Transparency and Citizen Participation Support
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Development Agency commit to guide the implementation of transparency standards and participation at the international level. In this regard, France has launched a project to support open government in French-speaking countries. In cooperation with the NGO International Budget Partnership, France also organised a series of workshops on budget transparency [OGP 16].
Completion Status:
Commitment filtering:
The commitment focuses on transparency standards and participation at the international level as anti-corruption mechanisms. The focus is on the implementation of open government in French-speaking countries. Although the commitment links to actions other countries should implement, it can be considered specific as it focuses on the supportive actions France plans to take to help other French-speaking countries. This commitment corresponds to OGP commitment 16, “Supporting implementation of the principles of transparency and citizen participation at the international level.”[1]
[1] OGP, France National Action Plan 2018-2020, p.45, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/France-Action-Plan-2018-2020-English.pdf
The commitment is composed of two parts. The first, “to guide the implementation of transparency standards and participation at the international level” is a general statement of intent. From the wording, it is unclear what is meant by “guide” and “participate”. The second part mentions two concreate initiatives that merely describe previous work in relation to this commitment. The first initiative refers to the launch of the Project on Open Government in French-speaking Developing Countries (PAGOF).[1] According to the OGP Action Plan, commitment 16 aims to “improve governance in several French-speaking countries that are OGP members or nearing eligibility for membership, by assisting them in implementing institutional procedures and frameworks for consultations that comply with Open Government principles.” In relation to this, three measurable actions were identified in the OGP action plan.[2]
[1] #PAGOF, Francophone Open Government Support Programme, https://www.pagof.fr/
[2] OGP, France National Action Plan 2018-2020, pp.45-46, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/France-Action-Plan-2018-2020-English.pdf
France
Evaluation:
When taking over the presidency of the OGP in 2016, France committed to supporting transparency in public action at the international level by showing support to French-speaking countries in implementing their action plans. To this end, the French Development Agency (AFD) has financed the Project to Support Open Government in Francophone Countries (Projet d’Appui aux Gouvernements Ouverts Francophones – PAGOF).[1] PAGOF 1 (€4.5 million, 2017-2021)[2] aimed to support administrations and civil society (including the media) in Tunisia, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire in fulfilling their commitments to open government.[3]
The commitment is connected to France’s OGP Action Plan commitment 16, “Supporting implementation of the principles of transparency and citizen participation at the international level”,[4] which provides clear actions to be monitored:
| 6.1 Provide technical and financial support, via the PAGOF, to the achievement of OGP member countries’ National Action Plans (Tunisia, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast) and network countries intending to join the OGP. | Fulfilled
France is committed to promoting and implementing the OGP, mainly through the project to support open government efforts in developing Francophone countries (PAGOF). It includes bilateral support to certain OGP member countries (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Tunisia), a component to raise awareness of open government principles in French-speaking African countries, and a contribution to the World Bank’s multi-donor trust fund for the OGP.[5] |
| 6.2 Participate in the OGP’s Multi-Donor Fund through the PAGOF, funding projects enabling better implementation of Open Government principles, in particular in countries that have just become eligible for OGP membership, and research projects on open government. | Fulfilled
According to government self-assessment, France contributed €1 million to the OGP’s Multi-Donor Fund.[6] The second phase is planned for 3.5 years starting in June 2022, with a budget of €7 million. A second phase of the PAGOF project was confirmed by AFD for two years, starting in April 2022. This will also focus on French-speaking communities in African countries, especially Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Senegal and Morocco.[7] A project sheet will be available on AFD open data by late summer 2022.[8] |
| 6.3. Perpetuate the “innovative digital solution” prize, rewarding three projects on countering corruption with €10,000 per project, and monitor their implementation (launched in 2017). | Fulfilled
The “Innovative digital solution” prize was absorbed into the “Citizen connections 2” prize (worth €3.25 million across 2019-2022). This prize aims at supporting civic tech project leaders in French-speaking Africa.[9] Within this framework, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs contributed €50,000 to finance three projects aimed at fighting corruption. These citizen initiatives are ongoing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Ivory Coast.[10] |
Overall, we evaluate the commitment as fulfilled. All the actions mentioned in the OGP 16 have been implemented, and the PAGOF secured four more years of funding.
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[1] #PAGOF, Francophone Open Government Support Programme, https://www.pagof.fr/
[2] AFD, Projet d’Appui aux Gouvernements Ouverts Francophones (PAGOF), www.afd.fr/base-projets/consulterProjet.action?idProjet=CZZ2257
[3] AFD, Promoting Transparent and Collaborative Public Action in African Francophone Countries, https://www.afd.fr/en/carte-des-projets/promoting-transparent-and-collaborative-public-action-african-francophone-countries
[4] OGP, France National Action Plan 2018-2020, p.45 https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/France-Action-Plan-2018-2020-English.pdf
[5] #PAGOF, Francophone Open Government Support Programme, https://www.pagof.fr/
[6] OGP, France: International Transparency and Citizen Participation (FR0045), https://www.opengovpartnership.org/members/france/commitments/FR0045/
[7] Fratmat, Partnership for an open government: AFD supports five French-speaking countries to the tune of 4.6 billion FCfa, https://www.fratmat.info/article/218889/conomie/partenariat-pour-un-gouvernement-ouvert-lafd-accompagne-5-pays-francophones-a-hauteur-de-46-milliards-de-fcfa
[8] Transparency International, email exchange with AFD, 17 July 2022.
[9] CFI, Citizen Connections 2, https://cfi.fr/fr/projet/connexions-citoyennes-2
[10] CFI, Citizen Connections 2, https://cfi.fr/fr/projet/connexions-citoyennes-2