[Okfn-irl] Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?

Wed Jan 22 17:08:34 UTC 2014

It is *not* the job of the civil society participants to delete items from
the report generated through a public consultation.

DPER asked for some priorities and the report *does* have prioritised
items, all of which fit its "SMART" request.

Frankly any attempt by people who couldn't be bothered to show up before
now to undermine that consultation should be *fiercely* resisted.

On 22 January 2014 11:42, Flora Fleischer <fleischer.flora at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> last call to add comments about what you think should be done next with
> regards to Ireland's 1st OGP Action Plan. Will be sent off at lunch time
> today.
>
> Cheers to everyone who has contributed already!
> Flora
>
> Best,
>
>
> Flora Fleischer
>
> Co-Founder, OKF Ireland
>
> m: +353851587423 I  @daydreamer2105 <https://twitter.com/Daydreamer2105>
>  | irl.okfn.org
>
> Open data - the 21st century public library www.opendata.ie
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 17, 2014 at 10:24 AM, Flora Fleischer <
> flora.fleischer at okfirl.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> in order to move forward with the next steps in relation to the first
>> Irish OGP Action Plan OKF Ireland are working on a response to DPER's email
>> to Nat O'Connor from Dec. 5th 2013. We are looking to finalize the response
>> by EOD Monday and are inviting you to co-create one response from civil
>> society.
>>
>> You can do so by adding your comments, thoughts, ideas to the attached
>> Google Doc indicating your name and/or affiliation.
>>
>> Let me know if there are any questions.
>>
>>
>>  Irish OGP Action Plan<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R8Jde-rtn1lZYvx_PJjoeEKP_yHrhKskuTf1DGQ1Rx4/edit?usp=drive_web>
>>
>>
>>  Next Steps for OGP in Ireland 051213.pdf<https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzOXYk-Wh9M2MmdydDRNNWdDWER0MGxXaTg3UzJtVERxTndN/edit?usp=drive_web>
>>
>>
>> Best Regards,
>>
>> Flora Fleischer
>>
>> Co-Founder, OKF Ireland
>>
>> m: +353851587423 I  @daydreamer2105 <https://twitter.com/Daydreamer2105>
>>  | irl.okfn.org | @*OKFirl* <https://twitter.com/OKFirl>
>>
>> Open data - the 21st century public library www.opendata.ie
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 1:53 PM, Beausang, William <
>> William.Beausang at per.gov.ie> wrote:
>>
>>>  Dear Nat,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sorry, we should certainly have made the point you mention below in our
>>> reply to Denis; we had in fact expected that we would have been able to
>>> make the announcement on the regional conference at an earlier stage and
>>> certainly before the Christmas break.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hopefully any confusion caused by us not doing so has been cleared up.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Kind Regards,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> William
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> William Beausang
>>>
>>> Head of Government Reform Unit and Civil Service HR Policy Division
>>>
>>> Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
>>>
>>> 7/9 Merrion Row
>>>
>>> Dublin 2
>>>
>>> Ireland
>>>
>>> Tel. +353 1 6045433
>>>
>>> Mob. +353 86 1729303
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* Nat O'Connor [mailto:noconnor at tasc.ie]
>>> *Sent:* 08 January 2014 12:50
>>> *To:* McCann, Conor; 'Denis Parfenov'
>>>
>>> *Cc:* open-data-ireland at googlegroups.com;
>>> open-government-ireland at googlegroups.com; okfn-irl at lists.okfn.org;
>>> admin at ogpireland.ie; Martinez, Claire; 'Nat O'Connor'; Beausang,
>>> William; O'Connor, Evelyn
>>> *Subject:* RE: Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear Denis and Conor,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Just to add, I didn’t circulate the initial reply to my letter at the
>>> time, as the Department was waiting for the Minister’s public announcement
>>> of the Europe Regional Meeting and asked that the response not be
>>> circulated until then.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I would add to Denis’s enthusiasm, as I think the Regional Meeting will
>>> be a great showcase for OGP and will hopefully lead to increased public
>>> enthusiasm and interest for open government.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Nat
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* McCann, Conor [mailto:Conor.McCann at per.gov.ie<Conor.McCann at per.gov.ie>]
>>>
>>> *Sent:* 08 January 2014 09:58
>>> *To:* Denis Parfenov
>>> *Cc:* open-data-ireland at googlegroups.com;
>>> open-government-ireland at googlegroups.com; <okfn-irl at lists.okfn.org>;
>>> admin at ogpireland.ie; Martinez, Claire; Nat O'Connor; Beausang, William;
>>> O'Connor, Evelyn
>>> *Subject:* RE: Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear Denis,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you for your email, and for bringing our attention to the
>>> establishment of the OGP Ireland ‘Crowdhall’. We will take note of any
>>> recommendations that emerge from the group.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Regarding Nat O’Connor’s letter, please see the attached email, which
>>> contains our response to Nat – issued on December 5.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Conor
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* denis.parfenov at gmail.com [mailto:denis.parfenov at gmail.com<denis.parfenov at gmail.com>]
>>> *On Behalf Of *Denis Parfenov
>>> *Sent:* 08 January 2014 08:48
>>> *To:* McCann, Conor
>>> *Cc:* open-data-ireland at googlegroups.com;
>>> open-government-ireland at googlegroups.com; <okfn-irl at lists.okfn.org>;
>>> admin at ogpireland.ie; Martinez, Claire; Nat O'Connor; Beausang, William
>>> *Subject:* Re: Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> **Apologies for any cross-posting**
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear Conor,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Once again, thank you for sharing news regarding the plans to hold the OGP
>>> Europe Regional Meeting<http://per.gov.ie/2014/01/06/ireland-to-host-open-government-partnership-ogp-europe-regional-meeting-in-2014/>in Dublin in May 2013. I believe we have a fantastic opportunity to
>>> increase awareness about OGP and opportunities for Open Data in Ireland.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I would like to draw your attention to an absence of response on Nat
>>> O’Connor’s letter<https://groups.google.com/forum/#%21topic/open-government-ireland/x3rsP2DwWq0>dated 22nd November 2013, where an ad-hoc group of civil society members
>>> outlined a suggested way forward in terms of the collaboration between
>>> government and civil society on the development of the first Irish National
>>> Action plan.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Also, I would like to bring to your attention that at the meeting
>>> between DPER and representatives of civil society on June 26th<https://groups.google.com/forum/#%21topic/open-government-ireland/3XxjHe22aJo>we discussed the importance of public deliberation online. Subsequently, we
>>> looked at suitability of four platforms<https://groups.google.com/forum/#%21topic/open-government-ireland/3XxjHe22aJo>suggested by the OGP and Global Integrity and established that
>>> http://crowdhall.com/ is the most adequate for us. As a result we have
>>> set up an instance of ‘Crowdhall’ specifically for the Irish OGP
>>> consultation process: http://crowdhall.com/h/52
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This platform can be useful for the public online deliberation of the
>>> 62+10 <http://per.gov.ie/open-government-partnership-ogp/> suggestions
>>> generated during the initial consultation process that took place between
>>> July and September 2013. Crowdhall allows for the generation of a unique
>>> URL for each one of the action plan items.  This can facilitate a public
>>> deliberation on each commitment online and an ability for civil society to
>>> rate and rank commitments.
>>>  For example, Fingal County Council: Submission to Open Government
>>> Partnership Ireland Consultation: https://crowdhall.com/h/52/p/402 (tweet:
>>> https://twitter.com/opengovIRL/status/420663295754792960)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I hope this is helpful.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>>
>>> Denis Parfenov
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Denis Parfenov // OKF Ambassador for Ireland // m: +353863850044 //  @
>>> prfnv <https://twitter.com/prfnv> // http://okfirl.org/
>>>
>>> *The Open Knowledge Foundation* *Empowering through Open Knowledge*
>>> http://okfn.org/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 22 November 2013 15:19, Nat O'Connor <natoconnor at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: *Nat O'Connor* <noconnor at tascnet.ie>
>>> Date: Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 3:09 PM
>>> Subject: Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?
>>> To: "Beausang, William(William.Beausang at per.gov.ie)" <
>>> William.Beausang at per.gov.ie>
>>> Cc: admin at ogpireland.ie, communications at ogpireland.ie,
>>> okfn-irl at lists.okfn.org, open-data-ireland at googlegroups.com,
>>> open-government-ireland at googlegroups.com, "evelyn.o'connor at per.gov.ie" <
>>> evelyn.o'connor at per.gov.ie>, "Martinez, Claire" <
>>> Claire.Martinez at per.gov.ie>, "McCann, Conor" <Conor.McCann at per.gov.ie>
>>>
>>> *William Beausang*
>>>
>>> *Head of Government Reform Unit and Civil Service HR Policy Division *
>>>
>>> *Department of Public Expenditure and Reform*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *CC various mailing lists *
>>>
>>> *BCC (private) 43 individual email addresses of interested people*
>>>
>>> *Apologies for any cross-posting*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear William,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Further to the meeting between members of civil society and your team
>>> (October 25th), where
>>>
>>> it was suggested that we propose a process to inform your unit’s
>>> submission to a Government meeting before late November. I’m conscious that
>>> time is pressing on this.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> At our discussion at the October meeting, I recall that a potential
>>> impasse was identified. Civil society has put forward 71 recommended
>>> actions; however the Government has yet to put forward their own list of
>>> proposed actions, derived from the Programme for Government and from civil
>>> service suggestions from the relevant Departments. We risk getting bogged
>>> down if either side wants to stick to their preferred list and go through
>>> each item one after the other in exhaustive detail.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> You noted that the national OGP Action Plans are meant to be short
>>> documents and you suggested that we begin the Irish Action Plan with a
>>> higher level narrative text, informed by both lists of proposed actions.
>>> Out of this higher level text, we would then derive a set of SMART actions
>>> for the first plan. These would differ in detail from some of the proposals
>>> from either side, but they would hopefully address a large number of them
>>> and provide a basis for substantive progress on some of the OGP goals. (I
>>> would add, this should not close down further discussion on any proposals
>>> from civil society).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Based on this, the following is a suggestion from me. I benefited from
>>> feedback by email from the various colleagues but any remaining
>>> errors/omissions are my own:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Proposed Process for Civil Society and Government Joint Working on
>>> Ireland’s OGP Plan*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 1.       We want a process that leads to a jointly-drafted Action Plan
>>> between civil society and Government;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 2.       A steering group drawn from civil society needs to be
>>> established to provide continuity of contact between wider civil society
>>> and the Government. We need a small number of volunteers to commit to
>>> attending a regular number of meetings between now and April 2014, to
>>> engage with the Government on jointly-drafting the first Irish Action Plan;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 3.       The Government needs to commit to a series of meetings between
>>> now and April 2014 to work jointly on the first Irish OGP Action Plan;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 4.       All formal records of the process (e.g. Agendas, Minutes)
>>> should be posted online in a timely fashion after each meeting, so that
>>> wider civil society and the general public can access them and monitor the
>>> process;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 5.       Members of civil society have been consulted by Transparency
>>> International Ireland, leading to a report containing 62 recommended
>>> actions (some of which are multiple actions). Another 9 additional actions
>>> were submitted in parallel to this process, leading to a total of 71 civil
>>> society proposed actions (some of which have multiple aspects to them);
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 6.       The Government is to produce a list of its own proposed
>>> actions for inclusion in the OGP Action Plan;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 7.       The first meeting of the Joint Government-Civil Society OGP
>>> Steering Group (hereafter Steering Group) should agree headers for high
>>> level narrative text within the first Action Plan – drawing on experience
>>> from other countries’ plans;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 8.       These headers should be elaborated with text that accurately
>>> reflects the diverse ideas and the overall direction of travel indicated in
>>> the TI report of the civil society consultations. It should equally
>>> represent the Programme for Government/civil service proposals;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 9.       Based on the high level text, subsequent meetings of the
>>> Steering Group should agree SMART actions to be included in the first
>>> Action Plan;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 10.   A draft Action Plan should then be published with sufficient time
>>> for wider civil society and the general public to make comments and
>>> suggestions;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 11.   The joint Steering Group than should meet to agree the final plan
>>> text for submission to the OGP Summit in April.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 12.   Periodic meetings of the joint Steering Group should continue to
>>> monitor progress on the plan, and prepare for its renewal.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Come April 2014, no one is likely to be perfectly happy with the
>>> resultant Action Plan, however I would hope that it would lead to the best
>>> possible compromise and provide a solid basis to see some new open
>>> government actions implemented that go beyond what was anticipated in the
>>> Programme for Government.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Likewise, I would hope that the process would provide a basis for
>>> working together and with Government on open government that would be
>>> sustainable throughout the lifetime of the plan.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> There is already work ongoing to form a series of thematic working
>>> groups (following similar topics to the ones being formed at international
>>> level in OGP) and other existing groups (e.g. Aarhus Roadshow) could be
>>> seen as relevant stakeholders equivalent to working groups too, so that
>>> everyone interested in a given topic has an opportunity to voice their
>>> suggestions and concerns between meetings of the Steering Group.
>>> Facilitating this and attending relevant working groups would be an
>>> additional commitment required of anyone volunteering to join the Steering
>>> Group.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> As you know, two significant things have occurred subsequently to our
>>> October meeting. Firstly, some civil society people attended the two-day
>>> global Open Government Partnership summit in London (31st Oct/1st Nov),
>>> which was preceded for those who could attend by civil society meetings and
>>> open data meetings earlier in the week. Secondly, there has been a major
>>> public dispute about FOI fees and a real risk that the amended FOI Act will
>>> increase the barriers to FOI usage through higher costs associated with
>>> non-personal FOI requests, which runs counter to the goals of the OGP.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The summit provided lots of useful information and examples of how OGP
>>> is working in other countries; the pitfalls as well as the success stories.
>>> It was good to see your colleagues Evelyn O’Connor and Claire Martinez
>>> there. I heard Minister Howlin speak supportively about OGP at the European
>>> Caucus and when addressing the panel on whistleblower protection. There
>>> seems to be a vibrant international movement for OGP – but one limited by
>>> resources and still in its fragile early stages.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In relation to the dispute about FOI up-front fees, I would be remiss if
>>> I didn’t say that many activists are angry and feel a lack of trust, which
>>> extends in some cases to the wider OGP process. I personally believe that
>>> up-front FOI fees are a barrier to democratic participation and should be
>>> abolished.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> But OGP is about more than FOI, and it is important that Ireland puts in
>>> place a robust process for civil society engagement with Government about
>>> our first OGP Action Plan, and its implementation and annual renewal. This
>>> process should be solid enough to permit us to have a serious debate with
>>> Government about the merits and demerits of FOI fees, without allowing this
>>> issue to block further progress on the other 70 proposed actions from the
>>> OGP consultancy process.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I hope this proposal is of use in moving things forward. I would welcome
>>> your comments on it and I look forward to hearing from you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Nat
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Nat O'Connor *MA PhD
>>>
>>> Director
>>>
>>> *TASC – Think-tank for Action on Social Change*
>>>
>>> *Second Floor, Castleriver House, 14-15 Parliament Street*
>>> *Dublin 2, Ireland*
>>>
>>> *Tel:     +353 1 6169050 <%2B353%201%206169050>*
>>> *Email: noconnor at tascnet.ie <noconnor at tascnet.ie>*
>>> *Web:   www.tascnet.ie <http://www.tascnet.ie>*
>>> *Blog:   www.progressive-economy.ie <http://www.progressive-economy.ie/>*
>>>
>>> Research and Organisation Services Ltd. TA/ TASC. Registered Address:
>>> Hill House, 26 Sion Hill Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Company No. 342993.
>>> CHY 14778.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>
>
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