priorities, accumulating social capital and increasing the country's innovative capacity. The Government will introduce relevant interactive platforms as new mechanisms of joint partnership activities.In close partnership between the Government and with civic society bodies, it is planned to accomplish priority tasks aimed at increasing cooperation between government institutions and the public in making and implementing government decisions, providing access to public information, using effective instruments against corruption, improving government efficiency, including through extensive use of electronic technology. Implementing a comprehensive set of measures in respect of training and improving skills of state servants as regards consulting with the public and collaboration therewith in the context of the process of formulating and implementing state and regional policies. Amending resolutions by the Cabinet of Ministers regulating collaboration with civil society bodies as related to holding consultations with the public, evaluation by the public of executive agencies' activities, and anti-corruption public evaluation of draft regulations. Introduction to Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine of the draft amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Public Self-Organization Bodies (Community Associations)", amendment of regulations concerning their establishment and activities so as to facilitate procedures for establishing community associations, expand their financial and material resource base, introduce safeguards for their operation etc., as well as of a bill regulating issues pertaining to organizing and holding general assemblies (conferences) of members of local communities at their residence.

Uruguay This initiative seeks to encourage the Organizations of the Central Administration to establish standards and models for participation and integration of the citizenship through E-Channels. The responsible agency is: AGESIC. The goals for 2012 are: to establish a model of citizen participation and create a Platform for electronic participation by the Citizenship. As well as to develop and promote policies to guide the implementation of instances of the citizen participation.

HLP 10:b) Public participation – specific. Includes multi-stakeholder initiatives, as well as forms specific to a sector, function or topic

Multi- See entries under natural resource revenues for Albania, Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jordan, Peru and Ukraine.

42


stake-holder initiatives

See entry under procurement for Guatemala (CoST).

Albania Aims to promote social participation in the elaboration and monitoring of the federal Multi Annual Plan for the period of 2012-2015 (PPA 2012-2015 ), engaging also the National Councils. The objective of the meeting is to present to citizens the proposal for the PPA 2012-2015, to be considered by the National Congress, and to highlight the contributions from society made during the first phase of the Forum that were incorporated to the proposal.

Brazil Brazil undertakes to publish specific consultation features for information on the recipients of Unemployment Benefits for Artisanal Fishermen (Seguro Defeso), on the recipients of Unemployment Benefits (Seguro Desemprego), and on the Civil Defense Payment Cards (CartÌµes de Pagamento da Defesa Civil). As with the procedures adopted for the Family Stipend (Bolsa FamÌ_lia) program and Federal Government Payment Card (CartÌµes de Pagamento do Governo Federal) expenses, the initiative will allow for increased citizen access to information on federal budget execution, transparency, and oversight of Government expenditures, in addition to more effective tracking of the investments directed to Civil Defense responses to natural disasters and environmental catastrophes.

Bulgaria The transparency of managing mineral resources will be achieved by involving established experts from the academic circles and NGOs in carrying out tender and competitive procedures for obtaining rights on the underground resources; approving geological reports drafted by the right holders; carrying out control over the exploration and mining of mineral resources.

Colombia In order to guarantee transparency in the investment of royalties, the execution of funds transferred to the regions will be published and disclosed, so that the civil society will have effective control over investment in the local agencies. The initiative for transparency in the extractive industries (EITI) will be implemented to publish the track of the extractive sector (oil, gas and minerals), and to promote transparency and accountability. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: National Planning Department, Ministry of Public Finance, Ministry of Mining and Energy. In order to strengthen mechanisms of participation and to build an open government strategy at a local level, Colombia will develop pilot programs in the municipalities to implement the Open Government Action Plan. The government will work on strengthening local governments and building a culture of transparency, accountability and citizen participation. Implementation: 2 years. Agencies responsible: ICT Ministry (e-Government program), National Planning Department. Colombia has an economic transparency website (www.pte.gov.co), with information on budget execution and payments available to the citizens. The plan is to strengthen this mechanism, particularly with stronger pedagogy in the use of information for the civil society, and its application at regional level, since it will provide adequate social control over the functioning of contracts, payments, investments and debts. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Ministry of Public Finance, regional agencies.

Croatia A system of participatory drafting and monitoring of state and local budget implementation will be set up by supporting public discussions on budget allocation priorities and financial statements of companies of special state interest, by enabling citizens to participate in Croatian parliament discussions about key budgetary documents and by supporting NGO programs aimed at promoting such processes at the local level. Support cooperation programmes between local and regional self-government units and civil society organisations in

43


strengthening budget transparency and citizen participation in planning and monitoring local budget implementation. Enable participation of public employees, scientists, experts and other persons in the discussions about key budgetary documents in sessions of Croatian Parliament working bodies. Support open public discussions and consultations with citizens and civil society organisations in order to identify priorities in budget funds allocation.

Denmark Management labs and new forms of co-operationThe Central Denmark Regional Authority in partnership with municipalities and businesses will collaborate on new ways to involve citizens, employees and other stakeholders through “management labs” where stakeholders will participate in decision-making and the development of prototypes and large scale experiments. Public hearings on the design of foreign aid programmesIn connection with the forthcoming new law on foreign aid and development assistance, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs will conduct public hearings on the design of future foreign aid programmes, allowing citizens and civil society to contribute input and suggestions to key development assistance issues and budgets of a certain size.InnovateWithAarhusAarhus Municipality will launch the innovation programme “InnovateWithAarhus” to encourage new approaches to public services provision by creating good conditions for broad collaboration, by earmarking funds for innovation and by highlighting best cases. This initiative aims to increase the innovative capacity and efficiency of Aarhus Municipality and to help develop new services for citizens.

Dominican Republic

Contribute to the experience and the strengthening of the Accounts Chamber in social control through the development of a pilot exercise involving civil and community organizations and a government agency. This commitment links with the Action Plan in its contribution to citizens participation and increasing the information on governmental activities.

Estonia Interactive guidelines and training in implementation of the Good Practiceof Public Participation Public Procurement.

Georgia A direct dialogue between legislators and an individual will be enhanced: the web-site of the Legislative Herald (www.matsne.gov.ge) will have a special module allowing everyone to comment on any article of draft or enacted laws and bylaws and provide their opinions.

Honduras Approve Honduras' Comprehensive Anticorruption Policy with the participation of the social, economic and political sectors of the nation. Deepen the decentralization processes, including the regionalization of planning and budgeting, participative formulation of Regional Development Plans with a Territorial Regulation Focus (PDROT) in the nation's 16 regions. To meet these commitments, there are plans to create 10 plans in 2011 and remaining 6 regional plans in 2012.Expand dissemination and training actions under the Country Vision and Nation Plan, with the purpose of laying solid foundations for the empowerment of the population with knowledge about the objectives, guidelines, goals and measures on the matter. Furthermore, online seminars will be delivered, and a civil society and public-private operating platform will be created for the design and management of the Country Image Strategy. Perform joint evaluations with organizations in civil society, fiscal management and public services. Additionally, the Regional

44


Development Boards (or CDR's) will be supported in their monthly monitoring of the AOB-Budgets for the Regions. Improve tax education through citizen consultation mechanisms offered through the Secretary of Finance electronic portal.

Indonesia Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation on government’s poverty reduction programs. This includes providing information on budget allocation for the poverty reduction program, implementation plan, and its implementation result on the website. Public participation mechanism throughout the end-to-end cycle of the program must be enforced through regulations. (Track I, by December 2012) Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of environment, natural resources, and spatial data management. The key actions include: Establishment of multi-stakeholders forum for spatial plan development. (Track III, by July 2012)

Israel As part of its commitments to the Open Government Partnership, the Israel Government will establish a cross-sector forum as an official forum that will supervise approved Government plans and provide consultation on Open Government issues through the Minister in charge of Improvement of Government Services. The Forum will comprise senior representatives of the Government, the academic world and third sector organizations. Since 2011, due to public demand, the Finance Ministry has been publishing budget details in Excel files. Using the information published, the NGO Workshop for Public Information created the Open Budget Website, that allows the budget to be searched and analyzed from different perspectives. The site includes participatory platforms that enable discussion about sections of the budget and participation on social media sites.

Jordan Adopting a new Unified Procurement By-Law (final stages for approval) based on three central departments as mentioned above, with a recommendation from the specialized technical committee formed at the Governmental Tender Directorate to establish a procurement policies unit at the Prime Ministry, in addition to a procurement complaints unit.

Kenya Promote transparency and accountability on budget information by involving the public in budget preparation using technology channels, publishing data on proposed and approved budgets and Citizen’s budgets in machine readable format.

Lithuania iv) Promotion of public participation in public administration processes. All the persons concerned will be provided with an opportunity to present, in the form acceptable to them, their opinions on all draft legislative acts and to become familiarised publicly with the evaluation of the submitted observations and proposals. Technical programme measures for involving the public in the legislative processes will be created. To make petitions a more attractive instrument of public participation in the legislative process, exercise of the right of petition will be facilitated by removing the excess procedures for exercising this right. New instruments for the participation of residents and local communities in decision-making on public affairs will be implemented. vi) Promotion of public participation in the process for the improvement of service provision. The quality of the services provided by public administration authorities will be assessed, the public needs with regard to the quality of the services provided to them will be determined, the abilities of the public to use electronic services will be developed, and public awareness of new technologies and electronic services will be raised.

Mexico Increasing the quality of education provided through strict social surveillance: to have and to increase the hiring of better qualified teachers through public contest; to increase the number of schools and teachers that participate in the ENLACE program, as well as continue publishing information regarding performance of education centers; to improve the ENLACE program; to define budgets for every single public primary/secondary school

45


Moldova The on-line petition portal will facilitate the petitions process and petitioners will have access to information regarding the status of their petition and people in charge of answering to it.

Monte-negro

In order to increase transparency of use of public funds, the Government of Montenegro will amend the Organic budget Law to define budgeting calendar dates more specifically, aiming to provide sufficient time to all participants in the planning process, including also the parliamentary procedure. Furthermore, introduction of specific fiscal rules and medium-term budgeting is also planned, which will increase significantly the transparency, accountability in planning and implementation, as well as precision in budget planning. Montenegro will define clear and objective criteria and carry out the procedure for enabling participation of NGOs in the work of the Privatisation Council over the coming period in line with the principle of involving civil sector in public policies. In order to increase the transparency of the privatisation process, the Government will, as one of the contractual parties, invest additional efforts, in line with international practice, for concluded contracts not to contain the data confidentially clause which prevents publications of contracts after those are signed (effective).

Peru Improve the access mechanisms and understanding of citizenship to the budgetary information (preparation, approval, implementation and closure of the Budget of the Republic) at all levels of government, incorporating consultation mechanisms are structured to obtain the views of the population.

South Africa

Enhance the involvement of civil society at every stage of the budgetary process across all spheres of government to enhance the progressive realisation of socioeconomic rights and enable citizens to track public expenditure.

South Korea

Korean Government will endeavour to improve the efficiency of public administration and management by using public resources more wisely and engaging with citizens in the administrative and budget processes

Spain This measure seeks to shorten the timelines for conducting evaluations of specific plans, programmes and projects that are subject to environmental evaluation, shortening resolution periods, incorporating available technological improvements, and making decision-making processes even more participatory, both for public administrations and for stakeholders. The approximate deadline for its adoption will be one year, bearing in mind that guarantees must be provided for the principles of legal certainty and the effective participation of public administrations, civil society and the main Spanish professional and environmental protection associations.

Tanzania Ensure LGAs abide to the existing requirements of posting approved budgets, disbursements and execution reports on the boards and public places (capitation grants, development grants, LGAs own revenue); Strengthen existing LGAs Service Boards and Committees in order to make them serve citizens more effectively.

Ukraine Implementing a comprehensive set of measures in respect of training and improving skills of state servants as regards consulting with the public and collaboration therewith in the context of the process of formulating and implementing state and regional policies.

Cross-cutting:A. Sub-national government

Albania Last year, a system was created to manage the finances and budget of the Ministry of Education and Sciences and all regional education departments in order to build on a central/unique database platform. The second phase of the module has begun in

46


April 2012.Brazil The objective is to stimulate and build/improve capacity of the national and sub national governments to publish public open

data.Four thematic axis will be debated during the whole Conference process: promotion of transparency and access to public data and information; mechanisms for citizen oversight, engagement and capacity building of society to monitor public management of funds; work of public policy councils as control and guidance levels in preventing and combating corruption. Besides the state and municipal stages of the Conference, society will also debate the thematic axis in free and virtual conferences. The specific purpose of the initiative is to formulate guidelines capable of assisting in the development of a National Transparency and Social Control Plan (Plano Nacional sobre TransparÌ»ncia e Controle Social) for agencies of the Public Administration and contribute toward focusing the activities undertaken by the broader society.

Colombia In order to guarantee transparency in the investment of royalties, the execution of funds transferred to the regions will be published and disclosed, so that the civil society will have effective control over investment in the local agencies. The initiative for transparency in the extractive industries (EITI) will be implemented to publish the track of the extractive sector (oil, gas and minerals), and to promote transparency and accountability. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: National Planning Department, Ministry of Public Finance, Ministry of Mining and Energy. Colombia has an economic transparency website (www.pte.gov.co), with information on budget execution and payments available to the citizens. The plan is to strengthen this mechanism, particularly with stronger pedagogy in the use of information for the civil society, and its application at regional level, since it will provide adequate social control over the functioning of contracts, payments, investments and debts. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Ministry of Public Finance, regional agencies. In order to strengthen mechanisms of participation and to build an open government strategy at a local level, Colombia will develop pilot programs in the municipalities to implement the Open Government Action Plan. The government will work on strengthening local governments and building a culture of transparency, accountability and citizen participation. Implementation: 2 years. Agencies responsible: ICT Ministry (e-Government program), National Planning Department.

Croatia A system of participatory drafting and monitoring of state and local budget implementation will be set up by supporting public discussions on budget allocation priorities and financial statements of companies of special state interest, by enabling citizens to participate in Croatian parliament discussions about key budgetary documents and by supporting NGO programs aimed at promoting such processes at the local level Access to information on expending public resources and contents of relevant registers will be improved in the field of political activity and electoral campaign financing, public procurement, television and media services, state property management, payments excecuted through Treasury Single Acount, NGO financial statements and timely publishing of regional and local representative bodies' sessions' agendas and materials. Accessibility of local budget contents will be increased by giving recommendations and instructions to local and regional self-government units on publishing key budgetary documents on their websites and publishing guidebooks for citizens. Support cooperation programmes between local and regional self-government units and civil society organisations in strengthening budget transparency and citizen participation in planning and monitoring local budget implementation.

47


Make a standardized format for publishing guidebooks for citizens to accompany the local and regional self-government unit budgets and recommend their timely announcement to local authorities. Give recommendations and instructions to all local and regional self-government units to publish, on their official web sites, key budgetary documents (budget proposal when the executive bodies send it to the representative bodies; budged adopted by the representative body when the representative body adopts it; semi-annual and annual report on execution when the executive bodies send it to the representative bodies).

Denmark Management labs and new forms of co-operationThe Central Denmark Regional Authority in partnership with municipalities and businesses will collaborate on new ways to involve citizens, employees and other stakeholders through “management labs” where stakeholders will participate in decision-making and the development of prototypes and large scale experiments. InnovateWithAarhus: Aarhus Municipality will launch the innovation programme “InnovateWithAarhus” to encourage new approaches to public services provision by creating good conditions for broad collaboration, by earmarking funds for innovation and by highlighting best cases. This initiative aims to increase the innovative capacity and efficiency of Aarhus Municipality and to help develop new services for citizens. Regional initiative on open data: In partnership with municipalities and businesses, the Central Denmark Regional Authority will establish a regional public-private initiative to help realise the potentials associated with the re-use of data and better use of data. The initiative will be integrated with the regional authority's work on geographic information systems (GIS) and digital self-service solutions.

Dominican Republic

Contribute to a process of institutional development among municipal governments in the area of fiscal transparency and budget execution. The commitment relates to the Action Plan in its contribution to fiscal transparency and citizens participation.

Honduras Integrate 30 Municipalities into financial formulation and execution (SAMI or Integrated Municipal Administration System) in interaction with the Integrated Financial Administration System (SIAFI). Deepen the decentralization processes, including the regionalization of planning and budgeting, participative formulation of Regional Development Plans with a Territorial Regulation Focus (PDROT) in the nation's 16 regions. To meet these commitments, there are plans to create 10 plans in 2011 and remaining 6 regional plans in 2012. Perform joint evaluations with organizations in civil society, fiscal management and public services. Additionally, the Regional Development Boards (or CDR's) will be supported in their monthly monitoring of the AOB-Budgets for the Regions

Indonesia Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of government subsidies for education in elementary and junior high schools. The data and information to be published are: budget allocation, disbursement, and expenditure data. The publication of information should be conducted at every single elementary school and junior high school in 411 regional government (district level). (Track I, by December 2012) Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of government subsidies in health sector. The data and information to be published are: budget allocation and expenditure data, list of the recipient of health insurance, process to obtain health insurance services. The publication is conducted at every single community hospital (sub-district level) in 497 regional governments (district level). (Track I, by December 2012). Promoting transparency on civil services recruitment by central and regional government. The data and information to be

48


published include position openings and requirements, recruitment process, selection criteria, test result, and announcement of final candidates to be employed; citizen complaints on civil service recruitment process and the corresponding resolutions are also to be made public. (Track II, by December 2013). Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the area of environment, natural resources, and spatial data management. The key actions include:- Publication of revenue information of the government (central & region) from the extractive industry (oil & gas, coal). (Track III, by October 2012).

Italy Approval of a more efficient regulatory framework to prevent and fight against corruption within PA, to ensure better market conditions for competition while promoting a reduction of public spending. Draft legislation provides for mandatory implementation of anti-corruption plans by all administrations, with the coordination of the Department for Public Administration, the designation of a person in charge of corruption prevention, the enhancement of a widespread network on the territory (namely Prefects) as a tool to support and provide information to local authorities and acting as an intermediary between the latter and the National Anti-corruption Authority.

Jordan In order to enable citizens to participate in decision-making concerning the development of their communities, the General Budget Department (GBD) in coordination with other ministries and departments will work in the year 2012 on deepening the implementation of decentralization through preparing a strategy for the financial decentralization project including strategic planning as well as the preparation, implementation, review and assessment of the budget on governorate and municipality level to link the local development requirements with the national policies and to ensure the effective utilization of the capital spending priorities according to these requirements.

Mexico This will specifically strengthen budgetary transparency, through the publication and constant update of investments, public finance, transfers to states of Federal assets, indicators and audits, amongst other things

Moldova Transparency of the government decision-making process will be extended to the local level.Monte-negro

A conceptual design for the project of assistance, within a framework agreement to be financed by the Delegation of the European Commission to Montenegro called Strengthening of the Public Procurement System in Montenegro is submitted, covering improvement of the Law on Public Procurement in the segment of municipal services sector, institutional framework and strengthening administrative capacities of the Public Procurement Administration (trainings), consolidation of public procurements or implementation of the public procurement procedure by another contracting authority, as well as a solution for development of the technical specification geared towards the introduction of an electronic public procurement system. The commencement of the project implementation is planned for 2 May 2012, with the completion date being 1 May 2013. A contracting authority designated by way of a Government regulation will carry out public procurements for the needs of state authorities and public services, while for the needs of local self-government units a contracting authority will be designated by way of regulation of the competent local self-government authority.

Peru To consolidate the EITI Committee, extending the representation of the three sectors and ensuring the development and dissemination of annual reconciliation studies, as well as evaluating its implementation, under the same methodology for consultation and regional level similar composition. Strengthen the opportunities for participation, consultation and oversight and accountability mechanisms at all levels of government. Give special attention to spaces where they can engage vulnerable

49


populations, indigenous groups and rural communities Expand the use of information technologies to facilitate greater collaboration between different levels of government and citizenship Improve the access mechanisms and understanding of citizenship to the budgetary information (preparation, approval, implementation and closure of the Budget of the Republic) at all levels of government, incorporating consultation mechanisms are structured to obtain the views of the population.

South Africa


Tanzania Review formula based grant allocation system to suit current needs of LGAs, and publish all LGAs allocations online; Ensure LGAs abide to the existing requirements of posting approved budgets, disbursements and execution reports on the boards and public places (capitation grants, development grants, LGAs own revenue); Strengthen existing LGAs Service Boards and Committees in order to make them serve citizens more effectively.

Ukraine Implementing a comprehensive set of measures in respect of training and improving skills of state servants as regards consulting with the public and collaboration therewith in the context of the process of formulating and implementing state and regional policies.

Cross-cutting:B. Anti-corruption

Chile Lobby Bill: The Government will submit to the National Congress a bill to regulate lobbying, centered around making transparent the agendas of government agencies that are targeted by lobbying. In second quarter 2012, creation of a new declaration of assets and income form with the object of bolstering this good practice for Government servants. Bolster the good practice of declaring assets and income. By government order, 205 public servants currently publish their declarations of assets and income. The object is to increase this number by 207more servants who work at the Regional Ministerial Secretariats. Commitment letter from public servants: A commitment letter will be drafted to the effect that all persons coming to work at the Central Administration of State undertake to respect the principle of administrative honesty. Such a letter will be ready for implementation during first quarter 2012. Training will be given on its application and implementation.

Colombia The Colombian State will implement an observatory for the fight against corruption in coordination with the Office of the General Prosecutor. This instance will provide crucial information with regard to prevention and punishment, will improve performance by the administration, and will analyze denunciations received, in order to take action as necessary. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: Transparency Secretariat, Office of the General Prosecutor. During 2012, the Transparency Secretariat of the Office of the President will lead the development of the policy for the fight against corruption, which will be centered on the effective application of the law, preventive actions, civic collaboration, and the promotion of a culture of legality. At the same time, it will indicate the methodology and guidelines for national and local order

50


entities to prepare their annual strategy for the fight against corruption, and for citizen services. This strategy will provide a risk map for corruption in each agency, and some specific measures to mitigate these risks, anti-bureaucracy strategies, and mechanisms to improve service to the citizens. Implementation: 1 year. Agency responsible: Transparency Secretariat.

Dominican Republic

Promote the enactment of the Act on Affidavit of Assets and Illicit Enrichment enacted and its Regulations. This commitment relates with the Action Plan in its promotion of high standards of integrity in the public Administration.

El Salvador Implement Integrity Pledges in the Government's distinguishing projects. Study and public submission of characteristic corruption cases. Formation of auditing committees, and making Internal Auditing Units in the Executive Branch more professional in specific issues focused on combating corruption, such as fraud detection, forensic auditing, procurement processes, preparation of risk focused work plans, classification of administrative acts as criminal offenses, and so on.

Estonia Creation of a database of declarations of economic interests Drawing up a proposal for drawing up an anti-corruption strategy Draft Anti-corruption Strategy 2012+

Georgia Civil servants are under the obligation to submit their financial declarations on the web-site www.declaration.ge where they are available to the public. The Georgian Government will improve the existing system and introduce new monitoring mechanism.

Guatemala Continue with control and transparency efforts - Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative –STAR.Honduras Improve compliance with the Transparency and Fight Against Corruption Plan by executing and monitoring 115 related actions

by 25 institutions in the public sector and civil society, through an action plan that establishes time lines, responsible parties and sanctions for enforcement against the actors involved Presidential Technical Support Unit PTSU (UATP) adhesion. (There is a commitment to put together an annual report on the developments under this plan. Create a System of Sanctions targeting violations of the Public Service Code of Conduct in order to achieve greater commitment and ethical management so that public resources will be administered properly, and bring the proper benefits to citizens in general. Approve Honduras' Comprehensive Anticorruption Policy with the participation of the social, economic and political sectors of the nation.

Indonesia Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation in the public area services that indicated high risk on corruption as Tax Court Office, Immigration Office and Custom Office. The data and information to be published include: institution and officer profile, type and service mechanism, time and cost required, case status/progress and annual report. The data and information are required to be published at institutional website. (Track I, by December 2011).

Italy Approval of a more efficient regulatory framework to prevent and fight against corruption within PA, to ensure better market conditions for competition while promoting a reduction of public spending. Draft legislation provides for mandatory implementation of anti-corruption plans by all administrations, with the coordination of the Department for Public Administration, the designation of a person in charge of corruption prevention, the enhancement of a widespread network on the territory (namely Prefects) as a tool to support and provide information to local authorities and acting as an intermediary between the latter and the National Anti-corruption Authority. Other provisions concern awards and anonymity for individuals reporting crimes against Public Administration (protection of whistle blowers), a rotation system for officials working in high-risk

51


sectors, new incompatibility provisions and a better management of conflict of interests, enhanced transparency on assets of PA managers.

Jordan Approval by Parliament and enactment of the amended Anti-Corruption Law (approved by Government in 2011). The proposed amendments will further empower the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and will facilitate its daily work. It will also enhance the scope of coverage of corruption crimes and improve the effectiveness of the ACC in preventing and fighting corruption.The amendments propose criminalizing hiding conflict of interests, abstention of notification about corruption activities, and also the abstention or delay in providing information during investigations. It will give ACC authority to negotiate with corruption suspects deals for reduced sentences against provision of information.The amendments propose the protection of corruption informants, witnesses, experts, and whistle blowers, and criminalize any action that will lead to uncover their identities according to the standards adopted by UNCAC. If passed, the new law will give ACC authorities over corruptive actions undertaken by foreign public service and over employees working in public international agencies and will criminalize bribery in private corporations.The new amendment suggest that any contract, benefit or concessions resulted from corruption action shall be voidable, emphasized on the secrecy of the ACC document and asked for an exception from prescription for corruption cases".The following issues are also under consideration in the new Law: Criminalization of Bribery in Private Sector, Giving competent courts the right to nullify or rescind contracts obtained by corrupt practices. The ACC has the authority to temporarily stop the implementation of such contracts until the competent court delivers its ruling in the validity of such contracts, adding a clause to the effect those crimes of corruption, sentences and recovery of proceeds will not be dropped according to lapse of time rules, and adding a clause that gives the ACC council the power to participate in recovery of proceeds of corruption crimes whether from within Jordan or from abroad After investigation, the ACC Council will refer cases found to have crimes of corruption to public prosecutor for further investigation. The public prosecutor has the jurisdiction, either to decide that there is no case, or to refer matter to the competent court for trial. There are four public prosecutors seconded by the Judicial Council to the ACC. Publishing the annual reports for 2011 of the Audit Bureau and Anti-Corruption Commission in the first half of 2012.

Latvia Restricting corruption. The Objective: establish a common framework for cooperation between the Government and society that creates, promotes and sustains an active counteraction to corruption, as well as raising awareness of the significance of honesty in public administration.

Moldova The on-line income declaration submission system will allow for greater transparency of the public officials' income and will increase their accountability.

Monte-negro

Montenegro will commit to adopt relevant regulations and define training modules; regulations on the programme and manner of taking a professional exam in the area of public procurement; development of a manual, flyers, bulletin on increasing awareness in the segment how corruption distorts the public procurement process and development of instructions on how to report irregularities in public procurement procedures. Furthermore, the focus will be on carrying out a campaign on raising awareness of transparency in public procurement. Regulatory framework has been improved by the adoption of the Law on Public Procurement aimed at full harmonisation with European standards in the area of public procurement and full efficiency, competitiveness and transparency of the public

52


procurement procedure. In view of improving the procedure for corruption reporting to the Public Procurement Directorate by third parties, campaigns and seminars are continuously organised, and a hotline for corruption reporting has been open. Focus of Montenegro in the next period will be directed towards the development and improvement of the Help desk for advisory and consulting services and special group for reporting irregularities In order to provide a comprehensive protection of persons who report corruption in Montenegro, the Government of Montenegro will propose adoption of a special Law on persons who report corruption, which will: define a comprehensive protection of persons who report corruption; stipulate clear procedures for reporting corruption; define competent institutions; establish a reporting system on several levels, including media outlets, parliamentarians and civil society organisation as protected channels for reporting corruption; define clear and detailed measures for protection, sanctions and remuneration to motivate employees to report corruption.

Peru Public Ethics Anti-Corruption

Slovak Republic

To eliminate corruption, circumvention of laws or ineffective actions of public institutions, the Government of the Slovak Republic will adopt effective legislative measures to support people from inside public and private institutions who have knowledge of and want to give notice of such actions. The State shall provide efficient protection and assistance to such people, because the information they provide may prevent non-transparent allocation of public funds. The proposed draft bill should create legal prerequisites for enhanced protection of the people giving notice of any illegal action as mentioned above, in particular in the field of work relations. For this purpose, the draft bill should govern in particular legal relations to ensure protection, designate the party qualified to judge the legitimacy of protection and methods for its provision, including rights and obligations of parties involved in the protection provision, and/or rewards for potential savings in public funds. With reference to the new legislation amendment, people giving notices should either be discharged from the duty not to disclose, or this duty restricted. In addition, there are issues of providing legal assistance or psychological advice and extending terms for shortening the verdict.

South Africa

Enhance national integrity through institutional capacity-building of National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF) and Anti-Corruption Hotline. This will include the capacity development of anti-corruption officials and strengthening the Hotline`s advocacy and investigation functions. Approve guidelines on sanctions for corruption related cases

South Korea

To reduce corruption, asset disclosure for public servants will be strengthened to ensure more transparency in the civil service. Restrictions on post-public employment will also be strictly monitored to further promote the culture of civil service integrity.

Tanzania Prepare legislative amendments and regulations to strengthen asset disclosures of public officials.Turkey Plotting a risk map by determining the risk areas open to corruption and taking preventive -deterrent measures against

corruption Measuring the suitability and effectiveness of the existing measures and policies in matters of reducing bureaucratic red-tape, increasing integrity, transparency and accountability and combating corruption through efforts to be carried out regularly and conducting surveys in order to determine the perception of citizens and the business world and sharing results with the public.

Ukraine Take all necessary measures to prevent and combat corruption

53


Introduction to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of draft laws on implementation of recommendations made to Ukraine following the 3rd round of GRECO monitoring and monitoring under the OECD Istanbul Action Plan with regard to:- criminalization of corruption offences;- funding of political parties;- improvement of provisions regulating forfeiture of property;- introduction of liability of legal entities for corruption offences;- strengthening safeguards for protection of persons reporting offences.Drafting and dissemination of practice-oriented recommendations on preventing and addressing conflict of interests.Amendment of Law "On Fundamentals of Preventing and Combating Corruption" so as to ensure openness of data relating to property, income and expenditure returns, in particular through publishing details of returns by high-profile officials at public bodies' official web sites and disclosing data from returns of any public officer upon information request. Implementation of a system of state control, in particular of its institutional mechanism, over declaring assets, income and expenses of public servants, as well as in the sphere of conflict of interests.

Cross-cutting:C. ICTi. GFMIS

Bulgaria Accountability and transparency of the operation of the health service providers through developing a National Health Information System accessible to the citizens via electronic identification. The quality of medical services will be subject to constant institutional and public control.

Honduras Integrate 30 Municipalities into financial formulation and execution (SAMI or Integrated Municipal Administration System) in interaction with the Integrated Financial Administration System (SIAFI). Implement Master Agreements and Corporate Procurement in order to coordinate and strengthen State Procurement negotiating abilities, and publish and update Annual Procurement and Contracting Plans for the Institutions in connection with SIAFI (Integrated System of Federal Government Financial Administration), and the Register of Suppliers and Contractors, reinforcing the central axes of transparency and anti-corruption.

Jordan Launching GFMIS in government ministries and departments and financial centers (deployment phase). The GFMIS is an important initiative of the Government of Jordan (GOJ) which was launched in 2008 and seeks to computerize the entire life-cycle of budget preparation, execution, and financial reporting. It will serve as an integrated system across all spending agencies to ensure transparency and accountability in the allocation, use and monitoring of Jordan’s valuable public resources. Increasing transparency of foreign assistance through the completion of the second phase of the Jordan Aid Information Management System-JAIMS to include ongoing assistance targeting civil society and regional projects.

ii. Other ICTAlbania Last year, a system was created to manage the finances and budget of the Ministry of Education and Sciences and all regional

education departments in order to built on a central/unique database platform. The second phase of the module has begun in April 2012.

Bulgaria Public information system with data about the location, group of mineral resources and their status and/or found deposits of

54


underground resources, specialized maps and registries of exploration permits and concessions. Every citizen will be entitled to receive an official copy of the documents. Accountability and transparency of the operation of the health service providers through developing a National Health Information System accessible to the citizens via electronic identification. The quality of medical services will be subject to constant institutional and public control. Enhancing the public use of the information system for management and monitoring of the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund Wider scope of the available public information in order to achieve the project' and operational programs' indicators and expanding the opportunities for repeated use of the system data, including in formats allowing automated processing of information.

Canada Throughout our consultations with Canadians, it became clear that a more organized and accessible web presence for the Government of Canada is a key enabler for openness and transparency. To facilitate access to the wealth of information and services available to Canadian through the Web channel, we are committed to the development of an approach for a new user-centric, consolidated web presence for the Government of Canada within the first year of our Action Plan. In Years 2 and 3, we will initiate the implementation of this new platform, which will include a one-stop, federated search window to government information to provide simultaneous searching of federal web pages, data, and publications.

Chile Digital Identification. As government services are shifted to electronic media, the capability of digital identification becomes more and more relevant. For this reason, the government will encourage the creation and adoption of a unique digital key that citizens can use to interact digitally with public services. This way, people will have a safe, unique way to identify themselves, which will be administered jointly by the Civil Registration and Identification Service and the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency. Interoperability Framework. As mentioned by President Pinera, a central objective of this government is to do away with unnecessary processes and excess bureaucracy. In order to do so, public institutions will need to share information between each other electronically and in a safe way. The Interoperability Framework will allow a simplification of the activities and processes that are necessary to the interoperability between State Institutions, in order to increase the number of services they can provide without requiring additional information from citizens. This framework will consist of institutionalizing and standardizing the processes and platforms intended for use in managing State interoperability. ChileAtiene is a multichannel network that aims to close the gap between State services and the people, bringing together a set of processes from different public institutions in one place. Through a network of more than 140 branches, a call center and a web portal, ChileAtiende can help offer citizens consistent, responsible service through all the channels.

Colombia In order to guarantee transparency in the investment of royalties, the execution of funds transferred to the regions will be published and disclosed, so that the civil society will have effective control over investment in the local agencies. The initiative for transparency in the extractive industries (EITI) will be implemented to publish the track of the extractive sector (oil, gas and minerals), and to promote transparency and accountability. Implementation: 1 year. Agencies responsible: National Planning Department, Ministry of Public Finance, Ministry of Mining and Energy.

Croatia Create prerequisites in the strategic and financial plans of the Ministry of Finance for designing and announcing a publicly searchable database on payments executed through the Treasury Single Account in line with the stipulated budget classifications

55


taking into consideration other on-going IT projects.Denmark Disclosure of status reporting from the National IT Project Council. In order to support open government and increase the

sharing of knowledge and experience as a basis for improving public ICT solutions and services, status reports from the National IT Projects Council on public ICT projects will be published.

Dominican Republic

Build partnerships with stakeholders to promote the rules of transparency and access to public information, so that it can affect the quality of public services. This commitment relates with the Action Plan in its contribution to increase information on government activities, citizens participation and the use of new technologies for accountability. Creation of the Single Treasurer Account platform as a financial tool that centralizes all public resources in a single bank account. This commitment relates with the Action Plan in its contribution to increase information on government activities, citizens participation and the use of new technologies for accountability, also on its contribution to fiscal transparency. Develop and manage a transactional portal that reflects all the operations of government procurement in a transparent way, competitive and easy public access.

Estonia Drawing up a green paper on making public data available in a machine-readable form.Creating a repository of public data. A single window for accessing public data in a machine-readable form has been created and it also works as a channel for exchanging information and allows citizens and undertakings to make proposals for opening new data or developing new services. Launching pilot projects of public data services based on the cloud tech.

Georgia l launch ichange.ge - a platform where citizens will be able to express their opinions, criticism or ideas. A project team will work on this web-site to tackle the most discussed topics, identify major concerns and inform responsible authorities. Ichange.ge will also give the possibility to create and submit e-petitions. New platform for public procurement was introduced: www.procurement.gov.ge. Public procurement can be conducted exclusively online. There is zero possibility of corruption as the bidding process is being carried out online on the web-site and any interested party can follow it. The competitiveness is fully guaranteed.

Greece Operate central E-procurement information system Operate central ERP information system (budgeting) Operate central HRMS information system

Indonesia Develop One-Map Portal to Promote efficiency on Forestry Management. The initiative will digitalize the data and information related to primary and secondary forests (including peat lands) on a single portal. Those data and information will be synchronized with licenses data attached to the land area. (Track II, by December 2013). Promoting transparency and accountability on procurement activities of government institutions. E-procurement software will be installed and operated at 56 central government institutions. (Track II, December 2012).

Jordan Adopting a new Unified Procurement By-Law (final stages for approval) based on three central departments as mentioned above, with a recommendation from the specialized technical committee formed at the Governmental Tender Directorate to establish a procurement policies unit at the Prime Ministry, in addition to a procurement complaints unit. In addition, a new system that transforms the present procedures into automated tendering system will be developed. This will regulate the procedures, processes, and control the procurement expenditures, and will increase the accountability and transparency, and

56


enhance performance.Kenya Promote transparency and accountability on budget information by involving the public in budget preparation using technology

channels, publishing data on proposed and approved budgets and Citizen’s budgets in machine readable format.Lithuania • Increasing the accessibility of services provided to the public. An inventory of all the administrative and public services

administered and supplied by public administration authorities will be made, a list/catalogue of the descriptions of these services will be compiled and indicators for the monitoring and analysis of the said services will be created. The number of electronic services provided by public administration authorities will be increased with the help of existing and currently developed common-use solutions of information and communication technologies. In addition, solutions for the adaptation of the certificates contained by the personal identity card for use in e-banking, e-health, e-business and e-university will be developed and tested. In order to create better conditions for the public to receive electronic services and take a more active part in the adoption of the decisions important to it, the infrastructure of electronic mail will be developed and its use promoted.• Promotion of public participation in the process for the improvement of service provision. The quality of the services provided by public administration authorities will be assessed, the public needs with regard to the quality of the services provided to them will be determined, the abilities of the public to use electronic services will be developed, and public awareness of new technologies and electronic services will be raised.

Malta Procurement procedures should incorporate a balance between simplification, transparency and accountability. This could be achieved through better use of electronic means and more openness in tender evaluation

Monte-negro

A conceptual design for the project of assistance, within a framework agreement to be financed by the Delegation of the European Commission to Montenegro called Strengthening of the Public Procurement System in Montenegro is submitted, covering improvement of the Law on Public Procurement in the segment of municipal services sector, institutional framework and strengthening administrative capacities of the Public Procurement Administration (trainings), consolidation of public procurements or implementation of the public procurement procedure by another contracting authority, as well as a solution for development of the technical specification geared towards the introduction of an electronic public procurement system. The commencement of the project implementation is planned for 2 May 2012, with the completion date being 1 May 2013.

Peru Promote public institutions using information technology to collect opinions and suggestions of citizens, and to return to this important information Expand the use of information technologies to facilitate greater collaboration between different levels of government and citizenship

Slovak Republic

As the Slovak Government seeks to promote transparent and open operation of public resources, interactive and transparent provision of information about the allocation of Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant mechanisms is considered a matter of prime importance.This action builds on Resolution No. 689/2011 of the Government of the Slovak Republic establishing the Register of Projects funded from the repayable and non-repayable financial assistance from public funds. The reach of the web application is broader than the reach of the planned Register of Projects, because it will also provide additional Ministry grant schemes that are not provided in the Register of Projects. The State administration bodies are required to provide the same amount of information for this web application as for the Register of Projects.

57


Objectives of the web application:Provide information in the scope defined for the purposes of ITMS about all programs implementing the Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes implemented in the context of the Slovak Republic in one place.Provide up-to-date information about all opportunities associated with the allocation of Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes provided in the context of the Slovak Republic for different target groups (citizens, beneficiaries, candidates for public procurement, public institutions, etc.);Enable public control of the effectiveness and transparency in the use of public resources from the Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes used in the context of the Slovak Republic.Basic characteristics of the web application :Provide comprehensive and easy-to-find information from all programs and Ministries implementing the financial mechanisms listed above (the Structural Funds, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, Swiss Financial Mechanism and other Ministry grant schemes), and the search options meeting the needs and interests of the users.Provide interactive information about the amount, purpose, and other relevant data of provided grants on the map of Slovakia.

South Korea

Korean Government will actively promote the Proposal System to encourage greater citizen engagement for obtaining public opinions. This will be done not only in the form of document submission, but also through mobile applications, making public participation available, anytime, anywhere.

Spain The Spanish Government considers that the transparency and accountability of international development assistance must become one of the pillars of Spain’s cooperation policy. Therefore, we are committed to establishing a system that fully ensures transparency in Spanish Cooperation funding and actions. The system shall be implemented gradually, designing targets whose scope and quality may be broadened over time. To this end, progress will continue on Spain's Official Development Assistance information system (info@OD), incorporating, over the course of 2012, a tool for information access and analysis, accessible to any institution or citizen. Likewise, work shall be done to publish, through info@OD, regular information updates on Spanish Cooperation, and to shorten the deadlines for making available to the public data on the Annual International Cooperation Plan and its monitoring.

Sweden Further, support to initiatives related to open data and information and communication technology (ICT) that create opportunities for increased participation from a broader spectrum of the population. The upcoming strategy will broaden the initial focus on effectively managing public resources in development cooperation to include the government as a whole. The upcoming strategy will thus provide a coherent policy framework for a smart and open government supporting innovation and participation. (ii) monthly updated information from all public actors allocated funds under the international development cooperation expenditure area, (iii) an expanded range of published documents explaining when, to whom and why money has been made available, common, open standard for the electronic publication of aid information by December 2015, making the full range of

58


information publicly available, focusing on transparent public financial management and aid information management systems, and making development cooperation more predictable.

Turkey Electronic Public Procurement PlatformUkraine For the needs of open governance it is essential to introduce cutting-edge information and communication technologies,

especially to maintain the dialogue between state institutions and social society by exploiting of interactive cooperation methods and potential of social networks, as well as to modernize the organization of government, increase government transparency and improve access to information. Permanent exchange of information between the Government, civil society institutions and the public is fundamental to formulating social and economic development priorities, accumulating social capital and increasing the country's innovative capacity. The Government will introduce relevant interactive platforms as new mechanisms of joint partnership activities.

Uruguay A new regime for the documentation of operations by means of the electronic fiscal receipt (CFE). It will allow substituting the paper documentation with electronic documentation. One CFE is a digitally signed and generated document which holds the same legal and tax validity as a receipt and other paper generated documents. The Organizations involved are: the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs and the National Tax Office. By the year 2014, it is expected to have electronic receipts and tickets available for all nationals companies. System of planning, information and management, which allows introducing efficiency and effectiveness into the use of economic and material resources. The involved agencies in the trial run are: AGESIC, Presidency of the Republic and Ministry of Economy and Financial Affairs. The goal is: for every Ministry to have a solution that will support its administrative management in one of its Executing Units by the year 2015 and use the PGE (E-government Platform) as the base for all information exchange between the involved systems. This initiative seeks to encourage the Organizations of the Central Administration to establish standards and models for participation and integration of the citizenship through E-Channels. The responsible agency is: AGESIC. The goals for 2012 are: to establish a model of citizen participation and create a Platform for electronic participation by the Citizenship. As well as to develop and promote policies to guide the implementation of instances of the citizen participation.

59

Documents

Fiscal transparency€¦ · Web viewGIFT: Mapping of the Budget Transparency Commitments of Countries in the Open Government Partnership. This note maps Open Government Partnership