Local Open Government Partnership

Source in English: ESCWA-OECD Case Study - Local Open Government Partnership, Tunisia

The establishment of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Tunisia was the first pilot experience within the framework of the implementation of commitment 11 of the 3rd OGP Action Plan (2018-2020).  It aims at launching local initiatives in 12 municipalities using the same participatory approach adopted in the national OGP initiative.

Implementation: 2018-2020 (in progress).

Contributor(s)

The project was initiated by the e-Government Unit at the Presidency of the Government in cooperation with several partners, including: The Ministry of Local Affairs; Civil society organizations (Tunisian Association of Local Governance, TACID Network, and Open Data Forum); World Bank; OECD, and GIZ.

Purpose

• Achieving reforms in line with the local public needs and requirements and in accordance with the OGP orientations and the national strategic vision.
• Promoting citizens' involvement in terms of open government.
• Improving governance of public affairs and the quality of services at the local administrative level.

Functions

A criteria-based methodology was designed in compliance with the open government principles to ensure transparency and rationality in the selection of municipalities. The involvement of municipalities in the project was then reinforced through conducting workshops and training sessions. Afterwards, a sorting process was conducted by a working group of representatives of the main contributors, through which the compliant and highest scoring municipalities were selected for each region to start the implementation of reform activities.  Furthermore, the project was adapted to Tunisia’s legal framework of local governance and its implementation was supported by a dedicated organizational framework that consolidated all stakeholders' efforts.

Clients

Beneficiaries of the project are the involved municipalities, citizens, the Government and civil society organizations.

Outcome

As a result of the first stage of the project, four municipalities were selected for each region (North, Central, South). Further steps include the development of action plans for each municipality, in terms of local OGP as well as information dissemination.  It is envisioned that this experience will be applied in future OGP national action plans with other municipalities and will contribute to making Tunisia a pioneer in this field.

Challenges

• Raising awareness of the municipalities on the importance of this project to encourage their commitment and engagement.
• Building the capacity of public officials to ensure their effective contribution to the project.
• Providing the human, technical and financial resources required to implement the project.
• Ensuring the project's sustainability by conducting activities and reforms that meet the needs of citizens.

Useful links

Open Government Partnership - Tunisia
Facebook - Open Government Partnership Tunisia
News on the results of call for applications to select municipalities
News on the trainings on open government principles
News on the call for applications to select municipalities