[Okfn-irl] Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?
Flora Fleischer
daydreamer2105 at gmail.com
Mon Jan 27 19:22:13 UTC 2014
FYI to anyone not signed up on the google groups
On Mon, Jan 27, 2014 at 1:49 PM, Nuala Haughey <research at transparency.ie>wrote:
> Hello all, Nat asked me to forward this to the google groups as he is not
> sure whether his messages get through on these lists. Apologies for any
> duplication. Best, Nuala
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From:* Nuala Haughey <nhaughey at tasc.ie>
> *Date:* 27 January 2014 13:46:45 GMT
> *To:* <nhaughey at transparency.ie>
> *Subject:* *FW: [Okfn-irl] Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?*
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Nat O'Connor [mailto:noconnor at tasc.ie <noconnor at tasc.ie>]
> *Sent:* 27 January 2014 13:44
> *To:* 'Flora Fleischer'
> *Cc:* okfn-irl at lists.okfn.org; open-data-ireland at googlegroups.com;
> open-government-ireland at googlegroups.com; admin at ogpireland.ie; 'Nuala
> Haughey'
> *Subject:* RE: [Okfn-irl] Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?
>
>
>
> Dear Flora,
>
>
>
> Thank you for your comprehensive email and your suggestions.
>
>
>
> I wanted to share one piece of news with the group, and to make one
> suggestion.
>
>
>
> As some people on the email lists may be aware, TASC recently advertised
> for a post to undertake an 'open government project', to raise awareness
> and to deepen capacity in civil society about how to use a range of tools
> (such as freedom of information, protected disclosures, etc.) that allow
> people to better inform themselves about public policy and strengthen their
> participation in Ireland's democratic processes. I'm delighted to say that
> we have appointed Nuala Haughey to this role, who work on the OGP
> consultation process as well as in Transparency Ireland. Nuala has a depth
> of knowledge about the issues involved and about how civil society
> organisations work. Nuala took up the post earlier this month and she will
> be taking a lead role in this area for TASC. We will be announcing more
> about this project in the coming weeks.
>
>
>
> In the meantime, as a suggestion for the engagement with officials about
> Ireland's OGP Action Plan, it might be useful for those of us working on
> the civil society side to establish our own 'forum' or committee, so that a
> wider range of people can take part, and we can make sure that there is a
> good flow of information in both directions from the small number of civil
> society representatives who will be taking part in the joint steering group
> with officials. (A similar structure exists in homeless services, where a
> larger 'Homeless Forum' allows civil society organisations to share
> information and discuss priorities, whereas a smaller number have
> membership of official boards/committees).
>
>
>
> To discuss this, I propose another meeting of the ad hoc civil society
> group that met in advance of other meetings with officials. This would also
> present an opportunity for everyone who wishes to represent civil society
> to put themselves forward and for us to discuss the best way of sharing
> information to/from the joint committee.
>
>
>
> I have asked Nuala Haughey to seek availability from members of the ad hoc
> group who met before, and anyone from civil society is welcome to come
> along.
>
>
>
> I've had a suggestion from DPER that they may be in a position to meet
> civil society on or after Wednesday 5th February, so I would suggest a
> civil society meeting this week or early next week.
>
>
>
> 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/>*
>
> *[image: Description: Description: cid:image001.gif at 01C9F643.59B9A470]*Research
> and Organisation Services Ltd. TA/ TASC. Registered Address: Hill House, 26
> Sion Hill Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Company No. 342993. CHY 14778.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* daydreamer2105 at gmail.com [mailto:daydreamer2105 at gmail.com<daydreamer2105 at gmail.com>]
> *On Behalf Of *Flora Fleischer
> *Sent:* 22 January 2014 18:03
> *To:* Beausang, William; O'Connor, Evelyn; McCann, Conor; Martinez, Claire
> *Cc:* <okfn-irl at lists.okfn.org>; open-data-ireland at googlegroups.com;
> open-government-ireland at googlegroups.com; admin at ogpireland.ie
> *Subject:* Re: [Okfn-irl] Next Steps for OGP in Ireland?
>
>
>
> Dear Evelyn,
>
>
>
> Thank you again for sharing the Government's initial thoughts on the state
> of the OGP Action Plan as of Dec. 5th. We remain very eager to be involved
> and help develop an effective and progressive first OGP Action Plan for
> Ireland in useful collaboration with the Government partners assigned to
> this project. Please find below our concrete suggestions on what actions we
> would like to undertake to move the OGP Action Plan forward.
>
>
>
> Link to the original Email<https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzOXYk-Wh9M2MmdydDRNNWdDWER0MGxXaTg3UzJtVERxTndN/edit>
>
>
>
> *Suggestion for Next Steps:*
>
> - *Meeting between civil society, government & public service
> representatives to kick off OGP process.*
>
>
> - All details for the process of co-creating Ireland's 1st OGP Action
> Plan to be discussed at a first meeting as soon as possible. We would
> suggest early next week if this suits. Alternatively please advise on a day
> that suits the relevant staff/ potential steering group members from the
> Government and Public Service.
>
>
> - Establish a platform for regular and ongoing dialogue with Civil
> Society.
>
>
> - Civil Society, Government and Public Service to decide on members of
> Steering Committee and enter names here<https://okfirl.hackpad.com/Steering-Group-Members-CP0WWElSChh>
>
>
> - Suggest at least three from each area
>
>
> - Members of Civil Society should be able to attend each of the
> meetings to observe and take part if interested
>
>
> - Share contact details of all Steering Committee members
>
>
> - Discuss & initial recommendations for Civil Society process
>
>
> - Please note that in line with OGP principles we would expect a
> strong commitment from both the Government and Public Service staff to
> drive and facilitate the Civil Society engagement process both online and
> offline.
>
>
> - Decide which Civil Society engagement tools should be used
> (Civinomics, Crowdhall <https://crowdhall.com/h/52/>, Google
> Moderator, etc.). We can train how to use them.
>
>
> - Initial recommendations on which of the 62 Action Plan Commitments
> and 5 Submissions<http://www.ogpireland.ie/2013/10/02/final-report-ogp-consultation/>should be included in Ireland's 1st National Action Plan - to be informed
> and voted on by civil society;
>
>
> - Co-create project plan for the development of the 1st Irish OGP
> Action Plan and project plan for seeing through the achievement of these
> commitments during the next 2 years;
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *Suggestion for Methodology with regards to project planning the Irish OGP
> Action Plan and Civil Society Process*
>
>
>
> - SMART OGP Action Plan Commitments
>
>
> - *Decide on a number of commitments that can be achieved in 2yrs* -
> as opinions vary this will need to be socialised widely to those who may be
> interested to input on this decision & should be open to the general public
>
>
> - Options suggested by Government, Public Service and Civil Society to
> date:
>
>
> - *1st option: *Limit the number of commitments to 8-15 & go through
> them one by one making them smart.
>
>
> - *2nd option:* would be to include open data technology & innovation
> commitments as well as 8-15 commitments that civil society votes as vital
> to drive open government within Ireland.
>
>
> - *3rd option:* is to include open data technology & innovation
> commitments as well as 8-15 commitments - one per each area of health,
> education, election results, etc.
>
>
> - *4th option:* is to focus on implementing one main recommendation
> via the OGP Action Plan during the next 2 years. E.G. the open data
> technology & innovation challenge and build SMART actions around that. In
> parallel, one could set a target to deal with a further 3-4 points in 2015,
> 2016, etc.
>
>
> - Review any previous experiences with making goals SMART and draw on
> expertise drawn from all areas civil society, government, public service
>
>
>
> - Project Plan
>
>
> - In order to be able to create a focussed, targeted and sound OGP
> Action Plan we suggest:
>
>
> - To develop a project plan for the next 4 month outlining, actions,
> milestones, goals and resources assigned. The project plan will help to
> stay on track, ensure the process is open and indicate cycles of meetings
> and updates to be shared;
>
>
> - Start work on a project plan for the 2 year period during which the
> OGP Action Plan commitments will need to be achieved.
>
>
>
> *Thoughts on civil society engagement:*
>
> - Most importantly we are at a point where the Government can still
> engage representatives of civil society in the process to ensure that the
> Action Plan is broadly based and the diverse resources and perspectives
> offered by CS can aid the government's process. Open engagement to whoever
> would like to participate is not necessarily something that civil society
> needs to organise single handedly and is raised herein to emphasize that
> this remains an opportunity to harness additional resources and truly
> demonstrate the power of the ethos behind open government itself. It should
> be in the interest of the Government to advertise as widely as possible and
> to make it as easy as possible for anyone to participate, preferably online
> and offline to get things started. If civil society manages to organize
> itself in addition to that - even better!
>
>
> - To further discuss how the civil society process can be conducted,
> what role the Government and civil society should play we suggest to meet
> as soon as possible. This may be useful even if no mandate has been
> finalised by the Government, yet, as time is getting tight for putting a
> proper plan in place. In fact we would suggest to plan out the civil
> society meetings for the next couple of month to have a regular schedule in
> place.
>
>
>
> *Finally, would you be able to update the groups on the progress of the
> following items? This will help us to keep track and support as needed.*
>
>
>
> - Any update on the progress Government and/or the assigned public
> service staff have made regarding the drafting of the OGP Action Plan since
> the update you provided on Dec. 5th?
>
>
> - Specifically we are asking for an update on the following:
>
>
> 1. *Signing up to the G8 Open Data Charter: *
>
>
> - Is there a timeline for when Ireland will sign up? We'd like to
> point out that according to the G8 Open Data Charter postcodes
> should be 'open'<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-data-charter/g8-open-data-charter-and-technical-annex>.
> Ireland's plan for only opening up Postcode Data for a charge<http://www.thejournal.ie/postcodes-businesses-1173470-Nov2013/>contradicts this. Is the government working on a solution to open this data
> up as recommended by the G8 Open Data Charter? We have also noted that
> 'Signing up to the G8 Open Data Charter' is not part of the 'Action Plan
> for Public Service Reform 2014 - 2016'. Our recommendation is to have a
> written Government commitment to achieve this within the next 2 years.
>
>
> 1. *Establishing an Irish Open Data Board & Establishing a Steering &
> Implementation group*
>
>
> - The Action Plan for Public Service Reform 2014-2016 states that this
> process is ongoing. At this time is there any information how this board
> may be selected or elected? The plan also states these will be in place by
> Q2. As we will likely be in contact it would be great if you could share
> additional information. Thanks!
>
>
> 1. *Building an Open Data Platform*
>
>
> - The Action Plan for Public Service Reform 2014-2016 states that this
> process is ongoing and also for a platform to be in place in Q2 / 2014. We
> are recommending to use the CKAN portal which is open source and for which
> documentation exists for developers to be able to get this up and running
> fast. Could you please advise on current developments and next steps? Thank
> you!
>
>
>
> Again, an initial meeting to start the organisation process seems to be
> the best way forward and we look forward to participate & work together on
> the drafting of Ireland's 1st OGP Action Plan.
>
>
>
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> 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*<http://www.opendata.ie/>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 9:57 AM, McCann, Conor <Conor.McCann at per.gov.ie>
> wrote:
>
> 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] *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.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> okfn-irl mailing list
> okfn-irl at lists.okfn.org
> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-irl
>
>
>
>
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