Our experts talked about the successes of the OGP summit and why open government means more than just open data
• Read the full discussion here
*Joe Powell is the deputy director of the Open Government Partnership support unit*
*Examples of OGP commitments: *In the UK context the flagship was the public register of company ownership announced by David Cameron. President Kikwete of Tanzania committed to a world-class access to information law, Indonesia committed to a youth engagement programme.
*Open data is the first thing governments think to include in action plans:* The first UK plan was very open data focused but has evolved to a much broader set of issues second time round. We hope that pattern will repeat itself across OGP - open data is a crucial enabler on lots of policy issues but it should not be seen as the easy option.
*We need to build an ongoing dialogue between government and civil society: *That was one of the big successes of the UK's OGP experience. Not every country will be ready for that kind of co-creation exercise but there are intermediate steps that can be taken to improve engagement.
*Tim Hughes is a researcher at Involve and coordinator of the UK's OGP civil society network*
*Citizen participation is just as important as transparency: *We need to spend at least as much time thinking about how to create the conditions for citizen participation as on how to release more data.
*The **open government guide** is a fantastic resource: *It has been developed by the transparency and accountability initiative. Involve authored the citizen engagement and co-authored the public services topics.
*Data is prone to misuse by politicians: *Ministers are often very happy to talk about transparency when it's in relation to the work of others, but not so keen when it means something for how they operate.
*David Branch is director of public sector analytics for Deloitte*
*The open data agenda serves two purposes:* There are many organisations with an interest in increasing accountability of public bodies and there is evidence that this is happening through the release of open data. However, there is also a strong economic argument: the value of public data sets is very significant.
*Role of intermediaries in the open data movement: *Increasingly the role of intermediary organisations that collate, combine, analyse and present government open data, will be critical to stimulate the open data market.
*Shonali Routray is the legal director of Public Concern at Work*
*Open government means more than just open data:* It also means ensuring basic democratic concepts such as freedom of speech and speaking truth to power.
*The whistleblowing commission will be launching a detailed **report**: *The government needs to strengthen protections and increase incentives for organisations to treat whistleblowers well and for regulators to do more.
*Risks of focusing on open data: *Despite promises of openness and transparency, the UK government has announced that it is considering a series of proposals to make it easier for public authorities to refuse Freedom of Information requests on cost grounds.
*Javier Ruiz is a campaigner at Open Rights Group*
*Open data is just one aspect of transparency: *We cannot let proactive voluntary disclosure of information - even if it is open licensed and machine readable - become a substitute for a legal right to information.
*Best examples are in the global South:* This is due to the nascent stage of democracies where experimentation has more room than in stale democracies. But it is also due to the fact that global NGOs are very happy to finance these sort of projects in Nairobi but not in Glasgow.
*When we talk of accountability we need to be clearer: *Many open data programmes are putting the spot on the middle managers, while removing the accountability of the officials who set up the framework. So if a department under-performs because its funding has been massively cut, who should be accountable?
*Irina Bolychevsky is government open data specialist and CKAN.org lead at the Open Knowledge Foundation*
*Open data in and of itself is not transformational: *We need open processes to understand the meaning and provenance of data. Further, we then need citizen engagement and participation, and more scrutiny and publication of processes within government.
*How openness is used to improve lives is what's important: *Open targets and action plans need to be part of a process that improves the incentives for citizens, government and companies to act in the interest of people, society and our environment. If police are fixing crime statistics to meet targets then the incentives and processes are wrong.
*It's not easy to engage when sifting through messy data: *Research, analysis and activism of civil society plays a big role in helping government improve its practices and process. Similarly, data journalism and media engagement.
*Should OGP have an official stance on surveillance?* We should not confuse open data and personal data that should be owned and controlled by individuals in the push for open government.
*Elke Loeffler is chief executive of Governance International*
*Looking at open government from a community perspective: *Open government is about better citizen outcomes by making public services more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.
*We need to be aware that not all citizens are 'techy':* There are some great initiatives across the UK to give more marginalised citizens a voice are the social media surgeries. The surgeries give citizens from all walks of life a space to share and learn.
*Claudia Megele is vice chair of Tower Hamlets police and community safety board and senior lecturer at Middlesex University*
*Transparency is not a new initiative: *Since 2007 there has been a step change in the nature and quantity of data that the government has published and in 2010 the new Coalition government continued the push to make government data more accessible.
*Transparency does not always lead to greater accountability:* Some think of transparency as a panacea for all kinds of governance "ill" in the public sector such as poor citizen trust, corruption, bad performance, low accountability and power abuse by public officials. Transparency is a powerful tool but the link between transparency and accountability is not always in place.
*We need to reach beyond those already engaged in government policy:* We need to ensure we include the citizens who may neither have the social nor digital preparation necessary to critically engage with either policy or its implementation.
• Want your say? Email us at public.leaders@theguardian.com.
*To get our articles on policy and leadership direct to your inbox, sign up to the Guardian** Public Leaders Network** now. *
*Looking for your next role? See our **Guardian jobs site** for **senior executive jobs in government and politics**. *
• For the latest on public services leadership, follow us: @Guardianpublic Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
• Read the full discussion here
*Joe Powell is the deputy director of the Open Government Partnership support unit*
*Examples of OGP commitments: *In the UK context the flagship was the public register of company ownership announced by David Cameron. President Kikwete of Tanzania committed to a world-class access to information law, Indonesia committed to a youth engagement programme.
*Open data is the first thing governments think to include in action plans:* The first UK plan was very open data focused but has evolved to a much broader set of issues second time round. We hope that pattern will repeat itself across OGP - open data is a crucial enabler on lots of policy issues but it should not be seen as the easy option.
*We need to build an ongoing dialogue between government and civil society: *That was one of the big successes of the UK's OGP experience. Not every country will be ready for that kind of co-creation exercise but there are intermediate steps that can be taken to improve engagement.
*Tim Hughes is a researcher at Involve and coordinator of the UK's OGP civil society network*
*Citizen participation is just as important as transparency: *We need to spend at least as much time thinking about how to create the conditions for citizen participation as on how to release more data.
*The **open government guide** is a fantastic resource: *It has been developed by the transparency and accountability initiative. Involve authored the citizen engagement and co-authored the public services topics.
*Data is prone to misuse by politicians: *Ministers are often very happy to talk about transparency when it's in relation to the work of others, but not so keen when it means something for how they operate.
*David Branch is director of public sector analytics for Deloitte*
*The open data agenda serves two purposes:* There are many organisations with an interest in increasing accountability of public bodies and there is evidence that this is happening through the release of open data. However, there is also a strong economic argument: the value of public data sets is very significant.
*Role of intermediaries in the open data movement: *Increasingly the role of intermediary organisations that collate, combine, analyse and present government open data, will be critical to stimulate the open data market.
*Shonali Routray is the legal director of Public Concern at Work*
*Open government means more than just open data:* It also means ensuring basic democratic concepts such as freedom of speech and speaking truth to power.
*The whistleblowing commission will be launching a detailed **report**: *The government needs to strengthen protections and increase incentives for organisations to treat whistleblowers well and for regulators to do more.
*Risks of focusing on open data: *Despite promises of openness and transparency, the UK government has announced that it is considering a series of proposals to make it easier for public authorities to refuse Freedom of Information requests on cost grounds.
*Javier Ruiz is a campaigner at Open Rights Group*
*Open data is just one aspect of transparency: *We cannot let proactive voluntary disclosure of information - even if it is open licensed and machine readable - become a substitute for a legal right to information.
*Best examples are in the global South:* This is due to the nascent stage of democracies where experimentation has more room than in stale democracies. But it is also due to the fact that global NGOs are very happy to finance these sort of projects in Nairobi but not in Glasgow.
*When we talk of accountability we need to be clearer: *Many open data programmes are putting the spot on the middle managers, while removing the accountability of the officials who set up the framework. So if a department under-performs because its funding has been massively cut, who should be accountable?
*Irina Bolychevsky is government open data specialist and CKAN.org lead at the Open Knowledge Foundation*
*Open data in and of itself is not transformational: *We need open processes to understand the meaning and provenance of data. Further, we then need citizen engagement and participation, and more scrutiny and publication of processes within government.
*How openness is used to improve lives is what's important: *Open targets and action plans need to be part of a process that improves the incentives for citizens, government and companies to act in the interest of people, society and our environment. If police are fixing crime statistics to meet targets then the incentives and processes are wrong.
*It's not easy to engage when sifting through messy data: *Research, analysis and activism of civil society plays a big role in helping government improve its practices and process. Similarly, data journalism and media engagement.
*Should OGP have an official stance on surveillance?* We should not confuse open data and personal data that should be owned and controlled by individuals in the push for open government.
*Elke Loeffler is chief executive of Governance International*
*Looking at open government from a community perspective: *Open government is about better citizen outcomes by making public services more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.
*We need to be aware that not all citizens are 'techy':* There are some great initiatives across the UK to give more marginalised citizens a voice are the social media surgeries. The surgeries give citizens from all walks of life a space to share and learn.
*Claudia Megele is vice chair of Tower Hamlets police and community safety board and senior lecturer at Middlesex University*
*Transparency is not a new initiative: *Since 2007 there has been a step change in the nature and quantity of data that the government has published and in 2010 the new Coalition government continued the push to make government data more accessible.
*Transparency does not always lead to greater accountability:* Some think of transparency as a panacea for all kinds of governance "ill" in the public sector such as poor citizen trust, corruption, bad performance, low accountability and power abuse by public officials. Transparency is a powerful tool but the link between transparency and accountability is not always in place.
*We need to reach beyond those already engaged in government policy:* We need to ensure we include the citizens who may neither have the social nor digital preparation necessary to critically engage with either policy or its implementation.
• Want your say? Email us at public.leaders@theguardian.com.
*To get our articles on policy and leadership direct to your inbox, sign up to the Guardian** Public Leaders Network** now. *
*Looking for your next role? See our **Guardian jobs site** for **senior executive jobs in government and politics**. *
• For the latest on public services leadership, follow us: @Guardianpublic Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.