TINZ has been attending consultation sessions on the proposed National Action Plan 5 (NAP 5) for the Open Government Partnership. At civil society’s urging, the Public Service Commission (PSC) opened a brief consultation on the final draft plan, which ended on 8 December.
The four commitments in the plan are:
- Review protected disclosure practice
- Develop a Corruption Risk Assessment Tool
- Support ethical government – private sector career transitions
- Explore options to improve transparency of senior leaders’ conflicts of interest
The commitments are all relevant to TINZ advocacy points. However, overall the process of developing the NAP 5 by the PSC continues to tightly control civil participation.
The process for NAP 5 development sits at ‘consultation’ on the DPMC community engagement framework based on the International Association for Public Participation's (IAP2) Spectrum of Public Participation. This spectrum outlines five increasing levels of influence for the public on decision-making:
- Inform: To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding problems, opportunities, or solutions. The public has little to no power to change the outcome, but the information helps build trust and transparency.
- Consult: To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives, or decisions. This level is a two-way process where the public can voice their views, but the final decision-making power remains with the government agency.
- Involve: To work directly with the public to ensure their concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered in the process. The public helps shape decisions, although the final decision is still made by the government.
- Collaborate: To partner with the public in the design or decision-making process, including identifying alternatives and preferred solutions. Power is shared through negotiation and co-design, and both the government and the public work together to develop solutions.
- Empower: To place final decision-making, accountabilities, and funding in the hands of the public. This is the highest level of participation, where the government agrees to implement what the public decides.
More stringent application of our Government’s Principles and Values for Community Engagement from our NAP 2 is called for. Open Government needs to become a foundation of our public service, not viewed as an added obligation.
Our submission is available here.
