Nordic+ meeting outcomes & Open Government Partnership Steering Group meeting - 19th June 2024

Open Government Network Scotland
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Hi everyone,

Please find below two main updates that we think the network would be interested to learn more about:

  • Outputs from the OGP Nordic+ meeting on fiscal transparency, hosted by Scotland in April

  • The date of our next Open Government Steering Group meeting, if you would like to attend as an observer

Nordic+ event on fiscal transparency

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At the end of April, the Nordic+ sub regional network met in Scotland for a deep dive into fiscal openness, bringing together experts, civil society and government representatives from 10 countries in Europe.

:large_blue_circle: OGP have published a blog on the lessons learned from the Nordic+ event.
You can also check out their social media cards on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

:large_blue_circle: During Open Gov Week, we gathered to reflect on the added value and outcomes of the meeting and to discuss next steps for OGP members beyond the Nordic+ network.

:film_projector: You can watch a recording of the event on YouTube.

If you would like a copy of the slides shared from the event or slides presented during the online feedback session during Open Gov Week please let me know.

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Open Government Steering Group meeting - 19 June 2024

The first Open Government Steering Group meeting for the year is due to take place:

:spiral_calendar: Wednesday 19th June
:alarm_clock: 11.00am to 12.00pm
:round_pushpin: Online/Microsoft teams

This is a reminder to get in touch if you would like to attend as an observer. To receive the online link to join the session, please email me at Neisha.Kirk@gov.scot, or message me directly on the network.

Agenda
Agenda - OGP Steering Group - 19 June 2024.pdf (60.8 KB)

Best,
Neisha

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Hey Neisha,

Thanks for the reports. Just a couple of notes from a grumpy old editor.
Please, Consider your audience(s). On this thread its for those with a Scottish-OGP- interest only, and then, for us with a global perspective of projects like OGP.

Hey! This is not your fault. You (particularly you) Scots are pushing the boundaries. Trying to squeeze, even a Nordic+ perspective into a (little) ukopengovernment domain’s perspective, might have us believe the Scandinavians have something to learn about trust in “open” government from a English speaker. Hmm. Nah!

Anyway. Until we get a url like discuss.opengovpartnership.org, with a few more useful languages, in place, we’ll just have to be led by you canny Skoots.

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Simon,
I think you misundertand the purpose of the Nordic+ group which is a peer network where we learn from and share with each other. Some of us are further ahead on our open gov journey, some have a ways to go. It’s a collaborative project undertaken with mutual respect in order that we can understand shared challenges, solutions and learnings. No-one is suggesting it is some sort of patronising exercise that you seem to be alluding to.
Also, as your presence here exemplifies, readers of this forum are not exclusively Scottish or indeed from the UK, so sharing what we are doing internationally is a very valid part of the work. We were excited to bring together our Nordic+ partners in Edinburgh and this post is a way for us to share the learning from that event.
Finally, Neisha shares these posts as part of her job supporting Open Gov in Scotland. She is not the arbiter of the content or indeed in a position of any power inside global OGP networks. Please show some respect for her undertaking her professional role.
I remain confused by your contributions.

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Thanks Juliet,

I apologise for not making myself clear. I’m just an old media guy who usually only observes (since the web was invented) how gov employees have, and are, attempting to institute the management of communities which span between a government’s agency’s employees and their civil societies - local, national and global.

I usually keep my mouth shut, because others say what I’m thinking, better. This comment from Sarah, a Community Manager at khub, nearly a decade ago.

There’s been little progress in the UK opengov space since then. But at least we know what the problem, and the solution, is.

The (improving democracy) sector is much larger than most assume - our research discovered more than 700 organisations - but it’s extraordinarily fragmented. Most organisations are unaware of research, funding, talent or access that they need even though it is available, and this is disproportionately holding back the sector. If we want things to change, we need to start talking to each other more.

So, for the past 12 months I’ve been bringing myself up to date with the UK echo chambers, like this one, that are seen to have a partial relationship with the OGP (global) project. You can observe projects and orgs come and go, promoting their events, since August 2013, on the OGP dgroups tool, which is like visiting the clunky-designed comms of last century.

OK. Enough for now. Let me just say. Neisha (and Carina) needs more support. I just can’t stand by and see another generation of young people attempting to be Community Managers without the capabilities, infrastructure and team required of modern day (online) Secretariats.

Neisha, You’ll like this. If we were Greeks, we’d be considering you as our “Archetype”.

At the moment you’re standing between the inside - taking the minutes of governmental meetings and storing them in a (supposedly) secure network - and the outside - using social media networks (which have no privacy) to include the great unwashed (i.e. citizens) in the decision making.

Its funny. We had this discussion in the UK around a decade ago. We/they even came up with a Manual. Sure is hard putting ideas into practice though. :face_with_hand_over_mouth: :innocent: :smiley: :kissing_closed_eyes: :sleepy: :sleeping: :smirk: :mask: :hot_face: :weary: