IndependentReportingMechanism(IRM)ProgressReport2014–15:Tunisia

TableofContents

ExecutiveSummary:Tunisia.........................................................................................2I.NationalparticipationinOGP....................................................................................9

II.Process:Actionplandevelopment.......................................................................12

III.Process:Actionplanimplementation................................................................16IV.Analysisofactionplancontents..........................................................................171:Strengthenlegalframeworkforanticorruption.......................................................212:Electroniccivilpetitionandcorruptionreportingplatform................................25Commitments3,16,17:Auditreports..............................................................................274:Legalframeworkofpersonaldataprotection...........................................................305:Opendataportal..................................................................................................................326:Nationalcorporategovernancerepository................................................................347:LegalframeworktoregulateICTcommunicationandinteraction....................378:Simplificationofadministrativeprocedures.............................................................399:Onlineadministrativeservices.......................................................................................4110:Citizenparticipationindecisionmaking..................................................................43Commitments11-12:Civilservantcapacitybuilding..................................................45Commitments13-15:Openbudget.....................................................................................4718:"OpenData"platformforpetroleumandminingsectors...................................5119:Transparencyininfrastructureprojects..................................................................5320:Transparencyinenvironmentprotection................................................................56

V.Process:Self-assessment.........................................................................................58VI.Countrycontext.........................................................................................................60

VII.Generalrecommendations...................................................................................63

VIII.Methodologyandsources...................................................................................65IX.Eligibilityrequirementsannex.............................................................................68

JazemHalioui,IndependentResearcher

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ExecutiveSummary:TunisiaIndependentReportingMechanism(IRM)ProgressReport2014-2015

TheOpenGovernmentPartnership(OGP)isavoluntaryinternationalinitiativethataimstosecurecommitmentsfromgovernmentstotheircitizenry to promote transparency, empower citizens, fightcorruption,andharnessnewtechnologies tostrengthengovernance.Tunisia began its formal participation in December 2013, when theMinister of Governance and Anticorruption declared the country’sintentiontoparticipateintheinitiative.

The e-Government (e-Gov) Unit, situated in the Presidency ofGovernment, istheofficeresponsibleforOGP.Themandateofthee-Gov Unit is largely to coordinate the e-government program inTunisia. The Unit cannot directly enforce policy changes on otheragenciesordepartmentswithingovernment.

The joint commission of government and civil society oversees theimplementationoftheOGPactionplan.Thecommissioniscomposedoffivemembersfrompublicbodiesinchargeofthecommitmentsandfiverepresentativesfromcivilsociety.

OGPPROCESS

Countries participating in theOGP follow a process for consultationduringdevelopmentandimplementationoftheirOGPactionplan.

The Tunisian government made the timeline of the OGP processavailable online and gave four days of advance notice for publicconsultationontheactionplan.ThegovernmentlaunchedtheofficialOGP website and held the seminar on 6 May 2014 to start theconsultation.TheconsultationincludedseveralministriesandCSOs;however, somemajor CSOsweremissing, andmeetingswere heldonly in the capital Tunis. The group compiled a list of potentialcommitments andposted an online poll to collect citizens’ opinions.Basedonthefeedbackreceived,thegovernmentcompiledalistof20commitments. People who contributed online through theconsultationwebsitedidnothaveaccesstootherpeople'sfeedbackortothecompilationofpollresults.

A coalition of 87 CSOs, entitled “OGP Dialogue,” was part of theworking group, and expressed its dissatisfaction with the way thegovernment conducted the consultation, including the limited role CSOs had in the process.Only CSOs from Tunis were involved directly in the working group. The action plan wasadoptedinSeptember2014.During implementation, the Joint Commission served as the primary forum for consultation.Thecommissionmeetingstookplaceonamonthlybasisattheofficeofthee-GovUnit.Meetingminutes were shared with the commission members by e-mail. CSO members laterdisseminatedsomefollow-upreportsthroughemailandsocialmediachannels.

Thegovernmentpublishedtheself-assessmentreporton30September2015.

AtaglanceMembersince: 2013Numberofcommitments: 20

LevelofCompletion:Substantial: 4(20%)Limited: 12(60%)Notstarted: 4(25%)

Timing:Onschedule: 4(20%)

CommitmentEmphasis:Accesstoinformation: 14(70%)Civicparticipation: 5(25%)Publicaccountability: 7(35%)Tech&innovationfortransparency&accountability: 5(25%)

NumberofCommitmentsthatWere:ClearlyrelevanttoanOGPvalue: 16(80%)Oftransformativepotentialimpact: 0Substantiallyorcompletelyimplemented: 4(20%)Allthree(✪): 0

T unisia ha s made pro gress in furthering ac c ess to info rma tio n and public a c c o untability in key target a reas through a range o f inno va tive c o mmitments. H o wever, there remains a need to advanc e a greater deg ree o f c ivic partic ipation during the develo pment and implementation o f c ommitments. T here is a lso a need to inc lude c o mmitments tha t d irec tly seek to address public sec to r c o rrup tion, spec ific a lly a t the subna tiona l level.

ThisreportwaspreparedbyJazemHalioui,anindependentresearcher

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COMMITMENTIMPLEMENTATION

AspartofOGPparticipation,countriesmakecommitmentsinatwo-yearactionplan.TheTunisiaactionplancontainstwentycommitments.Thefollowingtablessummarizeforeachcommitmentthelevelofcompletion,potentialimpact,whetheritfallswithinTunisia’splannedschedule,andthekeynextstepsforthecommitmentinfutureOGPactionplans.

The IRM methodology includes starred commitments. These commitments are measurable,clearlyrelevanttoOGPvaluesaswritten,oftransformativepotentialimpact,andsubstantiallyorcompletely implemented. Tunisia’s action plan contains zero star commitments. Note that theIRM updated the star criteria in early 2015 to raise the bar for model OGP commitments. Inadditiontothecriteria listedabove, theoldcriteria includedcommitmentsthathavemoderatepotentialimpact.Undertheoldcriteria,Tunisiawouldhavereceivedthreestarredcommitments(commitments 13, 14 and 19). See http://www.opengovpartnership.org/node/5919 for moreinformation.

Table1:AssessmentofProgressbyCommitmentCOMMITMENT SHORT NAME POTENTIAL

IMPACT LEVEL OF COMPLETION TIMING

NO

NE

MIN

OR

MO

DE

RA

TE

TR

AN

SFO

RM

AT

IVE

NO

T S

TA

RT

ED

LIM

ITE

D

SUB

STA

NT

IAL

CO

MPL

ET

E

1. Strengthen legal framework for anticorruption - This commitment aims to develop the necessary legal framework to assist in fighting corruption.

Behind

Schedule

2. Electronic civil petition and corruption reporting platform – This commitment aims to create four new channels for reporting and following up on corruption cases.

Behind Schedule

Clustered commitments 3, 16, 17: Audit reports 3. Annual audit activities report – This commitment seeks to publish a report concerning all government audit activities.

Behind Schedule

16. Public procurement and audit results – This commitment seeks to publish a report on the arbitration and execution of public procurement and audit results.

Behind Schedule

17. Procurement audit reports recommendations – This commitment seeks to publish recommendations from the public procurement audit reports.

Behind Schedule

4. Legal framework of personal data protection – This commitment seeks to review the legal framework on personal data protection.

Behind Schedule

5. Open data portal – This commitment aims to redevelop the existing data portal.

Behind Schedule

6. National corporate governance repository – This commitment seeks to develop a corporate governance information repository.

On

Schedule

7. Legal framework to regulate ICT communication and interaction – This commitment seeks to draft a legal framework to incentivize the use of ICT in government-government and citizen-government communication.

Behind

Schedule

8. Simplification of administrative procedures – This commitment seeks to simplify administrative procedures related to economic activities.

Behind Schedule

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COMMITMENT SHORT NAME POTENTIAL IMPACT

LEVEL OF COMPLETION TIMING

NO

NE

MIN

OR

MO

DE

RA

TE

TR

AN

SFO

RM

AT

IVE

NO

T S

TA

RT

ED

LIM

ITE

D

SUB

STA

NT

IAL

CO

MPL

ET

E

9. Online administrative services – This commitment seeks to provide new online services to limit corruption occurring due to inefficient administrative procedures.

Behind Schedule

10. Citizen participation in decision making – This commitment seeks to prepare a legal and institutional framework for public consultations and to build an e-participation portal.

Behind Schedule

Clustered commitments 11, 12: Civil servant capacity building

11. Open governance training – This commitment seeks to train civil servants in open governance.

Behind Schedule

12. Specialized open governance training academy – This commitment seeks to develop a governance academy.

Behind Schedule

Clustered commitments 13, 14, 15: Open budget 13. Budget reports – This commitment seeks to publish budget reports.

On Schedule

14. Open budget system – This commitment seeks to develop an open budget information system.

On Schedule

15. Budget management platform – This commitment seeks to advance the analysis of budget data in an accessible format.

Behind Schedule

18. Open data platform for petroleum and mining sectors – commitment seeks to release public information concerning mining and energy resources.

Behind Schedule

19. Improve transparency in the area of infrastructure projects – This commitment aims at improving the accessibility of public geographical information.

On Schedule

20. Transparency in environment protection – This commitment aims at improving the accessibility of public environmental information.

Behind Schedule

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Table2:SummaryofProgressbyCommitment

NAME OF COMMITMENT SUMMARY Cluster 1: Public services 1. Strengthen legal framework for

anticorruption • OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

This commitment aims to curb government corruption through the development of three corruption-related draft laws: A law related to the protection of whistleblowers; a law related to asset disclosure; and a law on illicit enrichment. In March 2015, the government announced that a commission involving several ministries had prepared the three anticorruption draft laws. The draft laws have yet to be published on an official government website, and no timeline for their submission to the Parliament has been provided. The potential impact is moderate. Corruption was seen as the core cause of the revolution in Tunisia. It is hoped that these draft laws will bring a greater degree of transparency and accountability to a public sector that was once characterized by impunity for financial misappropriation. Greater civic participation and public consultation is needed in the drafting of laws.

2. Electronic civil petition and corruption reporting platform • OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

This commitment aims to create four new channels for reporting and following up on corruption cases. These channels are SMS, a website, a call center, and direct contact with a public institution. The South Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has pledged to fund the project, but little progress has been made so far. The government’s self-assessment report states that it will develop a legal framework as an outcome for this commitment; however, the limited progress has resulted in this commitment being coded as having a moderate impact. If the public administration is bound by law to engage with citizens, the impact could be greater. This important commitment requires the necessary budget instead of only relying on potential funding from foreign partners. Civil society stakeholders (CSOs) stated that an impact assessment reporting mechanism should be a precondition to public and civil society engagement in this commitment.

Clustered commitments 3, 16, 17: Audit reports

3.Annual audit activities report • OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

The following cluster of commitments aims to publish reports produced by several state auditing agencies (the High Committee of Public Service Control, the General Financial Control Committee, the General Control of State Property and Land Affairs, the National Assembly of Public Demand and the Committee of Audit and Control of Public Demand) in a citizen-friendly format. Commitment 3 has been coded as limited in completion due to reports of annual audit activity reports being removed from the High Authority for Administrative and Financial Control’s website (HCCAF) for years 2011 and 2012. The 2013 and 2014 audit reports are available. According to IRM interviews and the government’s self-assessment report, no progress has been made in commitments 16 and 17 to publish audit results and recommendations related to public procurement. The publication of the public service audit report by the HCCAF (commitment 3), and the public procurement results (commitment 16) will improve the transparency of the government. CSOs stated that they were unable to comment on the publication of audit report recommendations (commitment 17) due to the commitment not having started in the period under review.Given the low-level of awareness concerning these reports, as well as the limited information concerning the reports’ format, the potential impact will be moderate. It is recommended that access to the reports be improved concerning both availability and format.

16.Public procurement and audit results report

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Not started

17. Public procurement audit reports

recommendations • OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Minor • Completion: Not started

4. Legal framework of personal data protection

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Not started

This commitment seeks to review the legal framework on personal data protection to make sure it complies with Article 24 of the new constitution. This commitment did not commence in the period under review. The impact of this important commitment has been coded as moderate because the changes to the 2004 law, if done in compliance with international standards, would allow Tunisia to join the Council of Europe Convention 108 concerning private data protection. It is recommended that changes to the law be clearly articulated and explained.

5. Open data portal

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

This commitment entailed the redesign of the preexisting open data portal launched in 2012 with a limited number of datasets. Work on the new portal started in June 2015. The specifications of the portal have not been published, and there is currently no known timeline for completion. This commitment, if implemented successfully, will be a major step into breaking the culture of secrecy that prevailed in the country in the past and thus has been coded as having a moderate impact. It is recommended that the government actively promote the portal, including creating an oversight authority to formalize the process of dataset creation, aggregation, ensuring compliance, and quality control.

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6. National corporate governance repository

• OGP value relevance: Unclear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Substantial

This commitment seeks to create a national repository of corporate governance to help public and private institutions comply with the highest standards of transparency, integrity, and accountability. The repository was not available on the National Institute for Standardization and Industrial Property (INNORPI) website (http://www.innorpi.tn), but its presentation brochure can be found on a UNDP-sponsored government website (Anticor.tn). Given that this is an internal systems-orientated commitment with limited information concerning how the repository will interface with citizens, its relevance to OGP is unclear. There is a need to include a public-facing element detailing how the repository will link to actions in the training of civil servants against a particular timeframe and how it will compel public administrations and the private sector to adopt corporate governance standards.

7. Legal framework to regulate ICT communication and interaction

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Minor • Completion: Limited

This commitment seeks to draft a law to allow and incentivize the use of ICT in government-government and citizen-government communication. According to the government’s self-assessment report, the law has been drafted in a participatory manner. However, the draft has not been published online. Civil society is not aware of the law, resulting in a limited completion level.The IRM researcher and stakeholders see this commitment as important, but lacking in sufficient details concerning measurable milestones to necessitate a greater impact than minor. It is recommended to include members of Parliament in the commission entrusted with the drafting task of this law to ensure that broader views are taken into account.

8. Simplification of administrative procedures

• OGP value relevance: Unclear

• Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

This commitment seeks to simplify administrative procedures related to economic activities, such as processing business licenses.According to several CSOs, administrative inefficiencies are increasingly opportunities for corruption because citizens pay bribes to obtain faster and better services. Details on the progress made so far have not been published, nor has a timeline for future activities and milestones been provided, resulting in a limited completion level.Although a relevant and important public accountability commitment, due to the low specificity of the commitment language, it has resulted in a moderate impact. The IRM researcher recommends including a public-facing element, for instance by incorporating an accountability component in this commitment’s design to ensure OGP value relevance.

9. Online administrative procedures • OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Minor • Completion: Not started

This commitment aims to provide new online services to limit corruption occurring due to inefficient administrative procedures. According to stakeholders, online services would diminish the discretionary authority of public servants and would reduce the opportunities of bribery between citizens and corrupt civil servants. The IRM researcher was not able to gather any evidence to ascertain the completion level of this commitment. Due to the limited information and low specificity, the commitment has been coded as having a minor impact. To ensure that this commitment leads to an improvement in open government, it needs to be linked to a bigger e-government project with a specific focus on OGP values of transparency and accountability.

10. Citizen participation in decision making

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

Tunisia has no legal framework for holding public consultations. This commitment seeks to draft a decree to allow for citizen consultation in decision-making and to build the first e-participation portal. A first version of an e-participation portal was put in place in 2012 (http://www.consultations-publiques.tn). Civil society criticized the lack of accessibility of the consultation portal to citizens with certain physical disabilities, as well as the lack of publicity concerning the portal for expatriates. Tunisia has a high Internet penetration rate (~50 percent), resulting in this commitment potentially having a moderate impact on the service delivery quality of government services. In the drafting of this law, it is recommended that the government consult with civil society and ensure that the e-participation portal is designed to ensure accessibility and that it leads to meaningful participation.

Clustered commitments 11, 12: Civil servant capacity building 11. Open governance training

• OGP value relevance: Unclear • Potential impact: Minor • Completion: Limited

Through these commitments, the government seeks to build the capacity of civil servants in the area of open government. This will be realized by developing a specific training program (commitment 11) in open government and by creating a governance academy (commitment 12). The academy was expected to begin operation in September 2015 within the National School of Administration. Good governance training materials and programs already were set up and included topics related to open governance, within the National School of Administration. Some training material is available on the National School of Administration’s website. However it is unclear whether any training has taken place, resulting in a limited completion level (commitment 11). On 3 November 2015, the Academy officially launched its operations – outside of the evaluation period, resulting in a limited completion level (commitment 12). This has the potential to improve steadily the culture of open governance within the public administration, which has been influenced by decades of secrecy and lack of citizen participation. These commitments have been coded as having moderate impact given the potential to improve the culture of open government within the public administration. However, as this commitment is primarily orientated to advancing internal systems improvement, without a direct public-facing element, its relevance to OGP values is unclear. The IRM researcher recommends including a public-facing element, for example by including details concerning how the training will impact citizens’ lives.

12. Open governance training academy • OGP value relevance:

Unclear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

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Clustered commitments 13, 14, 15: Open budget 13. Budget reports

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Substantial

This cluster of commitments is concerned with advancing open budget reporting. Until 2013, Tunisia’s track record in budget openness was poor. This is as a consequence of decades of state secrecy under the former dictatorship. In May 2015, the Ministry of Finance published the semi-annual budget execution report (commitment 13) for the year 2014, resulting in a substantial completion level. The Ministry of Finance secured support from the World Bank Group to setup an online citizen-friendly platform for exploring budget information (Commitment 14), with a prototype available online on an unofficial website, resulting in a substantial completion level. The budget platform exposing budget information to the public has been implemented internally by the Computer Finance Center (CIMF) and is pending final validation (commitment 15), resulting in a limited completion level.The IRM researcher coded the impact of these commitments as moderate. Despite a current lack of interest by the public for the budget reports (commitment 13), CSO stakeholders expect the publication of detailed budget information and the open budget system (commitment 14) to unlock the proliferation of academic research and socio-economic studies, as well as to trigger more engagement from the media, citizens, and the private sectors towards prospective budget-related developments.It is difficult at the present stage to assess whether the budget platform (commitment 15) would have any impact due to the lack of detailed information provided by the government. It is recommended that the government increase consultation opportunities, by establishing sector and ministry level consultation meetings with the public on overall budget priorities,macroeconomic policy and inter-sectoral resource allocation issues.

14. Open budget system • OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Substantial

15. Budget management platform

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Minor • Completion: Limited

18. Open data platform for petroleum and mining sectors

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

This commitment seeks to release public information concerning mining and energy resources. It was unclear how many datasets had been populated on the data portal in the period under review, resulting in a limited completion level. However, on 19 September 2015, the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mines launched an open data portal with 100 datasets. Civil society has yet to assess the quality, usefulness, and completion of the data.The potential impact of this commitment has been evaluated as moderate. Certain stakeholders expressed their satisfaction with the technical specifications of the platform, which they considered to meet international open data standards, specifically on the availability of the data in a data store, in addition to an API (Application Program Interface). It is recommended that Tunisia move towards ensuring its open data standards in mining and petroleum sectors are benchmarked against the eligibility criteria of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative.

19.Transparency in infrastructure projects

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Substantial

This commitment aims at improving the accessibility of public geographical information by publishing basic geographical data, urban plans, land use, and atlases. Geographical information published by the government has been scarce historically in Tunisia. The Ministry of Equipment, Housing, and Urban Planning contracted a firm in early 2015 to Develop a Geographical Information System. Development was complete by April 2015 and deployment of this system is expected before the end of the year 2015, resulting in a substantial completion level. This commitment is a first step at exposing poor urban planning and its attendant risks. The IRM researcher has coded the overall potential impact of this commitment as moderate. It is recommended that the data are accessible and in reusable technical format instead of PDF.

20. Transparency in environment protection

• OGP value relevance: Clear • Potential impact: Moderate • Completion: Limited

This commitment aims at improving the accessibility of public environmental information by creating a dedicated observatory and becoming a signatory of the Aarhus Convention. The observatory and the adhesion to the Aarhus Convention will require that Tunisia publish environmental and sustainable development data, such as water quality, diseases and pollution. The draft order for the observatory is being reviewed by the Ministry of Finance and later will be presented to a Ministerial Board including the Chief of Government for final approval. The Aarhus Convention application is pending a review by the Chief of Government and adoption by parliament. This has resulted in the completion being coded as limited. The impact of this important commitment has been evaluated as moderate. Despite significant and steady awareness and improvements over the past decade, the region of Tunisia is threatened by environmental degradation. In becoming a signatory of the Aarhus Convention, several choices have to be made regarding justice mechanisms. The IRM researcher recommends that the government ensure meaningful public participation in the decision making process concerning environmental matters and that avenues for redress in the event of environmental harm are available to the public.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Tunisia has made progress in furthering OGP values of improving access to information andpublic accountability.There remainsaneed tobroaden the focus to includeagreater scopeofcommitmentsatthelocalgovernmentlevel,inadditiontofocusingoncommitmentsthatincludeagreaterdegreeofcivicparticipation.Furtherimprovementsinthequalityandscopeofdialogueduring actionplandevelopment and implementationwould advanceOGPvalues.Basedon thechallenges and findings identified in this report, this section presents the principalrecommendations.

TOPFIVE‘SMART’RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Involve the largest possible number and most geographically diverse civil societyorganizations and private sector representatives in the development andimplementation of commitments. This should include national, regional, and localpromotionandawareness-raisingactivities,aswellasallocatingthenecessarybudgetsandhumanresourcesforallcommitments.Inaddition,Parliamentshouldbeinvolvedingovernment accountability-related commitments, aswell as in commitments entailingthedraftingoflaws.

2.Publishdetailedinformationaboutnaturalresourcesandallbindingcontractsinaneasytouseformat.

3.Implementan“OpenJustice”systemthatwouldrenderthelegalprocessesopenandtransparentinordertodeterinappropriatebehavioronthepartofthecourtoronthepart of any abusive counterpart. This includes the contents of court files availableonline.

4.RevisethelegalframeworktomaketheNationalCourtofAuditindependentfromtheexecutivebranchtoremovethecurrentstructuralflawwherethegovernmentisitsownjudge, which is undermining the credibility and accountability of the legal system inTunisia.

5.Implementan“OpenBudget”processatthemunicipallevelinallmunicipalities.Thisrequirespriorpublicationofallbudgetrelatedinformationonlineandsettingupaclearparticipatory mechanism that pushes the boundary of participation from mereconsultationtocitizens’empowerment.

EligibilityRequirements:ToparticipateinOGP,governmentsmustdemonstratecommitmenttoopengovernmentbymeetingminimumcriteriaonkeydimensionsofopengovernment.Third-partyindicatorsareusedtodeterminecountryprogressoneachofthedimensions.Formoreinformation,seeSectionIXoneligibilityrequirementsattheendofthisreportorvisit:http://www.opengovpartnership.org/how-it-works/eligibility-criteria.

JazemHaliouiisanindependentresearcherinTunisia.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) aims to secure concretecommitmentsfromgovernmentstopromotetransparency,empowercitizens,fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) assesses development andimplementationofnationalactionplanstofosterdialogueamongstakeholdersandimproveaccountability.

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I.NationalparticipationinOGPHistoryofOGPparticipation

TheOpenGovernmentPartnership(OGP)isavoluntary,multistakeholderinternationalinitiativethataimstosecureconcretecommitmentsfromgovernmentstotheircitizenryto promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness newtechnologies to strengthen governance. OGP provides an international forum fordialogue and sharing among governments, civil society organizations (CSOs), and theprivatesector,allofwhichcontributetoacommonpursuitofopengovernment.

Tunisia began its formal participation in December 2013, when the Minister ofGovernance and Anticorruption declared the country’s intention to participate in theinitiative.1

InDecember2013, thegovernmentpublished itsexecutivebudgetproposal,anactionthatgaveTunisiatwomorepointsonOGP’s16-pointeligibilityscale.Tunisia’sscoreis13,abovethenecessary12.

ToparticipateinOGP,governmentsmustexhibitademonstratedcommitmenttoopengovernmentbymeetingasetof(minimum)performancecriteriaonkeydimensionsofopen government that are particularly consequential for increasing governmentresponsiveness, strengthening citizen engagement, and fighting corruption. Objective,thirdparty indicatorsareusedtodeterminetheextentofcountryprogressoneachofthedimensions.SeeSectionIXoneligibilityrequirementsformoredetails.

All OGP-participating governments develop OGP country action plans that elaborateconcrete commitments over an initial two-year period. Action plans should set outgovernments’OGPcommitments,whichmovegovernmentpracticebeyond itscurrentbaseline. These commitments may build on existing efforts, identify new steps tocompleteon-goingreforms,orinitiateactioninanentirelynewarea.

Tunisia developed its national action plan fromMarch 2014 to September 2014. ThefinalversionofthenationalOGPactionplanwasapprovedofficiallythroughadecisionsigned by the Secretary of State for Governance and Civil Service and announcedthroughmedia.2

TheeffectiveperiodofimplementationfortheactionplansubmittedinSeptemberwasofficially 1 July 2014 through 30 June 2016. The government could not start theimplementationinJulybecauseTunisiaonly joinedtheOGPinJanuary2014,resultingin a delayed start to the necessary national action plan consultation. This midtermprogressreportcoversthefirstyearofimplementationofthisperiod,from1July2014to30June2015.Thegovernmentpublishedaself-assessmentreporton23September2015,resultinginlimiteddiscussionandcommentsfromCSOsatthetimeofwritingthisreport(September2015).

TomeetOGP requirements, the Independent ReportingMechanism (IRM) of OGP haspartneredwith JazemHalioui,whocarriedout thisevaluationof thedevelopmentandimplementationofTunisia’sfirstactionplan.ItistheaimoftheIRMtoinformongoingdialoguearounddevelopmentandimplementationoffuturecommitmentsineachOGPparticipatingcountry.Methodsandsourcesaredealtwithinamethodologicalannexinthisreport.

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Basicinstitutionalcontext

Tunisiaisademocraticconstitutionalrepublic,withaPresidentservingastheheadofstate, a Prime Minister as the head of government, a unicameral legislature, and anindependentjudiciary.

Between1956and2011,Tunisiaoperatedasadefactosinglepartystate.However,in2011anationaluprising ledtotheoustingofthePresidentandthedismantlingofthegovernment.TheConstitutionalDemocraticRally(RCD)pavedthewayforamulti-partydemocracy.

On26October2014, the first democratic parliamentary elections tookplace since the2011revolution,resultinginawinbytheNidaaTounespartywith85seatsinthe217-memberassembly.

InjoiningtheOGPinitiative,theTunisiangovernment’seffortwasledbytheMinistryofGovernance. However, starting from early 2014, after a change in government, theMinistryofGovernancewasreplacedbyaSecretariatofStateforGovernanceandPublicServiceReforms,attachedtotheChiefofGovernment.However,aftertheOctober2014elections, the new Chief of Government removed the Secretariat of State frominvolvementintheOGP,withoutexplanation.SomeCSOssaidtheywereconcernedthatthe structural change could imply a lower government commitment to governance-relatedissues.

Starting fromFebruary2014, the e-Government (e-Gov)Unit at thePresidency of theGovernment became the focal point for OGP in Tunisia. The e-Gov Unit is part of theofficeof thePresidencyof theGovernment,buthas little legalpowertoenforcepolicychangesdirectlyonotheragencieswithingovernment.Currently,itsmandateislargelytoimplementtechnologicalsolutionstoimproveonlinegovernmentservices,butitdoesnothavetheauthoritytocompelotheragenciestoenterintocommitments.

ItshouldbenotedthatsinceJanuary2014,Tunisia followsaparliamentaryprocess indeveloping or reforming legislation. This results in the government requiring aparliamentarymajoritybeforeanylawsareamendedoradopted.

Methodologicalnote

The IRM partners with experienced, independent national researchers to author anddisseminate reports for each OGP participating government.In Tunisia, the IRMpartneredwithJazemHalioui.JazemHaliouireviewedthegovernment’sself-assessmentreport, gathered the views of civil society, and interviewed appropriate governmentofficialsandotherstakeholders.OGPstaffandapanelofexpertsreviewedthereport.

ThisreportcoversthefirstyearofimplementationofTunisia’sactionplan,from1July2014to30June2015.Beginningin2015,theIRMalsopublishesend-of-termreportstoaccountforthefinalstatusofprogressattheendoftheactionplan’stwo-yearperiod.Togatherthevoicesofmultiplestakeholders,JazemHaliouiorganizedonestakeholderforumforcivilsocietyinTunis,whichwasconductedaccordingtoafocusgroupmodel,andonestakeholdermeetingwithgovernmentrepresentativesandCSOsinvolvedintheOGP action plan. Jazem Halioui also reviewed 10 key documents prepared by thegovernment: a report on Tunisia’s first action plan,3eight progress reports,4and theself-assessmentreportpublishedbythegovernmenton23September2015.5Numerousreferencesaremadetothesedocumentsthroughoutthisreport.

SummariesoftheseforumsandmoredetailedexplanationsaregivenintheAnnex.

1http://live-ogp.gotpantheon.com/sites/default/files/Screen%20Shot%202014-01-14%20at%2011.44.52%20AM.png

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2OfficialLaunchoftheOpenGovernmentPartnership(OGP)ActionPlanonNationalTVNews,25September2014,[Arabic]http://on.fb.me/1Posyty3RepublicofTunisia,NationalOGPActionPlanbythePresidencyoftheGovernment(Report,September2014),http://bit.ly/1W4HtOH4RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof6January2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof4February2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof4March2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof1April2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof6May2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof3June2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof1July2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof9September2015.5RepublicofTunisia,OGPNationalActionPlan2015-2016:TunisiaOGP-Self-AssessmentReport(Report,September2015),http://bit.ly/1N5HSJM

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II.Process:ActionplandevelopmentTheTunisian government sought input from civil society, government agencies,andministries to develop its action plan. Some of the interviewed civil societystakeholders felt that the consultation process was not inclusive enough,especially at the regional level. Other stakeholders criticized the plan’s lack ofambition.

CountriesparticipatinginOGPfollowasetprocessforconsultationduringdevelopmentoftheirOGPactionplan.AccordingtotheOGPArticlesofGovernance,countriesmust:

• Make the details of their public consultation process and timeline available(onlineataminimum)priortotheconsultation;

• Consult widely with the national community, including civil society and theprivatesector; seekoutadiverse rangeofviews;and,makea summaryof thepublic consultation and all individual written comment submissions availableonline;

• Undertake OGP awareness-raising activities to enhance public participation intheconsultation;

• Consult the population with sufficient forewarning and through a variety ofmechanisms—includingonlineandthrough in-personmeetings—toensuretheaccessibilityofopportunitiesforcitizenstoengage.

A fifth requirement, during consultation, is set out in theOGPArticles ofGovernance.ThisrequirementisdealtwithinSectionIIIonconsultationduringimplementation:

• Countries are to identify a forum to enable regular multistakeholderconsultation on OGP implementation—this can be an existing entity or a newone.

This is discussed in the next section, but evidence for consultation both before andduringimplementationisincludedhereandinTable1foreaseofreference.

Table1:ActionPlanConsultationProcess

PhaseofActionPlan

OGPProcessRequirement(ArticlesofGovernanceSection)

DidtheGovernmentMeetthisRequirement?

DuringDevelopment

Weretimelineandprocessavailablepriortoconsultation?

Yes

Wasthetimelineavailableonline? Yes

Wasthetimelineavailablethroughotherchannels?

Yes

Provideanylinkstothetimeline. http://bit.ly/1fGkL0i

Wasthereadvancenoticeoftheconsultation?

Yes

Howmanydaysofadvancenoticewereprovided?

4

Wasthisnoticeadequate? No

Didthegovernmentcarryoutawareness-raisingactivities?

Yes

Provideanylinkstoawareness- 1. MeetinginBenArousJuly9,

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raisingactivities. 2015:http://on.fb.me/1Sehmpy

2. MeetinginTataouine,9May2015:http://on.fb.me/1Oebxod

3. MeetinginMedenine,8May2015:http://on.fb.me/1PSQOqp

4. MeetinginZaghouan,23April2015:http://on.fb.me/1PSQVCt

5. MeetinginKairouan,24April2015:http://on.fb.me/1mRr3O0

6. MeetinginSiliana,10April2015:http://on.fb.me/1W0MRCr

7. MeetinginRasJebel,6April2015:http://ti2d.org/?p=225

8. MeetinginBeja,19March2015:http://www.tanmiafm.org/?p=256

9. MeetinginKasserine,6March2015:http://on.fb.me/1TQk7uZ

Wereconsultationsheldonline? No

Werein-personconsultationsheld?

Yes

Wasasummaryofcommentsprovided?

No

Provideanylinkstosummaryofcomments.

No

Wereconsultationsopenorinvitation-only?

Open

PlacetheconsultationsontheIAP2spectrum.1

Involve

DuringImplementation

Wastherearegularforumforconsultationduringimplementation?

Yes

Wereconsultationsopenorinvitation-only?

Invitation-only

PlacetheconsultationsontheIAP2spectrum.

Consult

14

Advancenoticeandawareness-raising

The Tunisian governmentmade the timeline of the OGP process available online andgavefourdaysofadvancenoticeforpublicconsultationontheactionplan.

TheTunisian government consulted severalministries andCSOswith logistic supportfrom theOrganization forEconomicCooperation andEconomicDevelopment (OECD).Although a few CSOs focused on the topics of transparency and accountability wereengaged,publicawarenessoftheconsultationprocessremainedlow.SeverallargeCSOsweremissingsuchastheWorkersUnion(UGTT)withapproximately800,000members,the bar association, the Human Rights League (LTDH), and the Employers Union(UTICA). These four organizations played a major role in stabilizing the politicaltensions that the country went through in 2013. Both UTICA and UGTT also wereworkingwith the government on a social dialogue framework (The Social Contract).2ConsultationswithgovernmentrepresentativeswerelimitedtoTunis.

On7March2014, thegovernmentorganizedawholedayseminar inTunis.Theeventwaspedagogicalanddedicated toexplaining, sharingexperiencesandknowledge,andtrainingstakeholdersonconsultationtechniques.Itdidnotcoverspecificcommitmentproposals. On 30 April 2014, the government launched the official Tunisian OGPwebsite. 3 On 6 May 2014, the government held a seminar to officially start theconsultation.4Onthesameday,itlaunchedanofficialFacebookpage.5

Depthandbreadthofconsultation

Thegovernmentlaunchedtheconsultationthroughaconferenceon6May2014.6Consultations were invitation-only. This generated comments from civil societyparticipants, who questioned the consultation process’ fairness and inclusiveness.Overall, the government could havemademore efforts to includemore stakeholdersfrom civil society across all regions of the country by launching a national mediacampaign,forexample.

Aworking group ofministries and CSO representatives gathered at aworkshop on 5September 2014. The group compiled a list of potential commitments and posted anonline poll on the public consultations website to collect citizens’ feedback and toidentify their priorities. Taking into account the different feedback, the governmentcompiledalistof20commitmentsfromthe600reportedlycollectedsuggestions.

A representative of the coalition of 87 CSOs, entitled “OGP.Dialogue,” was part of theworkinggroup.Itexpresseddissatisfactionwiththewaythegovernmentconductedtheconsultation, including the limited role CSOs had in the process. The coalition wasformedin2014duringtheOGPconsultationprocess,specificallytobeinvolvedinOGPaction plan efforts and to participatewith a stronger voice. Only CSO representativesfromTuniswereinvolveddirectlyintheworkinggroup.Peoplewhocontributedonlinethrough theconsultationwebsitedidnothaveaccess tootherpeople's feedbackor tothecompilationofpollresults.

Some CSOs, including the OGP.Dialogue coalition, criticized the lack of ambition incertain commitments. In response to the criticism, the OGP contact point explainedduring the actionplan follow-upmeetings that the actionplan shouldbe realistic andabletobeimplementedwiththelimitedcapacityandbudgetofthegovernment.

1“IAP2SpectrumofPoliticalParticipation,”InternationalAssociationforPublicParticipation,http://bit.ly/1kMmlYC2“Tunisia:NationalCouncilofSocialContractGuaranteeofTripartiteDialogue–SocialPartners,”AllAfrica,27April2013,http://bit.ly/1Opq9Pw3TunisieOpenGovernmentPartnership(OGP),http://www.ogptunisie.gov.tn

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4OECD,“MettreenOeuvredesPolitiquesdeGouvernanceOuverteenTunisie”(Seminar,Tunis,7March2014),[French]http://bit.ly/1SgPktu5“OpenGovernmentPartnership(OGP)Tunisie,”Facebook,https://www.facebook.com/ogptunisie6“ConsultationPubliqueNationalepourl’Élaborationd’unPland’ActionpourlaGouvernanceOuverteenTunisie,”Event,OGPTunisia,30April2014,[French]http://bit.ly/1ZqLdzC

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III.Process:ActionplanimplementationThe JointCommission,agovernment-led initiative, servedas theprimary forumfor consultation between civil society and government during the action planimplementationperiod.

AspartoftheirparticipationinOGP,governmentscommittoidentifyanexistingornewforum to enable regular multistakeholder consultation on OGP implementation. Thissectionsummarizesthatinformation.

Regularmultistakeholderconsultation

After the adoptionof the first actionplan in September2014, national electionswereheld during October and November 2014, which led to the formation of a newgovernment.ThenewgovernmenttookofficeinJanuary2015.

The e-Gov Unit at the Presidency of the Government contacted several stakeholders,many of which were involved in the consultation process, to join a joint-commissionresponsibleforimplementingtheOGPnationalactionplan.Thecommissionwasformedandiscomposedoffivemembersfrompublicstructuresinchargeofthecommitmentsandfiverepresentativesfromcivilsociety.

The commission activities were limited to checking the implementation ofcommitments’progressanddidnotincludeawareness-raisingactivities.

Meetingswerescheduledonamonthlybasis.Eightmeetingstookplaceattheofficeofthee-GovUnitinTunisbetweenJanuaryandSeptember2015.ThemeetingforAugustwasskippedduetothelimitedmembers’availability.

Meeting minutes were redacted by the e-Gov Unit and shared with the commissionmembers by e-mail. 1 Some civil society commission members made efforts todisseminatethefollow-upreportsamongabroadercivilsocietyaudiencethroughemailandsocialmediachannelssuchastheOpenGovTNFacebookopengroup.2

TheIRMresearcherobtainedcopiesoftheminutesfortheeightmeetings.

1RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof6January2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof4February2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof4March2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof1April2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof6May2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof3June2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof1July2015;RepublicofTunisia,ProgressReportof9September2015.2“OpenGovTN,”FacebookGroup,https://www.facebook.com/groups/opengovtn/

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IV.AnalysisofactionplancontentsAll OGP participating governments develop OGP country action plans that elaborateconcrete commitments over an initial two-year period. Governments begin their OGPcountryactionplansbysharingexistingefforts related toopengovernment, includingspecificstrategiesandongoingprograms.Actionplans thensetoutgovernments’OGPcommitments,whichstretchpracticebeyond its currentbaseline.Thesecommitmentsmaybuildonexistingefforts,identifynewstepstocompleteongoingreforms,orinitiateactioninanentirelynewarea.

Commitmentsshouldbeappropriatetoeachcountry’suniquecircumstancesandpolicyinterests.OGPcommitmentsalsoshouldberelevanttoOGPvalues laidout intheOGPArticles of Governance and Open Government Declaration signed by all OGPparticipating countries. The IRMuses the following guidance to evaluate relevance tocoreopengovernmentvalues.

Accesstoinformation

Commitmentsaroundaccesstoinformation:

• Pertain to government-held information, as opposed to only information ongovernmentactivities.Asanexample,releasinggovernment-heldinformationonpollution would be clearly relevant, although the information is not about“governmentactivity”perse;

• Arenotrestrictedtodatabutpertaintoall information.Forexample,releasingindividual construction contracts and releasing data on a large set ofconstructioncontracts;

• Mayincludeinformationdisclosuresinopendataandthesystemsthatunderpinthepublicdisclosureofdata;

• Maycoverbothproactiveand/orreactivereleasesofinformation;• Maycoverbothmakingdatamoreavailableand/orimprovingthetechnological

readabilityofinformation;• May pertain to mechanisms to strengthen the right to information (such as

ombudsman’sofficesorinformationtribunals);• Mustprovideopenaccesstoinformation(itshouldnotbeprivilegedorinternal

onlytogovernment);• Shouldpromotetransparencyofgovernmentdecisionmakingandcarryingout

ofbasicfunctions;• Mayseektolowercostofobtaininginformation;• Shouldstrivetomeetthe5StarforOpenDatadesign(http://5stardata.info/).

Civicparticipation

Commitmentsaroundcivicparticipationmaypertaintoformalpublicparticipationortobroader civic participation. They generally should seek to “consult,” “involve,”“collaborate,” or “empower,” as explained by the International Association for PublicParticipation’sPublicParticipationSpectrum(http://bit.ly/1kMmlYC).

Commitmentsaddressingpublicparticipation:

• Mustopendecisionmakingtoallinterestedmembersofthepublic;suchforumsare usually “top-down” in that they are created by government (or actorsempowered by government) to inform decisionmaking throughout the policycycle;

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• Can include elements of access to information to ensure meaningful input ofinterestedmembersofthepublicintodecisions;

• Oftenincludetherighttohaveyourvoiceheard,butdonotnecessarilyincludetherighttobeaformalpartofadecisionmakingprocess.

Alternately,commitmentsmayaddressthebroaderoperatingenvironmentthatenablesparticipationincivicspace.Examplesincludebutarenotlimitedtothefollowing:

• Reforms increasing freedoms of assembly, expression, petition, press, orassociation;

• ReformsonassociationincludingtradeunionlawsorNGOlaws;• Reforms improving the transparency and process of formal democratic

processessuchascitizenproposals,elections,orpetitions.

Thefollowingcommitmentsareexamplesofcommitmentsthatwouldnotbemarkedasclearlyrelevanttothebroaderterm,civicparticipation:

• Commitments that assume participation will increase due to publication ofinformationwithoutspecifyingthemechanismforsuchparticipation(althoughthiscommitmentwouldbemarkedas“accesstoinformation”);

• Commitments on decentralization that do not specify the mechanisms forenhancedpublicparticipation;

• Commitments that define participation as interagency cooperation without amechanismforpublicparticipation;

• Commitments that may be marked of “unclear relevance” also include thosemechanisms where participation is limited to government-selectedorganizations.

Publicaccountability

Commitmentsimprovingaccountabilitycanincludethefollowing:

• Rules,regulations,andmechanismsthatcallupongovernmentactorsto justifytheir actions, act upon criticisms or requirements made of them, and acceptresponsibilityforfailuretoperformwithrespecttolawsorcommitments.

Consistentwiththecoregoalof“opengovernment,”tobecountedas“clearlyrelevant,”such commitments must include a public-facing element, meaning that they are notpurelyinternalsystemsofaccountability.Whilesuchcommitmentsmaybelaudableandmaymeet anOGP grand challenge, they do not, as articulated,meet the test of “clearrelevance”duetotheirlackofopenness.Wheresuchinternal-facingmechanismsareakeypartofgovernmentstrategy,itisrecommendedthatgovernmentsincludeapublicfacingelementsuchas:

• Disclosure of non-sensitive metadata on institutional activities (followingmaximumdisclosureprinciples);

• Citizenauditsofperformance;• Citizen-initiatedappealsprocessesincasesofnon-performanceorabuse.

Strong commitments aroundaccountability ascribe rights, duties, or consequences foractionsofofficialsorinstitutions.Formalaccountabilitycommitmentsincludemeansofformally expressing grievances or reporting wrongdoing and achieving redress.Examplesofstrongcommitmentsinclude:

• Improvingorestablishingappealsprocessesfordenialofaccesstoinformation;• Improving access to justice by making justice mechanisms cheaper, faster, or

easiertouse;• Improvingpublicscrutinyofjusticemechanisms;

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• Creatingpublic trackingsystems forpubliccomplaintsprocesses (suchascasetrackingsoftwareforpoliceoranticorruptionhotlines).

Acommitmentthatclaimstoimproveaccountability,butassumesthatmerelyprovidinginformationordatawithoutexplainingwhatmechanismor interventionwill translatethat information into consequences or change,wouldnot qualify as an accountabilitycommitment.Seehttp://bit.ly/1oWPXdlforfurtherinformation.

Technologyandinnovationforopennessandaccountability

OGPaimstoenhancetheuseoftechnologyandinnovationtoenablepublicinvolvementin government. Specifically, commitments that use technology and innovation shouldenhanceopennessandaccountabilityby:

• Promoting new technologies that offer opportunities for information sharing,publicparticipation,andcollaboration.

• Makingmoreinformationpublicinwaysthatenablepeopletobothunderstandwhattheirgovernmentsdoandtoinfluencedecisions.

• Workingtoreducecostsofusingthesetechnologies.

Additionally,commitmentsthatwillbemarkedastechnologyandinnovation:

• Maycommittoaprocessofengagingcivilsocietyandthebusinesscommunityto identify effective practices and innovative approaches for leveraging newtechnologiestoempowerpeopleandpromotetransparencyingovernment;

• May commit to supporting the ability of governments and citizens to usetechnologyforopennessandaccountability;

• Maysupporttheuseoftechnologybygovernmentemployeesandcitizensalike.

Notalle-governmentreformsimproveopennessofgovernment.Whenane-governmentcommitmentismade,itneedstoarticulatehowitenhancesatleastoneofthefollowing:accesstoinformation,publicparticipation,orpublicaccountability.

Keyvariables

Recognizing that achievingopengovernment commitmentsoften involves amultiyearprocess,governmentsshouldattachtimeframesandbenchmarkstotheircommitmentsthat indicate what is to be accomplished each year, whenever possible. This reportdetails eachof the commitments the country included in its actionplan, and analyzesthemfortheirfirstyearofimplementation.

All of the indicators and method used in the IRM research can be found in the IRMProceduresManual,availableathttp://www.opengovpartnership.org/about/about-irm.Onemeasuredeservesfurtherexplanation,duetoitsparticularinterestforreadersandusefulness forencouraginga race to the topbetweenOGP-participating countries: the“starred commitment.” Starred commitments are considered exemplary OGPcommitments.Toreceiveastar,acommitmentmustmeetseveralcriteria:

1. It must be specific enough that a judgment can be made about its potentialimpact.Starredcommitmentswillhave"medium"or"high"specificity.

2. The commitment’s language should make clear its relevance to openinggovernment.Specifically,itmustrelatetoatleastoneoftheOGPvaluesofaccesstoinformation,civicparticipation,orpublicaccountability.

3. Thecommitmentwouldhavea"moderate"or"transformative"potentialimpact,ifcompletelyimplemented.

4. Finally, the commitment must see significant progress during the action planimplementation period, receiving a ranking of "substantial" or "complete"implementation.

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Basedonthesecriteria,Tunisia’sactionplancontainednostarredcommitments.

NotethattheIRMupdatedthestarcriteriainearly2015toraisethebarformodelOGPcommitments.Undertheoldcriteria,acommitmentreceivedastarifitwasmeasurable,clearlyrelevanttoOGPvaluesaswritten,hadmoderateortransformative impact,andwassubstantiallyorcompletelyimplemented.

Based on these old criteria, Tunisia’s action plan would have received three starredcommitments:

• Commitment13:Budgetreports• Commitment14:Openbudgetsystem• Commitment19:Improvetransparencyintheareaofinfrastructureprojects

Finally, the graphs in this section present an excerpt of the wealth of data the IRMcollects during its progress reportingprocess. For the full dataset forTunisia, see theOGPExploreratwww.opengovpartnership.org/explorer.

Generaloverviewofthecommitments

Thenationalactionplanfocusedonfourareas:

1. Strengtheningintegrity inthepublicsector, fightingcorruption,andpromotingdemocracythroughatransparentgovernment.TheseprinciplesweremandatedinthenewTunisianConstitutionthrougharticles10,15,and139.

2. Improving public service delivery, strengthening the participatory approach,and instilling principles of open governance in the public sector, throughsimplification of administrative procedures, strengthening online servicedelivery, providing mechanisms to involve citizens in public policymakingprocesses,andbuildingthecapacityofcivilservantsinopengovernance.

3. Strengthen transparency in financial and public procurement areas to allowcitizenstofollow-upmanagementofpublicresourcesandtoavoidtheirmisuse.

4. Enhance transparency in the area of natural resources management andinfrastructure and environment projects asmandated in articles 12 and 13 ofthenewTunisianConstitution.

Clustering

Tomakethereportmorereadable,theIRMresearcherreorganizedthecommitmentsbygrouping commitments with close scopes into clusters. Commitments 3, 16, and 17pertaintothepublicationofauditreports.Commitments11and12arebothrelatedtobuilding the capacity of civil servants. Commitments 13, 14, and 15 all pertain to theopenbudgettopic.

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1:StrengthenlegalframeworkforanticorruptionCommitmentText:

Draftingasetoflawsrelatedtocorruptionfight:

• AlawrelatedtotheprotectionofWhistleblowersinthepublicsector:

Thislawaimsatestablishingmechanismstoreportcorruptioncases,andsettingupspecialmeasurestoprotectwhistleblowersthatwitnesscorruptioncaseswithinthepublicsector.Thelawwillsustaintheeffortoffightingthephenomenonofcorruptionthatthreatenspublicresources,andwillreduceitseffectsatdifferentlevelsofthegovernment,includingcentralandlocallevelandallstructuresinvolvedinpublicservicesdelivery.

• AlawrelatedtoAssetDisclosure:

Thislawaimstodefinethelistofhighgovernmentofficialsandwhoareobligedtodisclosetheirassetsdeclarationinaccordancetospecificproceduresandafterdefiningthecontrolmechanismandtheappliedsanctions.Thiswillreplacethelawn∞1987-17ofApril10th,1987,relatedtodeclarationofhonorbygovernmentmembersandhighlevelofficialsofassets,andallrelatedlegislation.

• Alawonillicitenrichment:

Thislawaimsatdefiningillicitenrichmentofpublicofficials,theirspousesorchildren.Andso,withtheadditionofexpensesthataremadebyorforthebenefitofanypersonsinvolvedinillicitenrichment.

Oncetheselawsareformulatedandapprovedbythegovernment,theyaredirectlyforwardedtothechamberofdeputies.

LeadInstitution:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService

SupportingInstitutions:TheMinistryofJustice,TheCommitteeofGovernanceandCorruptionFight,theChamberofDeputies,theLegalAdvisor

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Commitment Overview

Specificity OGP value relevance Potential impact Completion

Non

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Low

Med

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Hig

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Acc

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Civ

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Publ

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Subs

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OVERALL ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

1. Draft law on whistleblower protection

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

2. Draft law on asset disclosure ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

3. Draft law on illicit enrichment

✔ Unclear

✔ ✔

22

Whathappened?

This commitment aims to fight government corruption through revising 1990s eracorruptionlegislation.CorruptionisseenasacorecontributingcauseoftherevolutioninTunisia in2011.Thecommitmentsetsout todraft threekeypiecesof legislation incompliancewith theUnitedNationsConventionAgainstCorruption(UNCAC), focusingon whistleblower protection, asset disclosure, and illicit enrichment. The areas ofconcern identified by the draft laws have been studied extensively by Internationalpartners such as OECD and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and havebeendiscussedwithcivilsocietyinmultipleforums.

DespitehavingratifiedUNCACin2004andhavingpassedlawssuchasLawNo.87-17of10 April 1987 concerning asset declarations for government members and publicofficialsandLawNo.2008-16of25February2008,itisonlyafterthe2011revolutionthat the Tunisian government has started taking seriously the UNCAC commitment.According to a 2014 OECD report on asset declaration and integrity in publicadministration, Tunisia’s legal framework is still considered below internationalstandards.1For example, the public does not have access to asset declarations of civilservants, and Tunisia does not have any whistleblower protection legislation. Inaddition,onlyalimitedsetofcivilservantshavetocomplywithassetdeclarationlaws,withmembersofparliamentbeinganotableexception.

The democratic transition lasted four years, between 2011 and 2014. Several CSOslaunched the “Declare” campaign (Sarrah, in Arabic) in April 2013, to compel publicofficialstocomplywiththeexistingassetdeclarationlaw.Asaresult,theNationalCourtofAudit,whichisresponsibleforcollectingandcontrollingtheassetdeclarations,madean unprecedented public announcement mandating that all government agents (highranking officials from the executive branch, including in municipalities and publiccompanies, and high ranking officials from the judiciary2) comply with the assetdeclarationlawwithinaspecifiedtimeframe.3

InMarch 2015, the generalmanager of the governance unit at the Presidency of theGovernment announced that a commission involving severalministries had preparedthree anticorruption draft laws: one concerning whistleblowers protection, anotherconcerning illicit enrichment, and a third concerning government officials’ assetsdisclosure.Thedraft lawshaveyet tobepublishedonanofficialgovernmentwebsite,andno timeline for theirsubmission to theParliamenthasbeenprovided,despite thedraft laws being available on a UNDP-sponsored website since 3 September, 2015.4Thereisnotimelineforofficialpublication,commentperiod,orwhenthedraftlawswillbeforwardedtotheChamberofDeputies,resultinginalimitedcompletionrate.

Although outside of the evaluation period, in July 2015, the President of Tunisiapresented a draft law, called the Reconciliation Law, which according to the anti-corruptiongroupTransparencyInternational,wouldallowformercivilservantsservingundertheBenAliregimewhostolepublicfundstobegivenamnesty.Thislawcreatedacontroversial public debate and protest. Several CSOs including TransparencyInternational decried it in August 2015.5At the time of writing of this report (10September2015),theReconciliationLawdrafthasbeenfrozen.

Diditmatter?

Thepotential impactof thiscommitment ismoderate.Thegovernmenthascommittedto produce draft laws, which could be pivotal in helping to reduce corruption byincreasing public trust and possibly triggering the development of a new culture ofaccountabilityingovernment.CorruptionwasseenasthecorecauseoftherevolutioninTunisia.Itishopedthatthesedraftlawswillbringagreaterdegreeoftransparencyand

23

accountability toapublic sector thatwasoncecharacterizedby impunity for financialmisappropriation.

The three laws together constitute a complementary framework to fight corruption.Whistleblower protection fights the fear of reprisals that public administrationemployees may feel if they decide to report a professional misconduct or an act ofcorruption.Assetdeclarationregulationsreducetheriskofrealorperceivedunethicalconductbypublicofficialsbymakingtheirassetsandbusinessactivitiestransparenttothe public. The illicit enrichment law dissuades public officials from benefittingfinanciallyillegallyduetotheirpositions.

However, thesedraft lawscouldbesubject torevisionbeforeapproval; therefore, it isnot clear whether they will create sufficiently strong legal framework for the fightagainstcorruption.Althoughoutsideoftheevaluationperiod, it isdisconcertingtoseethe government’s recent attempt to exempt former corrupt civil servants fromaccountabilityforpastcrimesthroughtheproposedReconciliationLaw.

Still, civil society members consider the potential impact of the projected laws, ifadoptedandenforcedtobe“gamechanging.”However,theactualpassageoftheselawsdepends on the Parliament. The government can prepare draft laws, but only theParliamenthasthepowertoadopttheseintolawoncepublicdiscussionandpotentialrevisionshavetakenplace.

Despitebiginterestinthesedraftlaws,therehasbeenlittleinvolvementofcivilsocietyin the drafting process. CSOs have expressed their desire and the hope for anopportunityofcloserinvolvementinthedraftingprocess,notjustinformaldiscussionsduringforums.6

Stakeholders agree about the need for a strong legislative framework to combatcorruption in Tunisia. Despite undergoing a democratic transition, the perception ofcorruptionhasactually increased inrecentyears.7Transparency International’sGlobalCorruption Barometer (2013) found that 56 percent of respondents felt that thejudiciarywascorrupt,69percent felt thepolicewerecorrupt,66percent feltpoliticalpartieswerecorrupt,and53percentofrespondentsfeltthatthemediawerecorrupt.8According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, the countryregressedfrom77thpositionin2013to79thamong175countriesin2014.9

In January 2014, the newly adopted constitution marked a positive milestone bycreatingtheindependent“GoodGovernanceandAnticorruptionInstance”bodytofightcorruption and strengthen integrity, transparency, and accountability in the publicsector.10

Movingforward

TheIRMresearcherrecommendsthefollowing:

! Thegovernmentshouldallocatesignificantresourcesandeffortsintopromotingthe anticorruption law project so that all citizens are familiar with it and arepreparedtousethenewlegalframeworkassoonasitispassedintolawbytheParliament;

! The inclusion of civil society and members of Parliament in the commissionentrustedwith thedrafting of these three laws and also of future laws,wouldensurethatbroaderviewsanddiverseideasaretakenintoaccount;

! A public consultation period to collect feedback is recommended beforesubmittingthelawstotheParliamentfordiscussionandavote.

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1OECD,Renforcerl’IntégritéenTunisie:L’ÉlaborationdeNormespourlesAgentsPublicsetleRenforcementduSysèèmedeDéclarationdePatrimoine(Report,2014),http://bit.ly/1KbT6N92Renforcerl’IntégritéenTunisie:L’ÉlaborationdeNormespourlesAgentsPublicsetleRenforcementduSysèèmedeDéclarationdePatrimoine(2014),http://bit.ly/1KbT6N93“LaCourdesComptes:‘TouslesMembresduGouvernementTunisienOntDéclaréLeursBiens,’”EspaceManager,7May2013,http://bit.ly/1TTewDW4DraftWhistleblowersProtectionLaw,03September2015,http://bit.ly/1OpsdqH;DraftAssetDisclosureLaw,3September2015,http://bit.ly/1TTfgZY;DraftIllicitEnrichmentLaw,3September2015,http://bit.ly/1RAOmsn5TransparencyInternationalSecretariat,“TransparencyInternationalCondemnsTunisianDraftLawthatWouldSettheCorruptFree,”News,TransparencyInternational(TI),31August2015,http://bit.ly/1EvewYd6StakeholderForumforCivilSociety,Tunis,8September2015.7AbdelazizHakimiandHelmiHamdi,“HowCorruptionAffectGrowthinMENARegion?FreshEvidencefromaPanelCointegrationAnalysis,”MunicPersonalRePEcArchive(MPRA)(18April2015):PaperNo.63750,8,http://bit.ly/1J1rEql8“Tunisia,”GlobalCorruptionBarometer2013,TI,http://bit.ly/1PpZi5Q9“CorruptionPerceptionIndex2014:Results,”TI,http://bit.ly/1AgRivL10RepublicofTunisia,“ConstitutiondelaRepubliqueTunisienne,”JournalOfficieldelaRépubliqueTunisienne,20April2015,Article130,http://bit.ly/1P8BgLW

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2:ElectroniccivilpetitionandcorruptionreportingplatformCommitmentText:

Thisplatformwillcontributetofightcorruptionandpromotecitizenparticipation.Usingmultiplechannels(Website,Callcenter,SMS,directvisitsofcitizens,...),thesystemwillbeagatetoreceivecitizens’complaintsandreportcorruptioncases.Thesecomplaintswillbedispatchedtodifferentpublicstructuresatthecentral,regionalandlocallevels.Thesystemensuresthefollowupofthepetitionthroughoutthetreatmentprocess.

Thesystemwillallowthepublicationofdataonreceivedandtreatedpetitionsbycategoryofthepetitionandbyfield.Itwillallowcitizenstofollow-uptheirpetitiontreatmentprocessanditwillbedesignedbasedonaparticipatoryapproachinvolvingcivilsocietyrepresentatives.

Thissystemwillbeimplementedinphasestocoverallpublicstructures.Thefirstoneconcernsnumberofpilotministriesthatwillbedeterminedlater.

LeadInstitutions:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService(TheGovernmentUnitandtheCentralBureauofRelationshipwithCitizens)

SupportingInstitutions:TheCommitteeofGovernanceandCorruptionFight,allinvolvedministries

StartDate:September2014 EndDate:June2016

Whathappened?

This commitmentaims to create fournewchannels for reportingand followinguponcorruption cases. These channels are SMS, awebsite, a call center, and direct contactwithapublicinstitution.Initsfirstphase,acentralizedsystemwilldispatchthecasestoa limited number of specialized national and regional agencies. These pilot agencieshavenotbeendeterminedyet.

There are currently few channels for the public to report corruption cases such asreportingthecaseatalocalpoliceoffice,filingacomplainttotheNationalAuthorityforthe Fight Against Corruption, or filing a complaint at the offices of Citizen Relations.Corruptionvictimsandwitnessesdonothaveanyfollow-upmechanismtolearnaboutcaseprocessingandoutcomes.

Tobecomeoperational, thecommitment requiresa legal framework.According to thegovernment’s self-assessment report, a law is currently being drafted under thesupervision of a central department at the Presidency of the Government and theCentralBureauofRelationshipswithCitizens.

Commitment Overview

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26

No budget has been approved for the implementation of the system. According tointerviews with the Central Bureau of Relationships with Citizens, South KoreanInternational Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has pledged to fund the project, but littleprogresshasbeenmadesofar.

Diditmatter?

Thegovernment’sself-assessmentreportstatesthatitwilldevelopalegalframeworkasanoutcome for this commitment;however, the limitedprogressso farhas resulted inthiscommitmentbeingcodedashavingamoderateimpact.Ifthepublicadministrationisboundby law toengagewith citizens, the impact couldbegreater. Impact couldbeevengreaterifclearaccountabilitymetricsareidentifiedtomeasuretheeffectivenessofthenewreportingchannels.Thegovernmentdidnotpublishthetechnicalrequirementsof theplatform,nordid it share informationabout thedetailsof thecooperationwiththeKOICA.

Movingforward

CSOsstatedthatan impactassessmentreportingmechanismshouldbeapreconditionto public and civil society engagement in this commitment.1Stakeholders recommendthe commitmentbe clearlymeasurable, and they identified specific success indicatorsfortheimpactassessmentmechanism,suchasthefollowing:

• Clarifytheintendedoutcomeforthiscommitment;• Numberofusersofthecorruptionreportingplatform;• Percentageofreportedcasesthathavebeenresolved;• Averagetimeframeforprocessingsubmittedcase.

CSOs also suggest the publication of a project timeline, including planned activities,milestones, and allocated resources, to ensure better accountability public and tofacilitateprojectfollow-up.

Finally, stakeholders recommend a more proactive promotion effort to engage thepublicwiththecorruptionplatformbecausetheusabilityoftheplatformwoulddependonthecitizens’awarenessofthistool.

The IRM researcher recommends allocating a budget for this commitment instead ofrelyingonlyonpotentialfundingfromforeignpartners.

1StakeholderForum,September2015;JointStakeholderMeeting,PresidencyoftheGovernment’sOffice,9September2015.

27

Commitments3,16,17:AuditreportsCommitmentText:

Commitment3:Annualauditactivitiesreport

Regardingpublicstructurescommitmentofproactiveinformationdisclosure,anannualreportwillbepublishedtoexposepublicauditstructuresactivities(highcommitteeofpublicservicecontrol,generalfinancialcontrolcommittee,generalcontrolofStatePropertyandLandAffairs)inasimplifiedform,easilyaccessibleandunderstandablebycitizens,sothatcitizensgetinvolvedintheaccountabilitysystem.

Preparingthisreportwillfinallyrequiretheadoptionofapre-setstandardsandprocedurestoensurequalityandefficiency.

LeadInstitution:TheHighCommitteeforAdministrativeandFinancialControl

SupportingInstitutions:HighCommitteeofPublicServiceControl,GeneralFinancialControlCommittee,GeneralControlofStatePropertyandLandAffairs.

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:December2015

Commitment16:Publicprocurementandauditresultsreport

Publicationofreportsrelatedtoattributionandexecutionofpublicprocurementelaboratedbythenationalassemblyofpublicdemandtakingintoconsiderationauditreportssubmittedtothepresidentoftherepublic,thepresidentofthegovernmentandtochamberofdeputies.

LeadInstitution:PresidencyoftheGovernment(theNationalAssemblyofPublicDemand)

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Commitment17:Procurementauditreportsrecommendations

Implementationofasystemallowingclustering,followupandpublicationofrecommendationsincludedintheauditreportsofpublicprocurementselaboratedbythecommitteeofauditandcontrolofpublicdemand.

LeadInstitution:PresidencyoftheGovernment(HighCommitteeofPublicDemand)

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

EditorialNote:Commitments3,16and17arebeingassessedtogetherastheyallpertaintoauditingactivities.

Commitment Overview

Specificity OGP value relevance Potential impact

Completion

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3. Annual audit activities report ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

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Whathappened?

Thefollowingclusterofcommitmentsaimstopublishreportsproducedbyseveralstateauditingagencies(theHighCommitteeofPublicServiceControl, theGeneralFinancialControlCommittee,theGeneralControlofStatePropertyandLandAffairs,theNationalAssemblyofPublicDemand,andtheCommitteeofAuditandControlofPublicDemand)inacitizen-friendlyformat.Theprimaryconcernwiththesecommitments,whichisthefocusof this evaluation, is that several audit reportsproducedby thegovernmentarenot publicly available. After the 2011 revolution, several procurement-relatedcorruption scandals were revealed in the media involving the former president, hisfamilymembers,andseveralministers.1

Amultistakeholder task force has been assembled under the supervision of the HighAuthority for Administrative and Financial Control (HCCAF) to discuss the structure,content, and writing style of the reports and their compliance with internationalreportingstandards.

One of the reports mentioned in commitment three was published on the HCCAF’swebsite for2011and2012.2However, the reportshavebeen removed.The2013and2014 reports were published and are available on the same website at the time ofwritingthisreport(23September2015).34

According to the government self-assessment, no progress has been made incommitments16and17topublishauditresultsandrecommendationsrelatedtopublicprocurement.

Diditmatter?

Given the low-level of awareness concerning these reports, as well as the limitedinformation concerning the reports’ format, the IRMresearcher andCSO stakeholdersareoftheviewthatthecommitmentsmostlikelywillhaveaminorpotentialimpact.5

However,thepublicationofthepublicserviceAuditReportbytheHCCAF(commitmentthree)andthepublicprocurementresults(commitment16)areimportant.Theycouldimprove the transparency of the government, concerning the management of publicresources, andwould allow citizens the necessary information to hold government toaccount.

CSO stakeholders recognize that the publication of the audit report recommendations(commitment 17) will improve access to information and government accountability.However, CSO stakeholderswereunsurewhat impact thepublication couldhave as aresult of the limited progress concerning implementation during the period underreview. Its impact would depend on the relevance and the level of depth of therecommendations.

Movingforward

Tomakethiscommitmentmoreambitious,theIRMresearcherrecommends:

• Thereleaseoffullinformationreportsinadditiontothesimplifiedversions;

16. Public procurement and audit results report

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

17. Procurement audit reports recommendations

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

29

• WorkingwithCSOs andbusinessorganizations to engage in themonitoringofpublicprocurementactivities.Thisengagementalsocanbeusedtohelpidentifythemostusefulprocurementinformation;

• A more proactive promotion effort to engage a well-targeted audienceconcerning the newly published documents because the release of the auditreports alone would be ineffective if civil society experts and watchdogs areunawareofitsexistence;

• Implementclearindicatorsofprogresswithalltherelevantstakeholderssuchasgovernmentofficials,CSOs,andwatchdogs;

• Developonlinetoolsincollaborationwithwatchdogstofacilitatetheanalysisofprocurementdataformonitoringpurposes;

• Implementamechanism toallow thepublic and contractbidders to reportonirregularitiesrelatedtotheprocurementprocess.

1CleanGovBizIntegrityinPractice,“IntegrityScanofTunisia2013”byOECD(Report,Paris,June2013),12,http://bit.ly/1KbY78e2“PageNonTrouvée[Deletedlinkof2011and2012auditreports],”HautComitéduContrôleAdministratifetFinancier,http://bit.ly/1UMTsiO3“LeHCCAFMetSesRapportsàlaDispositionduPublic,”Latestnews,BusinessNews,23September2015,http://bit.ly/1mTunrx4“HCCAFReport,”2013,http://bit.ly/1mVrt66;“HCCAFReport,”2014,http://bit.ly/1ZqQDL55StakeholderForum,September2015.

30

4:LegalframeworkofpersonaldataprotectionCommitmentText:

InaccordancewiththeprovisionsofPartIIoftheConstitution“Rightsandfreedoms“,inparticulartheprovisionsofarticle24,thatadmitstheStatecommitmenttopersonaldataprotection,andarticle32thatenshrinetherighttoinformationaccess,andinrespecttoarticle49thatstatesthattherightsandfreedomsguaranteedbytheConstitutionshouldbeexplicatedbylaws,thecurrentdataprotectionactandrelatedlegislationwillbeamended,sothatitcanmeetinternationalstandards,especiallyintheICTfield.

LeadInstitution:TheMinistryofJustice(TheNationalAuthorityforPersonalDataProtection)

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Whathappened?

ThiscommitmentseekstoreviewthelegalframeworkonpersonaldataprotectiontomakesureitcomplieswithArticle24ofthenewconstitution.Article24ofthenewconstitutionadoptedin2014aimstoprotectpersonaldata.1Itstates:

The State shall protect the right to a private life, sanctity of domiciles,confidentiality of correspondence and communications and personalinformation…

Before the 2011 revolution, Tunisia’s ruling regime used censorship and spying oncitizens to silence dissident voices. ICT and social media in particular played animportant role in theTunisianrevolution. In2015, it isestimated that therearemorethanfivemillioncitizensthatregularlyusetheInternetinTunisiaoutofapopulationofjustunder11millionpeople.2

TunisiahashadaDataProtectionActsince2004,3buttheactualcommitmentlanguagehasnospecificsconcerningtherequiredamendments.

There isnoevidence tosuggest that theMinistryof Justicehasmadeanyprogressonpreparing amendments to meet the international standards in the field of dataprotection.

Diditmatter?

The potential impact of this commitment has been coded as moderate because thechanges to the 2004 law, if done in compliance with international standards, wouldallow Tunisia to join the Council of Europe Convention 108 Concerning Private Data

Commitment Overview

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Protection.45Personaldataprotectionisacommonprincipleofafunctioningdemocraticsociety, which Tunisia strives to be. In this regard, bringing the legal framework incompliancewith internationalstandardswouldresult in improving thecountry’s legalstandards. ItalsowouldgivetheNationalAdministration forPersonalDataProtection(NAPDP)moreoversightpowertoavoidareturntopastpracticesofconcerningstateabuseofcitizens’privacyandpersonaldata.

Despite the fact that there are very few CSOs and citizens familiar with the topic ofpersonal data protection, those that are involved have been vocal in advocating thatTunisiajoinConvention108.6

According to a Tunisian expert in the ICT field, the 2004 law should be amended forthreereasons:7

1. To ensure thatNAPDPbecomes independent from the executive branch, bothfinanciallyandadministratively;

2. ToensurethattheNAPDPmembersareindependentandpoliticallyneutral;3. To includestandardprocedures forpersonaldataprotectionwithin thepublic

sector.

NAPDP’sinvolvementinthiscommitmentwasnotclearduringthefirstninemonthsofthe commitment’s implementation. NAPDP’s leadership8and some of the technicalteam9changed in 2015, following the formation of a new government. Given themultipleconferencesandmediaappearancesnewNAPDP’spresidentmadein2015,theIRMresearcherexpectsthenewNAPDPteamtobemoreengagedwiththeOGPprocessduringthesecondyearoftheactionplan’simplementation.

Movingforward

IRM researcher recommends that the amendments to the existing law are clearlyarticulatedandexplained.Thecontentof the specificamendmentsneed tobe clear inwhatspecificchangestheyintroduceandhowtheywillchangethestatusquo.

Stakeholders recommend being more selective in future commitments and involving“opengovchampions”withinthepublicadministration.Thisselectivitywouldsavetimeand effort, and would keep government stakeholders focused on what is reasonablyachievable.

1RepublicofTunisia,“ConstitutionoftheRepublicofTunisia,”OfficialPrintingOffice,2010,[English]http://bit.ly/1OgINeB2“Tunisia,”InternationalWorldStats,http://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm#tn3“RecueildesTextesRelatifsàlaProtectiondesDonnéesPersonnelles,”InstanceNationaledeProtectiondesDonnéesPersonnelles(NationalAuthorityforProtectionofPersonalData),[ArabicandFrench]http://www.inpdp.nat.tn/INPDP/Recueil_INPDP.pdf4DhouhaBenYoussef(translatedbyVanessaSzakal),“PrivacyinTunisia:Legislation,Application,andPublicOutreach,”Article,Nawaat.org,30October2015,http://bit.ly/1RkvTQi5RihabBoukhayatia,“ChawkiGaddes:‘EnTunisie,OnN’APaslaCulturedelaProtectiondesDonnéesPersonnelles’(Interview),”HuffingtonPostMaghreb,5November2015,[French]http://huff.to/1OpwE4L6DhouhaBenYoussef,“Tunisie:l’ÉconomieNumériqueSeFaitunLifting,”Article,Nawaat,26September2015,[French]http://bit.ly/1Pq2Zs97DhouhaBenYoussef(translatedbyVanessaSzakal),“PrivacyinTunisia:Legislation,Application,andPublicOutreach,”Article,Nawaat.org,30October2015:http://bit.ly/1RkvTQi8AdhadhiNidhal,“ChawkiGaddesasaNewPresidentoftheNAPDP,”News,TunisieTelecom,5May2015,http://bit.ly/1PV9ypb9KhaledSellami,HeadoftheOGPFocalPoint,interviewwiththeIRMresearcher,23November2015.

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5:OpendataportalCommitmentText:

Thisportalwillreplacethecurrentwebsite(www.data.gov.tn)availableonlinesince2012,sothat,governmentdatadisclosurecouldbemadeaccordingtointernationalstandardsintermsofsize,quality,nature,...Theportalwillrepresentaonestopshopthatofferaccesstodifferentgovernmentdataproducedbypublicstructuresatcentralandregionallevel.Somesectors,suchas,transport-relateddata“Opentransport”andlandproperty“Opencadastre”willrequirespecialfocusduetotheirimportance.

Theaimofthisportalistoopendataproducedbyvariouspublicstructures,andfacilitateitsreuse.Theportaldevelopmentwillbemadeaccordingtoaparticipatoryapproachthatinvolvescivilsocietyrepresentatives.

LeadInstitutions:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService(andE-governmentUnit)

SupportingInstitutions:Involvedpublicinstitutions

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:February2016

Whathappened?

Thiscommitmentenvisionsredevelopingtheopendataportaltoimproveusabilityandrelevanceofdata.TheTunisiangovernmentlauncheditsfirstopendataportalin2012withalimitednumberofdatasets,includingstatisticsconcerningpublicadministrationactivities, aswell as listingsofoffices.1Therearenoknown indicatorsabout itsusageand several CSOs report little utility of the portal and information contained for thepublic.Forexample,onedatasetrelated toemploymentcontainsregionalstatisticsonjoboffersinatablewithencodedcolumnnames.Inthatway,thedataisunusable.

Thecompletionlevelofthiscommitmentislimited.Thegovernmentstartedaselectionprocess to appoint a contractor to create a new version of the portal in 2013, withfunding from theAfricanDevelopmentBank.2A contractorwas selected in June2015,and theworkon thenewportal has started.The specificationsof theportal havenotbeenpublished,andthereiscurrentlynoknowntimelineforcompletion.

Diditmatter?

Ifimplementedsuccessfullytheopendataportalwillbeamajorstepintobreakingthecultureofsecrecythatprevailsinthecountry’spastandpresent,specificallyconcerningopendatalimitationsinTunisia.Tunisiarecentlyregressedindataopenness.TheGlobalOpenDataIndexrankedthecountry86thin2015,downfrom66thpositionin2014.3

Commitment Overview

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✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

33

The Tunisian revolution demonstrated that the people, after decades of dictatorship,expect the government to be open and transparent. The recent deterioration in opendata ranking demonstrates that concerted efforts need to be made to ensure theadvancementofopendata,avitalcomponenttogovernmentopenness.

Opendataalsowouldhelpformalizeproceduresrelatedtotheproduction,maintenance,andpublishingofdatasetsofgoodqualityandinatimelymanner.

Although the importance of the open data portal can be judged through both theinterface and content quality, the quality of content is much more important tostakeholders.

Movingforward

Stakeholdersrecommendamoreproactivepromotioneffort toengageawell-targetedaudiencewiththenewlypublisheddatasetsbecauseopendatausewilldependoncivilsocietyexpertsandwatchdogsbeingawareofitsexistence.

Stakeholders also recommend the creation of an oversight authority to formalize theprocess of dataset creation, aggregation, ensuring compliance, and quality. AsrecommendedintheOpenGovGuide:4

Specifying an authority, review board, or similar body is an important step tomakingsurethatanopendatapolicycanactuallybeexecutedandalsoprovidesaresource to address unforeseenhurdles in implementation.Newoversight bodiesshould conduct their work independently and publicly, and can be bolstered bycreating new regulations or guidance for implementation. For any authoritycreated or granted, care should be given that the new position has powers ofenforcement to follow through on their work and address resistance or non-compliance.

Theoversightauthoritycouldbedelegatedtothecurrente-GovUnitatthePresidencyoftheGovernment,whichpossessestherequiredexpertisetoaccomplishthismission.However, more human and material resources should be provided to allow effectiveoperationswithmeasurableresults.

1“OpenDataPortal,”RepublicofTunisia,http://www.data.gov.tn2“CallForProposalsforCreatingaNewOpenDataPortal,”OGPTunisia,http://www.data.gov.tn/Tunisie-Projet-%20EOI.pdf3“Tunisia,”GlobalOpenDataIndex,http://index.okfn.org/place/tunisia/4“RecommendationonAccesstoInformation,”OpenGovernmentGuide,http://bit.ly/1J1wUdt

34

6:NationalcorporategovernancerepositoryCommitmentText:

Elaborateagovernancerepositoryaccordingtointernationalqualitystandardsandencouragecorporatesocialresponsibilityinpublicandprivatesector.

TherepositoryforcorporategovernanceshouldbeinaccordancewiththegovernancespecificationISO26000,whichdealswithcorporatesocialresponsibility(CSR).Itwillallowdisseminationoftheprinciplesofgovernancesuchastransparency,integrityandaccountabilityandtoensuretheseprinciples'sustainabilityandapplicationwithinthepublicandtheprivatesector,followingstandardizedprocedures.

LeadInstitution:NationalInstituteforStandardizationandIndustrialProperty(INNORPI)

SupportingInstitution:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:December2015

Whathappened?

Thegovernmentcommittedtocreateanationalrepositoryofcorporategovernancetoprovide public and private institutions with a framework to structure corporategovernance,corporatesocial responsibility,andethics-basedpracticeswith theaimtopreventcorruption.Therepositoryisbasedonseveralvaluessuchasintegrity,fairness,and accountability.1Itwill be used as a reference to adapt administrative proceduresandinternalprocessestocomplywiththosevalues.

It is envisaged that the repositorywill assist the fightagainst corruption in thepublicadministration, as well as in private institutions, by strengthening ethics andtransparencypracticesinbusiness.

Efforts started in 2012 by organizing conferences and awareness events.2INNORPI,taskedwithcentralizingnationalnorms,wasmandatedto implementthecommitmentunderthesupervisionofTheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandtheCivilService.

In December 2014, the government announced the repository was ready,3so thiscommitmentisbeingcodedassubstantiallycomplete.

In 2015, several seminars and training sessions were organized to introduce thegovernancerepositorytocivilservants.4

Commitment Overview

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At the timeofwritingof this report, the repositorywasnotavailableon the INNORPIwebsite (http://www.innorpi.tn),butapresentationbrochurecanbe foundonUNDP-sponsoredgovernmentwebsite(Anticor.tn).5

Diditmatter?

This commitment has been coded as having a moderate potential impact. NumerousanalyststhinkthatfightingcorruptionisoneofthetopchallengesfacingTunisia.6UnderBenAlidictatorship,theregimeusedstatecorruptionasameansforillicitenrichmentandsilencingdissent.Disseminationofgoodgovernancevaluestargetingcivilservantsis an important step to reduce state corruption and to restore citizens’ trust in thegovernment. In addition, a similar positive impact on private institutions also wouldstrengthenthecultureofgoodgovernanceinsociety.

However, given that this is an internal systems-orientated commitment, with limitedinformationprovidedconcerninghowcivilservantswouldbenefit fromtherepositoryor how this commitment will interface with the private sector and citizens, thecommitment’srelevancetoOGPisunclear.

Some government stakeholders saw this commitment as an important step tostrengthen the capacity of the public administration and to limit corruption throughimplementing good corporate governance. Understanding the theoretical foundationsandlegalmechanismsofaccountability,transparency,andpublicparticipationwillleadtobetterpracticesbythosewhoweretrained.SomeCSOsaremoreskepticalaboutthepotentialbenefitsofthiseffortbecausetheydonotseewhatimpacttherepositorycanhaveon changing themindsetofpublic servants. Insteadof the repository, they thinklawsandstrongenforcementwouldbemorerelevant.

Movingforward

The IRM researcher recommends including a public-facing element detailing how therepositorywilllinktoactions:

! Inthetrainingofcivilservantsagainstaparticulartimeframe;! Howtherepositorywillcompelpublicadministrationsandtheprivatesectorto

adoptcorporategovernancestandards.

Furthermore,thefollowingisrecommended:

! Civil society should be included in the implementation of the commitment,eitherthroughparticipationinadedicatedsteeringcommitteeorexpertpanel;

! Progressshouldbereportedannuallyincorporategovernanceacrossthepublicandprivatesectors;

! An easy feedbackmechanism between citizens and the public administrationshouldbeestablished;

! Corporate governance materials in the private and public sectors should bedisseminated through a range of avenues, including dedicated seminars andworkshops.

1“TheGovernmentAnnouncestheLaunchoftheNationalGovernanceRepository,”InvestirenTunisie,18December2014,[French]http://bit.ly/1ZYWnbJ2ZeinebRezgui,“TheGovernmentandINNORPIStartWorkingonaNationalGovernanceRepository,”Politics,l’EconomisteMaghrébin,19July2012,[French]http://bit.ly/1OgMfWu3“TheGovernmentAnnouncestheLaunchoftheNationalGovernanceRepository,”InvestirenTunisie,18December2014,[French]http://bit.ly/1ZYWnbJ4ExampleofaSeminarProgramabouttheGovernanceRepository,February2015,[French]http://bit.ly/1W4Xlku5“PresentationBrochureoftheGovernanceRepository,”RepublicofTunisiaPresidentoftheGovernment,July2015,[French]http://bit.ly/1Zj3E3W

36

6SarahChayes,“CorruptionIsStillTunisia’sChallenge,”Op-Ed,LATimes,10June2012,http://lat.ms/1Q3nmQE

37

7:LegalframeworktoregulateICTcommunicationandinteractionCommitmentText:

UsingICTtocommunicateandinteractwithinthepublicadministrationandbetweenpublicstructuresandtheircitizenscanprovidepracticalmechanismstofollowuphowadministrativefilesarehandled.Technologycanthenconsecrateaccountability,whichisafundamentalprincipleofopengovernment.

Tothisend,alegalframeworkthatregulatescommunicationandinteractionwithinthepublicsectorandbetweenpublicstructuresandcitizenswillbeestablished.Suchlegislationwillprovidemorelegalvaluetoelectronicdocuments,andso,encouragepublicstructurestogopaperless.

LeadInstitution:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService(e-GovUnit)

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Whathappened?

This commitment seeks to draft a law to allow and incentivize the use of ICT ingovernment-governmentandcitizen-governmentcommunication.

Tunisiahasnolegalframework1thatregulateselectronicexchangesandadministrativeproceduresbetweencitizensandpublic institutionsor internallybetweengovernmentagencies. Consequently, the majority of government services, procedures andinteractionswithcitizensarestillconductedoffline,leadingtoinefficiencies.

AccordingtoseveralCSOsinvolvedwiththeOGPactionplanandaWorldBankreport,2administrative inefficiencies are fueling corruptionby creatinganenvironmentwherecorruptcivilservantsaretemptedtogivefavorsinexchangeforbribes.Thisresultsincitizensbeingpressuredtopaybribestoobtainfasterandbetterservices.

According to the government’s self-assessment report, the law has been drafted in aparticipatorymanner.However,thedrafthasnotbeenpublishedonanofficialwebsite,andnoCSOfromtheOGPjointcommitteeisawareofconsultationsregardingthelaw.

Diditmatter?

This commitment has been coded as having aminor impact. The IRM researcher andstakeholders see this commitment as important; however, it lacks sufficient detailsconcerning measurable milestones, which would bring a greater impact. Thecommitment has thepotential to improve citizens’ trust towards the government andthe public administration by improving access to information and by reducingcorruptionincitizen-governmentinteractions.

Commitment Overview

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Movingforward

TheIRMresearcherrecommendsincludingparliamentarymembersinthecommissionentrustedwiththedraftingtaskofthis law.Thatwouldensurethatbroaderviewsaretakenintoaccount.

Stakeholdersrecommend:

! Creatingajointtaskforce,withCSOsfromdifferentregionsandspecializedinadiversityoftopics,whichshouldbeinvolvedintheprocessofbuildingthenewcitizen-to-governmentchannels;

! Publicationofaprojecttimeline, includingprojectedactivities,milestones,andallocatedresources,toensurebetterinformationissharedwiththepublicandfacilitateprojectfollow-up;

! A more proactive promotion effort to engage the public with the reform. Apublic consultation period to collect feedback also is recommended beforesubmittingthelawtotheParliamentfordiscussionandvote.

1The E-commerce Act passed in 2000, which defines “electronic documents” and “electronic signature,”doesnotregulateelectroniccommunication.RepublicofTunisia,“E-CommerceAct,”LawNo.2000-83of9August2000,[French]http://www.intt.tn/upload/txts/fr/loi_194.pdf2WorldBankGroup,TunisiaandtheUnfinishedRevolution:BringingOpportunity,GoodJobsandGreaterWealthtoAllTunisians(Synthesis,WorldBank,May2014),http://bit.ly/1OgNq8r

39

8:SimplificationofadministrativeproceduresCommitmentText:

Thiscommitmentconsistsinsimplifyinganumberofadministrativeproceduresinordertofacilitatebusiness,andmakepeople’slifeeasier.Thesimplificationprocesswillbemadeafterconsideringalistofadministrativeproceduresthatwillbecanceledoramended,beforeadoptingtherequiredlegislation(laws,decrees,…).

LeadInstitutions:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService(TheGeneralDirectorateofAdministrativeReformsandProspectiveStudies),theMinistryofEconomyandFinance,incooperationwithallconcernedparties

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Whathappened?

Thiscommitmentseekstosimplifyanumberofadministrativeprocedures.Tunisiahasnumerousandoverlycomplexadministrativeprocedures.Thecountryisranked75thin189countriesfor2015intermsofeaseofdoingbusiness.1

Since 2011, successive governments have announced the simplification ofadministrative procedures related to economic activities,2for example in processingbusinesslicenses.In2012,thegovernmentconductedaconsultationtoanalyzecitizens’major concerns with administrative procedures. Results from more than 8,000respondentsshowedvery lowsatisfaction, less than10percent, forvariousaspectsofadministrative procedures.3In early 2014, the government launched a consultationwiththeprivatesectortoreview1,100procedures,withthesupportoftheWorldBankGroup(SFI).4

In 18 September 2014, the Chief of Government signed the 2014-3484 Decree toinitialize a participatory process for the simplification of administrative proceduresrelatedtoeconomicactivities in fiveareas:health, tourism,nationalsecurity, landandequipment,andsustainabledevelopment.5

Thedecreeorderedthecreationofseveralcommitteesindifferentministriestoreviewadministrative procedures in consultation with the private sector. According to thegovernment’s self-assessment report, internal committees were created and havestarted working on this commitment under the supervision of the Department forReforms andProspective Studies at the Presidency of the Government. Details on theprogress so far have not been published, nor has a timeline for future activities andmilestonesbeenprovided.

TheIRMresearcherconductedaninterviewwithofficialsinchargeofthiscommitmentduring thestakeholdermeetingon9September2015,but the IRMresearcherdidnot

Commitment Overview

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✔ Unclear ✔ ✔

40

obtain evidence of the formation of the committees or any subsequent consultationwork.Therefore,thecompletionlevelofthiscommitmenthasbeencodedaslimited.

Diditmatter?

Although a relevant commitment – given that Tunisia has regressed from59th to 79thposition (out of 170 countries) from 2010-2014 in Transparency International’sCorruption Perception Index6– due to the lack of specificity of the commitmentlanguage,theIRMresearcherhascodedtheimpactasminor.

According to several CSOs involved with the OGP action plan, administrativeinefficienciesareincreasingopportunitiesforcorruptionbecausecitizenspaybribestoobtain faster andbetter services.7In other cases, corrupt civil servantsmayuse theirauthority to extort bribes from citizens in exchange for services under their duties.Citizensalsooftenareconfrontedwithexcessivelycomplexadministrativeprocedures.8

This form of petty corruption, according to analysts, is a growing and is an “out ofcontrol” problem in Tunisia. According to the Head of the National Anti-GraftCommission–startedin2011totacklethehistoriccorruptionproblemstemmingfromthe Ben Ali regime – the recent surge in petty corruption is in part explained by thehiatus in large-scale spending on public sector projects due to political and economicinstability.AccordingtotheAnti-graftHead,thishaslimitedrent-seekingopportunitiesto the local government level. They primarily relate to the provision of services, forexample,inobtainingofficialdocuments.9

Movingforward

TheIRMresearcherrecommendsthefollowing:! Including a public-facing element, for instance, by incorporating an

accountability component in this commitment’s design to ensure OGP valuerelevance;

! Improvingthespecificityforthiscommitmentbyholdingapublicconsultationtocollectfeedbackbeforeimplementingthereforms.

1“EaseofDoingBusinessIndex,”Data,WorldBank,http://bit.ly/1TTnAss2ChiefofGovernmentsannouncingthesimplificationofadministrativeprocedures.“M.HamadiJebaliPrésenteleProgrammeduNouveauGouvernement,”Jawhara,23December2011,[French]http://bit.ly/1ZYXSGK;“Tunisie–Economie:OuvertureduForumdeTunisiepourl’Investissement,”DirectInfo,13June2013,[French]http://bit.ly/1RAZo0B3“ResultofthePublicConsultationfortheSimplificationofAdministrativeProcedures,”http://bit.ly/1JJ1kBj4“LeSecteurPrivéetlaSFIàl’AssautdesLourdeursAdministrativesTunisiennes,”Economy,DirectInfo,17February2014,http://bit.ly/1W50Qaw5“Decree2014-3484,”JournalOfficieldelaRépubliqueTunisienne,26September2014,http://bit.ly/1RB0JEP6“CorruptionPerceptionIndex2014,”TI,https://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results7StakeholdersForum,8September2015.8NajehJaouadi,“AdministrativeProcedures:ObstaclesforDoingBusinessinTunisia,”Article,RéalitésMagazine,13March2014,[French]http://bit.ly/1P8SwB09“’PettyCorruption’PlaguesTunisianEconomy,”TheNewArab,5October2015,http://bit.ly/1N5Uv7y

41

9:OnlineadministrativeservicesCommitmentText:

Basedonaparticipatoryapproachthroughtheorganizationofonlineconsultation,alistoftheadministrativeservicesthataremuchusedbycitizensandthatcanbeautomatedwillbedrawn.

Thislistwillincludee-serviceswithdifferentmaturitylevel(Informative,interactiveandfullyintegratedservices)thatcoverstheneedsofdifferentadministrationusers(citizens,businesses,publicservants,foreigners,…).

Developingonlineserviceswillcertainlyenhancethepublicsectortransparency,reducecorruptionandsupporttheparticipatoryapproach.

LeadInstitution:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService(e-GovUnit)

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Whathappened?

This commitment aims toprovidenewonline services in an effort to limit corruptionoccurring due to inefficient administrative procedures. According to governmentstakeholders, bringing services online would diminish the discretionary authority ofpublic servants and would reduce the opportunities of bribery between citizens andcorruptcivilservants.Corruptioninpublicsectorisalong-standingissueinTunisia,anditplayedakeyroleininitiatingtheTunisianrevolution.1

Relativesof formerdictatorBenAliusedstate regulations toenterhighprofit sectorsand to create near monopolies, preventing new entrepreneurs from developing theirbusinessesunderfaircompetitionrulesandregulations.2

Through the digitization of public services it is envisaged that the opportunity forcorruptionwillbereduced.

From2000until2014,thegovernmentlaunchedseveralonlineservicessuchasimportandexportprocedures,socialsecuritypayments,taxfilings,andpayments.Atthetimeofwritingofthisreport,theIRMresearcherwasnotabletogatherevidencetoascertainthe completion level of this commitment. The commitment did not include anytimeframeor indicatorstotrackprogress.Accordingtoan interviewconductedbytheIRM researcher on 9 September 2015with government officials, no budget has beenallocatedfortheimplementationofthecommitment,includingtheconsultation.

Commitment Overview

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42

Diditmatter?

Basedonthecommitmentlanguageandthelackofavailableinformation,itisdifficulttoassess whether the commitment would have a major impact. Thus, the commitmentimpacthasbeencodedashavingaminorpotentialimpact.

The primary goal of the proposed activities in commitment appears to be primarilyrelatedtotheimprovementofpublicservicedeliverythroughthedevelopmentofonlinechannels.Civicparticipationoccursonlyduringtheselectionofservicestobedevelopedonline.

CSOswelcomedthecommitmentbecausetheyfeelthegovernmentshouldbemovingtoonlineservices fast.Theywereskepticalabout thecommitment languagebecause it istoo vague and does not specifywhich serviceswill be developed or how theywill beimplemented.

According to a research paper by the World Bank, “Performance Accountability andCombating Corruption,” 3e-government should be approached as a comprehensiveconcept for modernizing public governance. Otherwise, the risk of failure would bemuchmore likely. In the caseofdeveloping countries, special care shouldbe taken toguaranteeequalaccessforcitizenstoonlineservices.4

Movingforward

TheIRMresearcherrecommends:

! Toensurethatthiscommitmentleadstoanimprovementinopengovernment,link it toabiggere-governmentprojectwitha specific focusonOGPvaluesoftransparencyandaccountability;

! Link the commitment to the fight against corruption 5 by measuring theperformanceofkeyservicesandmakingthedatapublic,afirststeptoimprovingthe quality of the performance management, including publishing keyperformancemetricsfromtheusageoftheonlineservices;

! Includecivilsocietyandprivatesectorrepresentativesinthedevelopmentandimplementationtoensurethatbroaderviewsaretakenintoaccount;

! Allocateabudgetfortheconsultation.Thiswouldallowforcontractingdomainexperts to conduct high-end research, including wider consultations withstakeholders.

1MarcFisher,“InTunisia,ActofOneFruitVendorSparksWaveofRevolutionthroughArabWorld,”World,WashingtonPost,26March2011,http://wapo.st/1NvctpU2BobRijkers,CarolineFreund,andAntonioNucifora,“Tunisia’sGoldenAgeofCronyCapitalism,”MonkeyCage,WashingtonPost,27March2014,http://wapo.st/1OpD0Rz3WorldBank,“PerformanceAccountabilityandCombatingCorruption,”inPublicSectorGovernanceandAccountabilitySeries,ed.AnwarShah(Washington,D.C.:WorldBank,2007),http://bit.ly/1ngyWN54SeijaRidell,“ICTsandtheCommunicativeConditionsforDemocracy:ALocalExperimentwithWeb-MediatedCivicPublicness,”(Hershey:IDEAGroupPublishing,2004),86,http://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/18624/5“PerformanceAccountabilityandCombatingCorruption,”(2007),http://bit.ly/1ngyWN5

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10:CitizenparticipationindecisionmakingCommitmentText:

Thiscommitmentconsistsinpreparingthelegalframeworkforpublicconsultationanddevelopmentofane-participationportal.

• Preparingalegalframeworkforpublicconsultation:

Consultationswillbeconsideredbeforeallmajorpublicdecision-makingandbeforelegaldrafting.Thisframeworkisexpectedtodeterminethedifferentstagestoadoptlegislation(laws,decrees,…)andtoidentifytheinterveningpartiesandtheroleofeachofthemintheprocess,accordingtoapredefinedcalendar.

LeadInstitution:ThePresidencyoftheGovernment(TheGeneralDirectorateforAdministrativeReformsandProspectiveStudies,theLegalAdvisorServices)

• Developane-participationportal

Thisplatformwillfacilitatecommunicationandinteractionwiththevariousadministrationusers.Multiplechannelsofcommunicationwillbeadoptedinordertoenablethemtoexpresstheiropinionsandmakesuggestionsandsharetheirideasaboutpublicpoliciesandprogramsformulationandtofollowuptheirimplementation.Theportaldevelopmentwillbemadeaccordingtoaparticipatoryapproachthatinvolvescivilsocietyrepresentatives.

LeadInstitution:TheSecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService(e-GovUnit)

SupportingInstitutions:Allconcernedpublicstructures

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:February2016

Whathappened?

Tunisiahasnolegalframeworkforholdingpublicconsultations.Thiscommitmentseekstopreparealegalandinstitutionalframeworkforpublicconsultationswithcitizensandtobuildthefirste-participationportal.

Commitment Overview

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1. Legal framework for public consultation

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

2. E-participation portal

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

44

A first version of an e-participation portal was put in place in 2012(http://www.consultations-publiques.tn).Althoughthisportaldoesnotallowcitizenstosee what other citizens are saying and lacks follow-up mechanisms on theimplementation of proposed reforms, it has been used to conduct several publicconsultations.Forexampleithasbeenusedforthesocialsecurityandjudicialreforms.Several CSOs complained about the limited promotion efforts by the government topublicize the ongoing consultations, including the results, resulting in a lack ofawarenessabouttheinitiative.1

Somecivilsocietymemberscriticizedlackofaccessibilityoftheconsultationportalforcitizenswithcertainphysicaldisabilities,aswellasthelackofpublicityconcerningtheportalforexpatriates.2

Diditmatter?

TunisiahasahighInternetpenetrationrate(~50percent),resultinginthiscommitmentpotentially having a moderate impact to enhance the service delivery quality ofgovernmentservicesaswellastoreducetheopportunityforcorruption.

Civilsocietyandsomegovernmentstakeholdersthinkthepublicadministrationcultureis still compliance-oriented, while it should be goals-oriented. Thus, they believe thiscommitment would accelerate the adoption of a new culture of public participation.They see it as potentially transformative, especially considering how corruption hasincreasedinrecentyears.3

Movingforward

The IRM researcher recommends special carewhen drafting the legal framework forpublic consultation, and implementing the e-participation portal, especially with thefollowing:

• Legislation should establish a basic minimum criteria for consultation,acknowledging that such formalized consultation is justoneelementof citizenengagementinadecisionmakingprocess;

• Institutionalizepublicparticipationinthepolicymakingprocess;• Together with the public, develop public participation guidelines, including

settingoutrealisticexpectations;4• Theparticipationprocessthroughtheportalshouldbeuser-friendlyandfreefor

citizens;• New channels should be explored for communicating with citizens and other

stakeholders in real time—particularly channels already being used by thepublic such as Facebook, other socialmedia platforms—aswell as developinginnovativeofflineconsultationplatforms.

1StakeholderForum,September2015.2“OnlineDiscussionabouttheAccessibilityoftheConsultationPortalforExpatriates,”http://on.fb.me/1OpEn2J;“OnlineDiscussionabouttheAccessibilityoftheConsultationPortalfortheDisabled,”http://on.fb.me/1UN4ft73HakimiandHamdi,8,http://bit.ly/1J1rEql4“EstablishLegislationandGuidelinesonPublicConsultationinPolicyDevelopment,”OpenGovernmentGuide,http://bit.ly/1N5WOrj

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Commitments11-12:CivilservantcapacitybuildingCommitmentText:

Commitment11:Opengovernancetraining

• Setupatrainingprogramforcivilservantsintheopengovernmentfieldconsideringsubjectsrelatedtoopengovernment,corruptionfight,informationaccess,opendataandelectronicparticipation.

• Includetrainingprogramsandsessionsabouttheopengovernmentinthetrainingprogramsofthenationalschoolofadministrationandinotherinstitutionsspecializedinpublicsectortraining.

LeadInstitution:PresidencyoftheGovernment:SecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilServiceandGeneralCommitteeofPublicService(GeneralDirectionofTrainingandCapacityBuilding)

SupportingInstitution:Publicinstitutionsspecializedincivilservantstraining

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Commitment12:Opengovernancetrainingacademy

Createastructurespecializedinacademictraininginthegovernanceareaforcivilservantsincollaborationwithexpertsinthisfield.Thistrainingwillallowtraineestohavebroaderknowledgeaboutgovernanceandcorruptionfighttrendsattheinternationallevel.

LeadInstitution:PresidencyoftheGovernment:SecretariatofStateinChargeofGovernanceandCivilService,theGeneralCommitteeofPublicService

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:December2015

Whathappened?

Through these commitments, the government seeks to build the capacity of its civilservantsintheareaofopengovernment.Thiswillberealizedbydevelopingaspecifictrainingprograminopengovernmentandbycreatingagovernanceacademy.

In September 2013, the Chief of Government signed Executive Order 2013-3803,creatingtheInternationalGoodGovernanceAcademyofTunis.1

Commitment Overview

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Unclear

✔ ✔

12. Creating a training academy

✔ Unclear ✔

✔

46

In December 2014, the State Secretary of Governance and Public Service, with theGerman Ambassador, signed a memorandum of agreement to create the Academy,providinglogisticandmaterialsupportfromtheGovernmentofGermany.2

The government issued Executive Order 2014-4568 to attach administratively theacademy to the National School of Administration (Ecole Nationale d’Administration,ENA),whichisthemainschooltraininggovernmenthigh-rankingstaffandofficials.3

According to thegovernment’sself-assessmentreport, it isexpected that theacademybeginoperatinginSeptember2015withintheENA.4

According to interviews with government representatives, good governance trainingmaterials and programs have been developed and include topics related to opengovernance,withintheENA.SomeofthetrainingmaterialwaspublishedontheENA’swebsite.5However, it is unclearwhether training has taken place in the period underreview,resultinginalimitedcompletionlevelforcommitment11.

On3November2015(outside theevaluationperiod), theAcademyofficially launcheditsoperations,resultinginalimitedcompletionlevelforcommitment12.6

Diditmatter?

Thesecommitmentshavebeencodedashavingmoderateimpactgiventhepotentialtoimprove the culture of open governmentwithin the public administration. The OECDrecommends integrating ethics training in a comprehensive anticorruption and pro-integrity policy effort, to generate sustainable results.7If a critical number of civilservantsarefamiliarwithtransparency,accountability,citizenparticipationguidelines,andbestpractices,itishopedthatthiscouldresultinchangingthebureaucraticculturetooneofgreatertransparency,trust,andaccountability.

However,asthesecommitmentsareprimarilyorientatedtoadvancinginternalsystemsimprovement, without a direct public facing element, its relevance to OGP values isunclear.

Movingforward

The IRM researcher recommends including a public-facing element in thesecommitments to ensure OGP value relevance, for example by publishing detailsconcerning:

! Howthetrainingwillimpactuponcitizens’lives;! The number of civil servants trained in open government practices within a

particulartimeframe;! The extent of training coverage; the number of agencies and government

departmentshavingundergonetraining;! Theleveloftrainingperrankofofficial.

1“ExecutiveOrderCreatingandOrganizingtheAcademyofGoodGovernanceofTunisia,”17September2013,[Arabic]http://bit.ly/1TTrOjV2“SignatureofaMemorandumofAgreementbetweenTunisiaandGermany,”[Arabic]http://bit.ly/1Q3ssMF3“ExecutiveOrderOrganizingtheNationalSchoolofAdministration,”31December2014,[Arabic]http://bit.ly/1P8YIsJ4“OrganisationAdministrative,”NatureJurdique,InternationalGoodGovernanceAcademyofTunisia,http://www.ena.nat.tn/index.php?id=160&L=15“GovernanceAcademyTrainingMaterial,”2014,[Arabic]http://bit.ly/1RkDYVd6“OfficialLaunchoftheGovernanceAcademy,”3November2015,[Arabic]http://bit.ly/1OpGOlP7OECDandSIGMA,“EthicsTrainingforPublicOfficials,”March2013,http://bit.ly/1OO0Lq6

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Commitments13-15:OpenbudgetCommitmentText:

Commitment13:Budgetreports

AccordingtoIBP-OECDinternationalstandards,8reportsrelatedtobudgetmustbepublished,butinTunisia,only6reportsarepublished.Theproposalistopublishthetwomissingreports:

• Semi-annualreportrelatedtothebudget.• Auditreport.

The8reportsmustbepublishedintheappropriatedeadlinesaccordingtointernationalstandardsandalsothecitizen-budgetmustbepublishedbeforethepublicationofthelawoffinance.

• Devotingfiscaltransparencyforpublicenterprisesandinstitutionsinordertoobligethemtopublishtheirfinancialstatements.

LeadInstitutions:MinistryofEconomyandFinance;theUnitofFollow-upofPublicEnterprisesandInstitutions(PresidencyoftheGovernment)

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Commitment14:Openbudgetsystem

Developmentoftheopenbudgetsysteminordertofacilitateaccesstodocumentsrelatedtopublicfinanceandexecutionofthebudget.Thiswillguaranteethereuseofdatabyallusers.Thissystemwillincludeasetofglobaldata,whichwillbedisseminatedthroughtheexploitationofautomatedinformationsystemsregardingtheimplementationoftheStatebudgetsystem,especiallythesystemofmanagementofthebudget“ADEB”.Thiswillbeconsideredasanimportantsteptowardstransparency,corruptionfightandavoidingwasteofpublicresources.

LeadInstitution:MinistryofEconomyandFinance

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:December2015

Commitment15:Exploringdataexistinginthebudgetmanagementplatform(ADEB)

Dataandinformationrelatedtopublicstructuresbudgetandexistingintheapplicationdedicatedtobudgetmanagement(ADEB)willbeusedandpublishedinaneasyandreadableformat.Alsopublicprocurementproviderswillbeallowedtofollowuptheirpaymentsthroughthissystem.

LeadInstitution:MinistryofFinanceandEconomy

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

EditorialNote:Commitments13,14,15arebeingassessedtogetherastheyallpertaintoopenbudget.

48

Whathappened?

Thisclusterofcommitmentsisconcernedwithadvancingopenbudgetreporting.Until2013,Tunisia’strackrecordinbudgetopennesswaspoor.This isasaconsequenceofdecadesofstatesecrecyundertheformerdictatorship.

The International Budget Partnership (IBP) which rates budget openness in 100countries started rankingTunisia in 2012. In its 2012 report,1the IBP rankedTunisia89thwith a score of 11 out of 100 and recommended, amongother things, publishingtwo missing reports: the semiannual budget execution report and the budget auditreporttocomplywithinternationalbudgettransparencystandards.

In 2013, theMinistry of Finance created a Joint Commission, an advisory commissionwithCSOmembersandhigh-rankingMinistrydirectorstodiscussbudgettransparencyreforms. The commission held meetings six times in 2013, which resulted in a newtradition of publishing a detailed budget of ministries on the official website. TheMinistryofFinancewasawardedcivilsociety’s2013OpenGovAwardinJanuary2014.

In commitment 13, the government wishes to comply with international budgettransparencystandardsbypublishingtheBudgetSemiannualReport,producedbytheMinistryofFinanceandtheAuditReport,whichtheNationalAuditCourtproduced.InMay2015,theMinistryofFinancepublishedthesemiannualbudgetexecutionreportfortheyear2014,2resultinginasubstantialcompletionlevel.

According to the government’s self-assessment report and interviews with the JointCommission, the audit report will be published when internal feedback from theNationalCourtofAuditisobtained.

Incommitment14,theMinistryofFinancesecuredsupportfromtheWorldBankGroupto setup an online citizen-friendly platform for exploring budget information. Aprototypeisavailableonlineonanunofficialwebsite3andaccordingtointerviewswiththeMinistryofFinanceofficialpublicationispendinguser-interfaceenhancements.Thelevelofcompletionforthiscommitmentissubstantial.

In commitment 15, theMinistry of Financewill implement an online tool thatwouldallowcitizenstoexploreandreusedetaileddatarelatedtothebudgetanditsexecutionforeachofthepublicstructures(ministries,governmentagencies,etc.).Thetoolwillbetailoredtogovernmentcontractorstoenablethemtotrackgovernmentpayments.The

Commitment Overview

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13. Budget reports ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

14. Open budget system ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

15. Budget management platform

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

49

IRMresearcherwasnotabletoassesstheprogressofthisplatform,resultingincodingalimitedcompletionrateintheperiodunderreview.TheMinistryofFinancereportsthattheComputerFinanceCenter(CIMF)implementedinternallytheonlineplatform“ADEBWeb”exposingbudgetinformationtothepublicandispendingfinalvalidation.

Diditmatter?

The IRM researcher coded the impact of these commitments as moderate. Thepublication of the semiannual report (commitment 13) contributed to improving therankingofTunisiaintheIBPOpenBudget2015report4from89thto66thwithascoreascoreof42outof100.This improvementdirectly affects the country’sOGPeligibilityscore,anditsendsapositivesignaltonationalandinternationalstakeholdersaboutthecountry’scommitmenttoopengovernment.

The Collaborative African Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) (2014) praises post-revolution efforts made by the Ministry of Finance, including the publication of acitizen’s budget and the publication of monthly budget implementation reports(commitments 13 and 14). It also states, “Considerable efforts are still needed toimprovethecontentandcomprehensivenessoftheinformationcontainedtherein.”TheCABRI report recommends that the TunisianGovernmentwork towards developing astrategicimplementationplantoconsolidatetheMinistryofFinance’srecentefforts inadvancingtransparencyinthebudgetingprocessthroughoutallspheresofgovernment,includingdepartmentsandagencies.5

CSOsexpectthepublicationofdetailedbudgetinformationtounlocktheproliferationofacademic research and socio-economic studies, as well as trigger more engagementfrom the media, citizens, and the private sectors towards prospective budget-relateddevelopments.6However, aProjectCoordinator at theMinistryof Finance complainedabout the lackof interest from thepublic in thepublished report,7while severalCSOscomplainedaboutthelackofproactivepromotiontoinformthepublicaboutthenewlypublishedmaterials.

Regarding the budgetmanagement platform (commitment 15), it is difficult to assesswhether the commitmentwouldhaveany impactbecause thegovernmenthas sharedfewdetailsaboutit.

Movingforward

Although the government is responsible formaking key decisions about how best toaddress their country’s needs and prospects for development, it often is facedwith alackofimportantinformationnecessaryforthebudgetingprocess.

TheIRMresearcherrecommends:

! Theestablishmentofsector-andministry-levelconsultationmeetingswiththepubliconoverallbudgetpriorities,aswellasmacroeconomicpolicyandinter-sectoralresourceallocationissues;

! Providedetailedfeedbacktothepubliconhowpublicinputshavebeenused;! Increasing the opportunities for the public and CSOs to engage directly and

influencetheseprocesses.

CABRI’s20148reportoffersausefulrecommendationfortheTunisianGovernment:

! Consolidate the Ministry of Finance’s recent efforts in advancing opengovernment and transparency requires conscious implementation and acapacitybuildingprogramneedstobeappliedtootherkeyareas,including,theParliament, the National Court of Audit, the Supreme Audit Institutions, andCSOstopreventoldadministrativepracticesthatarehostiletotransparencyandparticipationfromresurfacing.

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1“Tunisia,”OpenBudgetSurvey2012,http://bit.ly/1ZjkNdI2“Semi-AnnualReporton2014BudgetExecution,”RepublicofTunisia,2014,http://bit.ly/1mTVbrz3“BOOST,”OpenBudgetPlatformoftheMinisterofEconomyandFinanceofTunisia,http://salasituacional.net/tunisia/template_fr/4“Tunisia,”OpenBudgetSurvey2015,http://bit.ly/1W5odkg5CABRIReports,“FiscalTransparencyandParticipationinTunisia:CurrentStatusandPrioritiesforReform,”17February2015,http://bit.ly/1SNrYLj6StakeholderForum,September2015.7MinistryofFinanceOfficialAichakarafi,commentingonFacebookaboutthelackofpublicinterest,http://on.fb.me/1PVxN6S8“FiscalTransparencyandParticipationinTunisia:CurrentStatusandPrioritiesforReform,”2015,http://bit.ly/1SNrYLj

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18:"OpenData"platformforpetroleumandminingsectorsCommitmentText:

Thisplatformwillincludethefollowingcategoriesofdata:

• Theupdatedstatusofthebondsmining,• Generalindicatorsofinvestmentinthesector,• Alldatarelatingtoproduction,consumption,importandexport,distributionand

salecontracts,etc.,• companiesoperatinginthesectorandthesizeoftheirinvestmentsand• activitiesandtheircontracts,• fiscalcropsderivedfromthestatesector.

LeadInstitution:MinistryofIndustry

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Whathappened?

This commitment seeks to release public information concerning mining and energyresources. Itwasunclearhowmanydatasetswerepopulatedonthedataportal intheperiodunderreview,resultinginalimitedcompletionlevel.However,on19September2015 (outside of the review period), the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mineslaunched the open data portal with 100 datasets.1Civil society has yet to assess thequality,usefulness,andcompletionofthedata.

During the last five years, Tunisian citizens and activists launched several onlinecampaigns to advocate formore transparency in the oil andmining sector, includingadvocating Tunisia to join the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).2Campaigns peaked in April 2015 with the “Where Is Oil” online campaign thatculminatedwithseveralstreetprotests.TheParliamentrespondedtothecampaignbyorganizing a public consultation with the Ministry of Industry.3The Minister sharedinformationandnumberswiththeParliamentmembersandrejectedtheaccusationsofcorruption. He invited the Parliament to create a natural resources oversightcommissiontoguaranteethattheoilandminingsectorsarefullyaccountable.

DespitetheTunisianGovernmenthavingindicatedintenttojoinEITIimmediatelyaftertherevolutionin2012,noprogresshasbeenmade.ThenecessarystepstobecomeanEITImemberwouldserveasausefulillustrationofwhatisrequiredtomovetowardsatransparent extractives sector. The EITI sets a standard 4 of seven minimumrequirementsforimplementingcountries.

CommitmentOverview

Specificity OGP value relevance Potential impact Completion

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TheEITIrequires:

1. Effectiveoversightbythemultistakeholdergroup.2. Timelypublicationof(EITI)reports.3. EITIreportsthatincludecontextualinformationabouttheextractiveindustries.4. The production of comprehensive EITI reports that include full government

disclosure of extractive industry revenues, and disclosure of all materialpaymentstogovernmentbyoil,gas,andminingcompanies.

5. Acredibleassuranceprocessapplyinginternationalstandards.6. EITIreportsthatarecomprehensible,activelypromoted,publiclyaccessible,and

contributetopublicdebate.7. That themultistakeholder group takes steps to act on lessons learned and to

reviewtheoutcomesandimpactofEITIimplementation.

Currently,Tunisiaisnotmeetinganyoftheserequirements.

Diditmatter?

The IRM researcher believes the potential impact for this commitment would bemoderate. Itwillallowcivil society toexercisemorescrutiny,and itwill improvecivilsociety advocacy with available public facts and numbers. Although, the open dataportalisanimportantstepintherightdirection,stakeholdersconsidertheinformationcurrentlyavailableontheplatformisincomplete.

Certainstakeholdersexpressedtheirsatisfactionwiththetechnicalspecificationsoftheplatform.Theyconsideredit tomeet internationalopendatastandards,specificallyonthe availability of the data in a data store, in addition to an Application ProgramInterface (API). The platform is built with the CKAN open-source software, which ispopular among open data initiatives. Other stakeholders expressed their skepticismconcerning the platform and questioned the relevance of the published datasets inexposing and limiting corruption. A recurring criticism from CSOs is the failure topublishoilcontracts,includingdetailedinformationconcerningthesecontracts.

Despite these early reactions, it is still too early to evaluate the actual impact of thisactivitysincetheplatformhasjustbeenlaunched.CSOsexpectsomecriticaldatasetstobe available, such as public contract details with private oil companies. This woulddiscloseanypotentialshortcomingsandremoveanysuspicionofwrongdoing.

Movingforward

TakingintoaccounttheEITIstandard,theIRMresearcherrecommendsthefollowing:

! Includecontractsandpaymentinformationinthereleaseddata;! Releasedatainatimelymanner;! Ensure that the data released has been audited by an independent auditing

authority;! Include civil society and private sector representatives in the commission

entrustedwiththetask,ensuringthatbroaderviewsanddiverseideasaretakenintoaccount.

1EnergyandMinesOpenDataPortal,http://data.industrie.gov.tn/2TheExtractiveIndustriesTransparencyInitiative(EITI)isaninternationalorganizationthatmaintainsastandard,assessingthelevelsoftransparencyregardingcountries’oil,gas,andmineralresources.EITIInternationalSecretariat,“TheEITIStandard,”(Report,Norway,1January2015),http://bit.ly/1S1xtUd3HamzaMarzouk,“AuditionoftheMinisterofIndustryattheParliament,”L’EconomisteMaghrebin,8June2015,[French]http://bit.ly/1JJgExU4“TheEITIStandard,”2015,http://bit.ly/1S1xtUd

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19:TransparencyininfrastructureprojectsCommitmentText:

• DevelopmentofaGeographicInformationSystemforurbandevelopmentplansanditspublicationonline.

TheimplementationofaGeographicInformationSystemforurbandevelopmentplanscontainingurbanplansapprovedandcontainingallrelatedadministrativeandlegaldata(legaltextsandurbanregulation)takingintoconsiderationgeographicdatatomakeitavailableforinterestedparties(ministries,municipalities,consultingfirms…)

LeadInstitution:MinistryofEquipment,TerritoryPlanning,andSustainableDevelopment

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:December2015

• Preparationoflandusemasterplanprojectsandtheirpublicationonline.

LeadInstitution:MinistryofEquipment,TerritoryPlanning,andSustainableDevelopment

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

• OnlinepublicationofgovernoratesATLASincludingeconomic,environmentalandsocialdata.

Implementationofadatabasethatincludesnatural,environmental,demographic,economic,socialandurbanspecificdataofeachgovernorateinTunisiainordertomakeacurrentdiagnosisofthegovernorateandtoestablishspecificandappropriatedevelopmentprograms.

LeadInstitution:MinistryofEquipment,TerritoryPlanning,andSustainableDevelopment

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:December2015

Commitment Overview

Specificity OGP value relevance Potential impact Completion

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1. Development of a GIS and publication online

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

2. Preparation and publication of land use master plan

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

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Whathappened?

Thiscommitmentaims to improve theaccessibilityofpublicgeographical informationbypublishingbasicgeographicaldata,urbanplans,landuse,andatlases.

GeographicalinformationpublishedbythegovernmenthavebeenhistoricallyscarceinTunisia,exceptforlimitedsocialandeconomicdataavailableontheNationalStatisticsInstitute(INS)website.

Thecompletionlevelformilestoneonehasbeencodedaslimited.Accordingtoreportsfrom the OGP national steering committee, the Ministry of Equipment, Housing, andUrbanPlanningcontractedafirminearly2015todevelopaGeographicalInformationSystem. Development was complete by April 2015 and deployment of this system isexpectedbeforetheendoftheyear2015.Thegeographicaldatafromthissystemwillbepublishedonline.

Thecompletionlevelformilestonestwoandthreehavebeencodedassubstantial.Overthe courseof the year2015, theMinistryofEquipment,Housing, andUrbanPlanninghaspublishedseveraldigitalgeographicalresourcesonitswebsite.1

Atthetimeofwritingthisreport,urbanplansforsixterritorialzones,2and16outof24governorateatlaseswereavailable3inPDFformat,whichdoesnotputitonahighlevelforopendata.

Diditmatter?

TheIRMresearchercodedtheoverallpotentialimpactofthiscommitmentasmoderate.This commitment is a first step at exposing corruption risks in urban planning, bymaking information available to interested stakeholders from civil society and theprivatesector.

As statedbyTransparency International,4several corruption risks are associatedwithurbanplanning,resultingindetrimentalandsometimesfatalconsequences,suchasthefollowing:

• Collapsing structures, deadly fires, and lethal mudslides due to bribes fromdevelopers and slumlords,which helped dodge building standards and zoninglaws, thus helping to create extreme vulnerabilities and ineffective disasterresponses;

• Failing basic services in health, water, and education due to budgets beingembezzled,deliveryskewedtowardstherich,androlloutdeliberatelyblockedtoallowprivatevendorstooverchargeconsumers;

• Dysfunctional urban planning and development as a product of public worksprojects, land use, and zoning used as vehicles to channel business andspeculativegainstopowerfulcontractorsanddevelopers.

SomeCSOsexpressedtheirdissatisfactionwiththetechnicalformatoftheurbanplansandtheatlases,whichtheyfoundlackingthereusability5function.

Despiteearlyreactions,itistooearlytoevaluatethefullimpactofthisactivitysincethedatahas justbeenreleased.CSOsexpect somecriticaldatasets tobeavailablesuchasthelandregistry(theCadastre).

3. Online publication of governorates ATLAS

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

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Movingforward

Stakeholders recommend using machine-readable reusable technical formats such asCSV(insteadofPDForotherclosedformats)sothatinterestedpartiescanfreelyusethegeographicaldatainbusinessorsocialcontexts.

Stakeholdersalso recommendamoreproactivepromotioneffort toengage thepublicwith the newly published datasets because these materials would be ineffective ifinterestedstakeholderswereunawareofitsexistence.

In addition to publishing the information in an open and accessible format, the IRMresearcheralsorecommendsallocatingabudgetforthiscommitment.Thiswouldallowcontractingdomainexpertsandconsultingfirmstohelpdatasetsproducerssetuptherightprocessesofdataproductionandupdates,thusguaranteeingthesustainabilityoftheeffort.

1MinistryofEquipment,Housing,andUrbanPlanning,http://www.mehat.gov.tn2UrbanPlanningResources,http://bit.ly/1RkMqnr3GovernorateAtlases,http://bit.ly/1mW4SGE4“ConsultancytoProduct2-3CaseStudiesonUrbanCorruptionIssuesthatUrbanPlannersAreExposedtoinFastGrowingCitiesinEastandSouthernAfrica,”TI,http://bit.ly/1PVz6Tn5StakeholdersForum,September2015.

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20:TransparencyinenvironmentprotectionCommitmentText:

• Creationofanenvironmentandsustainabledevelopmentobservatorythatwillberesponsibleforcollecting,analyzing,publishingdataandstatisticsandindicatorsabouttheenvironmentandaboutsustainabledevelopmentandresponsibleforregularpublicationtoensurefollowupofthesituationoftheenvironment(diseases,qualityofwater,pollution).

LeadInstitution:MinistryofEquipment,SpatialPlanningandSustainableDevelopment,SecretariatofStateinChargeofSustainableDevelopment

• TheadhesionofTunisiatotheAarhusConventionrelatedtoaccesstoinformationandpublicparticipationindecision-makingandpossibilityofaccesstoJusticeincaseofenvironmentalmatters.

LeadInstitution:MinistryofEquipment,TerritoryPlanning,andSustainableDevelopment(SecretariatofStateinChargeofSustainableDevelopment)

StartDate:July2014 EndDate:June2016

Whathappened?

This commitment aims at improving the accessibility of public environmentalinformation by creating a dedicated observatory. The observatory will publishenvironmentalandsustainabledevelopmentdata, suchaswaterquality,diseases, andpollution.

Environmental informationpublishedby thegovernmenthistoricallyhasbeen limitedandscarce.1

According to reports from the OGP national steering committee, the Ministry ofEnvironment and Sustainable Development drafted an Executive Order to create theobservatory.TheMinistryofFinanceisreviewingthedraftorderandwilllaterpresent

Commitment Overview

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1. Creation of an environment and sustainable development observatory

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

2. The adhesion of Tunisia to the Aarhus Convention

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it to a Ministerial Board including the Chief of Government for final approval andadoption.

According to the same source, the necessary documentation for joining the AarhusConvention has been prepared. 2 The Aarhus Convention grants the public rightsconcerning access to information, public participation, and access to justice ingovernmentaldecisionmakingprocessesonmattersconcerningthelocal,nationalandtransboundary environment. It focuses on interactions between citizens and thegovernment. Tunisia’s application process is pending a review by the Chief ofGovernmentandadoptionbyParliament.

Diditmatter?

This commitment represents an important step in opening government heldinformationonenvironment.Historically,environmental informationpublishedby thegovernmenthasbeenlimitedandscarce.3Despitesignificantandsteadyawarenessandimprovementsoverthepastdecade,theregionofTunisiaisthreatenedbydecliningpercapita water resources, loss of arable land, pollution-related health problems,deteriorating coastal zones, andvulnerablemarine resources.4Anexampleof a strongpublicmobilizationrelatedtotheenvironmenttopiccameinthesummerof2014,inthecityofDjerba,when localsclashedwiththepolice in tryingtoprevent truckscarryinglargeamountsoftrashfromenteringalocallandfill.5

Atpresent,itisdifficulttoassesswhetherthecommitmenthashadanyimpactsincethegovernment has shared few details about the convention application process,documentation,orthespecificanddetailedgoalsoftheobservatory.

Movingforward

In becoming a signatory of the Aarhus Convention, several choices have to be maderegardingjusticemechanisms.Thesechoiceswill impacttheperformanceoftheyettobeestablishedenvironmental court.Whenestablishingenvironmental courts, the IRMresearcher recommends that the government consider consulting national andinternational experts in the environment and legal domains. The OpenGov Guide6recommendationsmightprovideusefulstartingpoints,suchasthefollowing:

! Improveaccesstoinformationregardingenvironmentalmatters;! Ensure meaningful public participation in the decision making process

concerningenvironmentalmatters;! Ensureavenuesforredressintheeventofenvironmentalharmareavailableto

thepublic.

1MinistryofEnvironmentandSustainableDevelopment,http://bit.ly/1JJhACe2UnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforEurope(UNECE),“ConventiononAccesstoInformation,PublicParticipationinDecision-MakingandAccesstoJusticeinEnvironmentalMatters”(AarhusConvention),25June1998,http://ec.europa.eu/environment/aarhus3MinistryofEnvironmentandSustainableDevelopment,http://bit.ly/1JJhACe4“EnvironmentSectorBrief,”MiddleEastandNorthAfrica,WorldBank,September2008,http://bit.ly/1sdCvOd5RaniaSaid,“Djerba,Tunisia:GarbageDisposal,theEnvironmentalCrisis,andtheAwakeningofEcoconsciousness,”Jadaliyya,1September2014,http://bit.ly/1ZjnJXQ6“EstablishIndependentMechanismsforAccesstoJusticeinEnvironmentalAffairs,”OpenGovernmentGuide,http://bit.ly/1RBstJr

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V.Process:Self-assessmentEach OGP-participating country is required to publish a self-assessment report.The Tunisian government published its draft report one week before the setdeadline,whichresultedinverylittlefeedback.

Table2:Self-assessmentchecklist

Wastheannualprogressreportpublished? Yes

Wasitdoneaccordingtoschedule? Y

Isthereportavailableintheadministrativelanguage(s)? No

IsthereportavailableinEnglish? Y

Didthegovernmentprovideatwo-weekpubliccommentperiodondraftself-assessmentreports? N

Wereanypubliccommentsreceived? N

IsthereportdepositedintheOGPportal? Y

Didtheself-assessmentreportincludereviewofconsultationeffortsduringactionplandevelopment? Y

Didtheself-assessmentreportincludereviewofconsultationeffortsduringactionplanimplementation? Y

Didtheself-assessmentreportincludeadescriptionofthepubliccommentperiodduringthedevelopmentoftheself-assessment? Y

Didthereportcoverallofthecommitments? Y

Diditassesscompletionofeachcommitmentaccordingtothetimelineandmilestonesintheactionplan? Y

Summaryofadditionalinformation

Morethan60CSOscreatedacoalition“OGP.Dialogue” toengagewith theconsultationand the action plan implementation in response to weak advocacy efforts by thegovernment. The coalition set up a series of events and activities with the goal toestablishasustainablecivilsocietyplatformtoworkonOGPgoals.

The government’s self-assessment draft reportwaspublishedon23 September2015.Thee-GovUnitcomplainedaboutthelackoffeedbackfromgovernmentandCSOs.

Theself-assessmentreportwaspublishedontheOGPinternationalportalonthe30thofSeptember2015.

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On 1 October 2015, the OGP.Dialogue coalition started a public survey to assess theactionplanprogressbycivilsociety.1

1OGPDialogueTunisie,http://bit.ly/1OpUqxB

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VI.CountrycontextThissectionplacestheactionplancommitmentsinthebroadernationalcontextanddiscussesconcretenextstepsforthenextactionplan.

TheArabSpringhaditsgenesisinTunisia,startinginDecember2010.Itwastriggeredby the self-immolation of a street vendorMohammedBouaziziwho, out of protest toongoing corruption and humiliation by police officials, set himself ablaze at the localgovernor’sofficeinthetownofSidiBouzid.Protestsensued,spreadingthroughoutthecountry,callingfortheremovalof long-timedictatorPresidentZineElAbidineBenAliwho had been power for 23 years. President Ben Aliwas subsequently ousted on 14January2011,andhefledtoSaudiArabia.Athree-yearlongprocessofpoliticalreformanddemocratic transition followed, culminating in the adoptionof anewconstitutionon26January2014andthefirstdemocraticparliamentaryelectionsheldon26October2014.Subsequentpresidentialelectionswereheldon23November2014.

While Tunisia is seen as the only “successful” post-Arab Spring country to date, thecountry still face significant challenges. These challenges range from the need forgreaterpoliticalandlegalreformtotheprotectionofhumanrightstoaddressingpublicsectorcorruptionandtotheongoingthreatof(andimplicationsfrom)terroristattacks.

Ingeneral,Tunisiarealizedsignificantprogress instrengtheningprotectionforhumanrightsfollowingtheadoptionofthenewconstitution.OneofTunisia’sstrengthswhenitcomes to OGP is that it has a strong constitutional foundation that supports opengovernment principles and constitutionally enshrined rights to access to information(Article 32), local participatory democracy (Article 139) and ability to seek publicintegrity and accountability (Article 15). Although article 139 of the new constitutionmandates that local governments (municipal level) must embrace participatorydemocracyandopengovernmentprinciples,specificmechanismsandlawshaveyettobedraftedandimplemented.

Although the constitution is heralded as an example of a modern constitution thatupholds freedoms, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the new constitutioncontainsseveralweaknessesandambiguitiesthatcouldbeusedtosuppressrights.Forexample,itcontainsaprovisionprohibiting“attacksonthesacred,”whichcouldbeusedto prosecute statements concerning religion or religious beliefs that the authoritiesconsider “defamatory,” contrary to freedom of expression guaranteed contained inarticle31.1

A furtherpoint of controversy concerns aproposed lawof “EconomicReconciliation,”presentedbythenewpresidenttotheParliament.Thisproposalcreatedheateddebatein societyand spurredseveralpopularprotestsbyopponentswhoconsider the lawadenial of accountability for civil servant corruption under theBenAli regime.2This iscompounded by significant ongoing corruption within the public administration andevident in the police force, customs office, and the judiciary,3which feeds citizenmistrust towards the government.4For example, in 2012, 75 judges were summarilydismissedforallegedcorruptionorlinkstotheBenAliregime.

Another area of concern has been the ensuing aftermath from the recent terroristattacks.Tunisiasufferedseveralrecentterroristattacks,whichresultedinthedeathsofmilitary, police, and civilians, including foreign tourists. A state of emergency wasdeclared on4 July 2015 after a terrorist attack claimed the lives of 38 tourists at thebeach resort town of Sousse. The state of emergency has made it harder for civilproteststooccur,andoftentheyaremetwithpolicerepressionandviolence.Themediaand human rights organizations still report torture practices. The continued state of

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emergencyhascreatedasentimentofcontinuedimpunitybythestatewithreferencetopre-democraticunconstitutionalandillegalpractices.

Since the ousting of Ben Ali, Tunisian CSOs have been vibrant and effective ininfluencingtheoutcomesofpoliticaldecisionmakingduringthedemocratic transitionperiod.5In response to weak government advocacy on OGP issues, dozens of CSOsunitedunderonebanner,OGP.Dialogue,activelyengageintheOGPprocess.6

In light of the above socio-political context, stakeholders feel that the next nationalactionplanshouldfocusmoredirectlyonaddressingkeyopengovernmentchallengesfacing Tunisia. Tunisia’s adhesion to the OGP in 2014, and its first 2014-2016 actionplanofferarelevantframeworkforsuchefforts.

Stakeholderpriorities

Civil society stakeholders proposed commitments that were not included in the finalaction plan, such as the publication of all the information related to mining and oilcontracts. Stakeholders did not single out any specific commitment as the mostimportantinthecurrentactionplan,sincetheOGPcoversavarietyoftopicsthatcannotbe ranked in order of priority. These topics range from access to informationcommitments to revision and drafting of laws, and include several consultations andparticipatoryactivitieswiththepublic.

Tunisia boasts a vibrant, diverse, and well-established civil society. A recent reportprepared for theOECD, titled “WhatDoesCivil SocietyWant?,”7confirms that “awidevarietyofdiverseorganizations–workingacrosssectors, issueareasandgeographies,aswellasofwiderangingsizes–areeagerandreadytoincorporateopengovernmentprinciplesintotheirexistingroles.”Furthermore,organizationsarewilling“tosimplifyand translate open government concepts to the citizens with whom they are closelyconnected.”

It is commonly perceived that the government’s open government work to date issuperficial.8Meanwhile, stakeholders agree that open government efforts at the localgovernment level need to be decentralized. Moreover, stakeholders believe thatproblems will be solved only if the government’s implementation methodology isimproved to make commitments more specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, andtime-bound.

Civilsocietystakeholdersalsorecommendbeingmoreselectiveinfuturecommitmentsby including only commitments that involve “opengov champions” within the publicadministration.InaninterviewtheIRMresearcherconducted,arepresentativefromtheArab InstituteofBusinessLeadersaffirmed theneed forselectivity,whichwouldsavetime and effort and would keep the government stakeholders focused on what isreasonablyachievable.

Based on stakeholder discussions, stakeholders identified several measures andactivitiesasprioritiesforthenextactionplan:

! Includespecificcommitmentstargetedatmunicipalities,withafocusonpublicparticipationandaccountability.

! Publish detailed information about the natural resources contracts andagreements.

! Reform the executive branch accountability mechanisms towards morecredibility, transforming the National Court of Audit to make it independentfromtheexecutivebranch.

! Reformtheaccountabilitymechanismsofthejudicialsystem,thepolice,andthearmedforces.

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Scopeofactionplaninrelationtonationalcontext

Currently, thedesignatedauthorityresponsible forOGPinTunisia, thee-GovUnit,haslimitedresourcesdedicated to theactionplan.Two to threepeoplearepartlyor fullyassigned to theOGP actionplan, and there is no dedicated budget for the actionplancoordination, promotion, and implementation of specific commitments. As a result ofthe limitedmandate, the actionplan tends to be oriented toward technology, and thecommitments on transparency or accountability depend on other governmentdepartmentsandstructures.

Tunisia’s next actionplan can turn the country’s challenges into reformopportunitieswith an action plan and commitments that reflect the OGP values of transparency,accountability,andcivicparticipation,asarticulatedintheOGPDeclarationofPrinciplesandtheArticlesofGovernance.

Morespecifically,thegovernmentmayconsiderworkingonthefollowing:

• Makingthepolicemoreaccountable,bypublishingadetailedbudget, includinghow it is organized, local level members facing the public, statistics aboutpersonnel,equipment,recordedcrimes,arrestandclearancerates,etc.;

• Making the judicial systemmore transparent by publishing a detailed budget,includinglinesofleadership,statisticsaboutpersonnel,trials,etc.;

• Making the natural resources exploitation more transparent by publishingexisting contracts and other related documentation, including public offeringdocumentationandagreementssignedwithextractivecompanies;

• Making access to information work in practice and instilling a culture ofaccountabilitythroughoutthepublicservice.

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VII.GeneralrecommendationsThissectionrecommendsgeneralnextstepsforTunisia’sOGPprocessingeneral,ratherthanforspecificcommitments.Theserecommendationscomefromthecommitmentevaluationsabove,stakeholderconsultations,andtheIRMresearcher’sanalysisoftheprocessofdevelopingandimplementingthesectionactionplan.

TheIRMresearcherrecommendsthefollowing:

! Improve the government’s implementation methodology to make it morespecific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Resources andfundingofthecommitmentsshouldbeadequatelyplannedandbudgeted.

! Tackleissuesthathavenotbeenincludedinthefirstactionplansuchaspolice,customs and judiciary related reforms. Ongoing corruption within the publicadministration—evidentinthepoliceforce,customsoffice,andthejudiciary9—feedscitizenmistrusttowardsthegovernment.10

! Raise the level of public participation from “information and consultation” to“involvement and collaboration.” The government can, for example, establishand fund a government-civil society joint body to achieve common goals. Thebody could set out common goals, including commitments related to civilsociety’s role in the policy process, service delivery, and holding governmentaccountable.

! RethinkthestructureoftheTunisiaOGPnationalsteeringcommitteetoincludethe Parliament to speed up the process of parliamentary consultations andpassingimportantlaws.

TopSMARTrecommendations

Beginningin2014,allOGPIRMreportsshouldincludefivekeyrecommendationsaboutthenextOGPactionplanningcycle.GovernmentsparticipatinginOGPwillberequiredtorespondtothesekeyrecommendationsintheirannualself-assessmentreports.

TOPFIVE‘SMART’RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Involve the largest possible number and most geographically diverse civil societyorganizations and private sector representatives in the development andimplementation of commitments. This should include national, regional, and localpromotionandawareness-raisingactivities,aswellasallocatingthenecessarybudgetsand human resources for all commitments. In addition, the Parliament should beinvolved in government accountability-related commitments and commitmentsentailingthedraftingoflaws.

2.Publishdetailedinformationaboutnaturalresourcesandallbindingcontracts inaneasy-to-useformat.

3.Implementan“OpenJustice”systemthatwouldrenderthelegalprocessesopenandtransparent to deter inappropriate behavior on the part of the court or an abusivecounterpart.Thisincludesthecontentsofcourtfilesavailableonline.

4.RevisethelegalframeworktomaketheNationalCourtofAuditindependentfromtheexecutive branch to remove the current structural flaw (where the government is itsownjudge),whichisunderminingthecredibilityandaccountabilityofthelegalsysteminTunisia.

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5.Implementan“OpenBudget”processatthemunicipallevelinallmunicipalities.Thisrequires prior publication of all budget-related information online and a clearparticipatory mechanism that pushes the boundary of participation from mereconsultationtocitizens’empowerment.

1HumanRightsWatch(HRW),“CountrySummary:Tunisia,”January2015,http://bit.ly/1P03bnG2NadaRamadan,“AmnestyforCorruptBenAliCronies,DespiteTunisiaProtests,”News,NewArab,3September2015,http://bit.ly/1SNuDog3“CountrySummary:Tunisia,”2015,http://bit.ly/1P03bnG4FarahSamti,“InTunisia,aNewReconciliationLawStokesProtestandConflictInstead,”ForeignPolicy,15September2015,http://atfp.co/1OwzW9B5VeronicaBaker,“TheRoleofCivilSocietyintheTunisianDemocraticTransition,”UniversityofColoradoBoulderCUScholar:UndergraduateHonorsTheses,November2015,http://bit.ly/1RkPFep6Rayna,“OpeningUpGovernance:OpenMenaJoinsPublicConsultationProcessinTunisia,”OpenMena,23May2014,http://bit.ly/1mWcXLr7NadaZohdy,“WhatDoesCivilSocietyWant?BroadeningandDeepeningCivilSocietyInvolvementinTunisia’sOpenGovernmentReforms,”2015(unpublished).8Severalmembersofthe“OpenGovTN”advocacygroupoftenreactwithskepticismwhenthegovernmentannouncesnewopengovernmentrelatedmeasures.“OpenGovTN,”Facebook,https://www.facebook.com/groups/OpenGovTN9“CountrySummary:Tunisia,”2015,http://bit.ly/1P03bnG10“InTunisia,aNewReconciliationLawStokesProtestandConflictInstead,”ForeignPolicy,2015,http://atfp.co/1OwzW9B

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VIII.MethodologyandsourcesAs a complement to the government’s self-assessment report, well-respectedgovernanceresearchers,preferablyfromeachOGPparticipatingcountry,writeanindependentIRMassessmentreport.

These experts use a common OGP independent report questionnaire and guidelines,1basedonacombinationofinterviewswithlocalOGPstakeholdersaswellasdesk-basedanalysis.ThisreportissharedwithasmallInternationalExpertPanel(appointedbytheOGP Steering Committee) for peer review to ensure that the highest standards ofresearchandduediligencehavebeenapplied.

AnalysisofprogressonOGPactionplansisacombinationofinterviews,deskresearch,and feedback fromnongovernmental stakeholdermeetings. The IRM report builds onthe findingsof the government’s self-assessment report andanyother assessmentsofprogressbycivilsociety,theprivatesector,orinternationalorganizations.

Eachlocalresearchercarriesoutstakeholdermeetingstoensureanaccurateportrayalof events. Given budgetary and calendar constraints, the IRM cannot consult allinterested or affected parties. Consequently, the IRM strives for methodologicaltransparencyand,whenpossible,makespublictheprocessofstakeholderengagementin research (detailed later in this section). In national contexts where anonymity ofinformants—governmental or nongovernmental—is required, the IRM reserves theability to protect the anonymity of informants. Additionally, because of the necessarylimitationsofthemethod,theIRMstronglyencouragescommentaryonpublicdraftsofeachnationaldocument.

Interviewsandfocusgroups

Eachnationalresearcherwillcarryoutatleastonepublicinformation-gatheringevent.Care should be taken in inviting stakeholders outside of the “usual suspects” list ofinvitees already participating in existing processes. Supplementary means may beneeded to gather the inputs of stakeholders in a more meaningful way (e.g. onlinesurveys, written responses, follow-up interviews). Additionally researchers performspecific interviews with responsible agencies when the commitments require moreinformationthanprovidedintheself-assessmentreportoraccessibleonline.

The IRM researcher organized one stakeholder forum for civil society in Tunis on 8September 2015,2whichwas conducted according to a focus groupmodel. The groupdiscussed the 20 action plan commitments providing specific comments andsuggestions.Severalrecurringsuggestionsemergedthroughthediscussionsuchastheneedformorepromotionaleffortsbythegovernmenttoengagewiththebroaderpublic,reachingouttothedifferentregionsofthecountry,andallocatingareasonablebudgetfortheimplementationoftheactionplan.Theresearcheralsoconductedastakeholdermeeting on 9 September 2015, with government representatives and civil societyorganizationsinvolvedintheOGPactionplan.Themeetingfocusedontheprogressandchallengesofeachofthe20commitments.Informationalsowascollectedbyaseriesofface-to-face and telephone interviewswith civil society stakeholders and governmentstaffinvolvedwiththeOGPactionplan.

Hereisthelistofconsultedpeoplewiththeiraffiliation:

Name GOV/SCO Organization

SouhailAlouini ARPMembredelaCommissionGouvernance,RéformeAdministrativeetLuteContrelaCorruption

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KhaledSellami Gov PrésidenceduGouvernement/e-GovUnit

KhaledTarrouche Gov Ministèredel'Intérieur

FaizaLimam GovPrésidenceduGouvernement/BureauCentraldesRelationsavecleCitoyen

AichaKarafi Gov MinistèredesFinances/CabinetduMinistre

KhaoulaBohli GovPrésidenceduGouvernement/DirectiondesRéformesetdesEtudesAdministratives

HendaOueslati Gov PrésidenceduGouvernement/ServiceJuridique

WalidElfehri Gov PrésidenceduGouvernement

KaisBedhief Gov Ministèredel'Équipement

RebhaChouaib Gov Ministèredel'Environnement

ImenEssid GovPrésidenceduGouvernement/HauteInstancedeControleAdministratifetFinancier

JamelRouis Gov Ministèredel'Équipement/Directiondel'Aménagementurbain

TarekBahri Gov PrésidenceduGouvernement/Gouvernance

RiadhAbbes Gov MinistèredesFinances

LassaadMsehli Gov InstanceNationaldeLuteContrelaCorruption

ChirazBenTahar Gov PrésidenceduGouvernement/e-GovUnit

KaisMejri Gov Ministèredel'Industrie

Khaoulalabidi Gov PrésidenceduGouvernement/DirectionGeneraleFormation

OnsBenAbdelkarim SCO Albawsala

KhalilAzzouz SCO Albawsala

MaherKallel SCO IACE

AbdelhamidJarmouni SCO OpenGov.tn

AnissaBenHassine SCO Academic

LorandRevault SCO Touensa

AsmaCherifi SCO TACID

SarhaneHichri SCO Opengov.tn

SelimaAbbouBey SCO Touensa

CharfeddineYacoubi SCO ATCP

SouhailNabli SCO Nour

AchrefAouadi SCO Iwatch

NabilKesraoui SCO TransparencyFirst

ChihebGhanmi SCO TransparencyFirst

FarahHached SCO LaboDemocratique

Samahkrichah SCO LaboDemocratique

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HatemBenYacoub SCO Opengov.tn

Documentlibrary

The IRM uses publicly accessible online libraries as a repository for the informationgatheredthroughoutthecourseof theresearchprocess.All theoriginaldocuments,aswell as several documents cited within this report, are available for viewing andcomments in the IRM Online Library in Tunisia, athttp://www.opengovpartnership.org/country/tunisia.

AbouttheIndependentReportingMechanism

TheIRMisakeymeansbywhichgovernment,civilsociety,andtheprivatesectorcantrackgovernmentdevelopmentandimplementationofOGPactionplansonabiannualbasis. Thedesignof research andquality control of such reports is carriedoutby theInternational Experts’ Panel, comprised of experts in transparency, participation,accountability,andsocialscienceresearchmethods.

ThecurrentmembershipoftheInternationalExperts’Panelis:

• YaminiAiyar• DebbieBudlender• HazelFeigenblatt• JonathanFox• HilleHinsberg• AnuradhaJoshi• LilianeKlaus• RosemaryMcGee• GerardoMunck• ErnestoVelasco

A small staffbased inWashington,D.C. shepherds reports through the IRMprocess inclosecoordinationwiththeresearcher.Questionsandcommentsaboutthisreportcanbedirectedtothestaffatirm@opengovpartnership.org.

1FullresearchguidancecanbefoundintheIRMProceduresManual,availableathttp://www.opengovpartnership.org/about/about-irm.2JazemHalioui,“OùenEstl’OpenGovenTunisie?,”FacebookEventoftheCivilSocietyStakeholderForum,September2015,http://on.fb.me/1mVfLs4

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IX.EligibilityrequirementsannexIn September2012,OGPbegan strongly encouragingparticipating governmentsto adopt ambitious commitments in relation to their performance in the OGPeligibilitycriteria.

TheOGPSupportUnit collates eligibility criteria on an annual basis. These scores arepresented below. 1 When appropriate, the IRM reports will discuss the contextsurroundingprogressorregressonspecificcriteriainthesectiononcountrycontext.

Criteria 2011 Current Change Explanation

Budgettransparency2 2 4 "

4=Executive’sBudgetProposalandAuditReportpublished2=Oneoftwopublished0=Neitherpublished

Accesstoinformation3 4 4 Nochange

4=Accesstoinformation(ATI)Law3=ConstitutionalATIprovision1=DraftATIlaw0=NoATIlaw

Assetdeclaration4 3 2 #4=Assetdisclosurelaw,datapublic2=Assetdisclosurelaw,nopublicdata0=Nolaw

Citizenengagement(Rawscore)

2(3.24)5

2(5.00)6 Nochange

EIUCitizenEngagementIndexrawscore:1>02>2.53>54>7.5

Total/Possible(Percent)

11/16(69%)

12/16(75%) " 75%ofpossiblepointstobeeligible

1Formoreinformation,seehttp://www.opengovpartnership.org/how-it-works/eligibility-criteria.2Formoreinformation,seeTable1inhttp://internationalbudget.org/what-we-do/open-budget-survey/.Forupdatedassessments,seehttp://www.obstracker.org/.3ThetwodatabasesusedareConstitutionalProvisions(http://www.right2info.org/constitutional-protections)andLawsandDraftLaws(http://www.right2info.org/access-to-information-laws).4SimeonDjankov,RafaelLaPorta,FlorencioLopez-de-Silanes,andAndreiShleifer,“DisclosurebyPoliticians,”(TuckSchoolofBusinessWorkingPaper2009-60,2009),http://bit.ly/19nDEfK;OrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD),“TypesofInformationDecisionMakersAreRequiredtoFormallyDisclose,andLevelOfTransparency,”inGovernmentataGlance2009,(OECD,2009),http://bit.ly/13vGtqS;RicardMessick,“IncomeandAssetDisclosurebyWorldBankClientCountries”(Washington,DC:WorldBank,2009),http://bit.ly/1cIokyf;Formorerecentinformation,seehttp://publicofficialsfinancialdisclosure.worldbank.org.In2014,theOGPSteeringCommitteeapprovedachangeintheassetdisclosuremeasurement.Theexistenceofalawanddefactopublicaccesstothedisclosedinformationreplacedtheoldmeasuresofdisclosurebypoliticiansanddisclosureofhigh-levelofficials.Foradditionalinformation,seetheguidancenoteon2014OGPEligibilityRequirementsathttp://bit.ly/1EjLJ4Y.5EconomistIntelligenceUnit,“DemocracyIndex2010:DemocracyinRetreat”(London:Economist,2010),http://bit.ly/eLC1rE6EconomistIntelligenceUnit,“DemocracyIndex2014:DemocracyanditsDiscontents”(London:Economist,2014),http://bit.ly/18kEzCt