The Open Government Partnership (OGP)
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. In the spirit of multi-stakeholder collaboration, OGP is overseen by a Steering Committee including representatives of governments and civil society organizations.
To become a member of OGP, participating countries must endorse a high-level Open Government Declaration, deliver a country action plan developed with public consultation, and commit to independent reporting on their progress going forward.
The Open Government Partnership formally launched on September 20, 2011, when the 8 founding governments (Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States) endorsed the Open Government Declaration, and announced their country action plans. Since 2011, OGP has welcomed the commitment of 78 additional governments to join the Partnership.
In total, over 70 OGP participating countries and 15 subnational governments have made over 2,500 commitments to make their governments more open and accountable.
Click here To Display The Steering Committee
Click here To Display The Open Government Declaration
How To Join
Governments interested in participating in the Open Government Partnership should take the following steps:
1. Achieve Eligibility
The first step towards full OGP participation is meeting the OGP eligibility criteria. In order to be eligible to participate in OGP, governments must demonstrate a minimum level of commitment to open government principles in four key areas (Fiscal Transparency, Access to Information, Asset Disclosures, and Citizen Engagement). A country is eligible to join the OGP if it meets those criteria measured by objective governance indicators using public data sources. To participate in OGP, countries must score at least 75% of the total possible points available to them.
For a detailed explanation of eligibility criteria and how countries are scored to determine eligibility as well as a list of eligible countries please click here. Questions about OGP eligibility can be directed to the
2. Submit Letter of Intent
If a country meets OGP eligibility criteria, the government should signal its intent to participate in OGP by sending a letter to the OGP Co-Chairs with copy to the OGP Support Unit.
Click here To Display The OGP Co-Chairs.
The letter of intent formally expresses the government’s intention to join OGP and commitment to respect the open government principles articulated in the Open Government Declaration. The letter of intent will be published on the OGP website. In terms of content, the letter should confirm that the government is eligible to join OGP, specifically endorse the Open Government Declaration, describe past open government reforms, and specify the individual that will be responsible for OGP within the government.
Click here To Display Open Government Declaration
This letter can come from any agency within government, as long as that agency has received approval from the Head of State to join the initiative. The letter should be signed by a Ministerial-level official.
3. Identify a Lead Ministry or Agency
A member of the Support Unit’s Government Support and Exchange Team will connect with your government’s designated representative soon after receiving the letter in order to answer any questions and provide an orientation to OGP. The Support Unit will also connect the government representative with relevant technical experts or other resources. The Support Unit recommends the official point of contact is a senior civil servant in a function that typically coordinates across government. Chapter one of the OGP government points of contact manual describes the responsibilities of the point of contact (English, Spanish, and French).
Click here To Display The OGP government points of contact manual
4. Develop an OGP National Action Plan
National Action Plans are at the core of a country’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society define ambitious commitments to foster transparency, accountability and public participation. Chapters 2 and 3 of the OGP government points of contact manual describe the process for developing a National Action Plan.
Click here To Display The OGP government points of contact manual
Countries are only considered to be officially participating in OGP once the government has started to consult with civil society organizations and develop a national action plan. The Support Unit recommends that government and civil society agree on a timeline for developing the action plan soon after first meeting, and that the timeline should be published.
At the start of this process, governments are also strongly encouraged to set up a permanent mechanism to facilitate ongoing consultations with civil society and opportunities for public input. Guidance on how to develop that mechanism (additional guidance on consultations is here).
Jordan in OGP
Jordan officially joined OGP in 2011 by submitting letter of intent to the OGP. The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation was the official body to coordinate and follow up on Jordan participation in the OGP. Since 2018 the Ministry established the Open Government Unit, which is mandated for follow up on Jordan commitment to the OGP and enhancing the Open government practices in the country.