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What is open government?

Open government is a new way of doing government that emphasizes transparency, accountability, and collaboration. More specifically, it attempts to improve democracy by including citizens in decision-making processes, engaging in proactive disclosure, using open data, information, and technology to spark innovation, and working collaboratively across government and civil society through open dialogue.

This is done within Canada and abroad through the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an international coalition consisting of over 75 member-nations attempting to make government more open and accessible for all.

Open Government Partnership

2.1 What is the OGP? The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative whose goals are to foster greater transparency and accountability, improve governance, and increase civic engagement worldwide. OGP member-nations are expected to develop national action plans every two years. Plans must advance the principles of transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and technology and innovation. Through the OGP, governments have worked to develop innovative approaches to serving the public. They are making it easier to access government services and communicate with officials, and making valuable information readily available to the public. 2.2 Canada and the OGP Canada is active as a global leader on open government and joined the OGP in April 2012. Through this forum, Canada has both shared and learned from international best practices to advance priorities and standards for openness. Canada provided guidance to countries around the world through its chairing of the OGP’s Open Data Working Group, and spearheaded the development of common open data principles and standards for worldwide adoption. In 2018, Canada was ranked 1st in the world, along with the UK, by the World Wide Web Foundation’s Open Data Barometer which measures countries’ readiness to implement open data initiatives, their progress in implementing open data, and the results they are achieving using open data. 2.3 Canada’s Co-Chairmanship of the OGP