Washington, D.C., April 16, 2024 – Today, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) announced the addition of 55 new local jurisdictions to its growing platform of 75 countries and over 100 local governments advancing open government initiatives worldwide. This expansion marks a significant milestone in fostering transparency, citizen participation, and accountability at the local level.
Selected from 138 applications, these local jurisdictions (see full list below) are joining a network of mayors, governors, and other heads of government who work with citizens and civil society organizations to implement action plans, tailored to their local contexts, to improve their communities using open government approaches.
This new cohort of the OGP Local program will add to a wealth of open government initiatives like Madrid’s (Spain) efforts to solve local problems with participatory budgeting; Rosario’s (Argentina) work to tackle gender inequality with better data use; South Cotabato’s (Philippines) engagement of youth to enhance access to information, and Sekondi Takoradi’s (Ghana) co-creation of a climate resilience policy with citizens, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
“We are delighted to welcome no less than 55 brand new local jurisdictions to the growing network of reformers that OGP has built since it was founded in 2011,” said Sanjay Pradhan, Chief Executive Officer of the Open Government Partnership. “This expansion underscores governments’ collective commitment to better serve their citizens’ needs. By embracing open government approaches, local authorities are uniquely positioned to respond effectively to citizen demands due to their proximity to communities.”
Member of the OGP Steering Committee and the OGP Local Selection Committee, Natalia Carfi, noted the diversity of selected members, including from new OGP countries and, for the first time in its history, from countries eligible to join OGP. “This shows the Partnership’s effort to broaden the reach and scope of OGP Local in line with OGP’s 2023-2028 strategy to mainstream open government at all levels and branches of government.”
The Open Government Partnership provides a space for open government leaders to form coalitions that drive change in their contexts, to learn from each other, and to collaborate with peers from around the world to deliver better policies for citizens. As of 2024, members of OGP Local have co-created more than 120 action plans and committed to implementing more than 475 open government initiatives. Explore some of the stories and early results of the innovations adopted by OGP Local members here.
OGP welcomed the following 55 local governments to its growing community of reformers in government and civil society:
Africa-MENA