Politics and Governance Open access journal ISSN 2138-2463T
Transparency and open government depend on the development of trust between all stakeholders, and the establishment of good communications between parliaments and the people they are elected
Transparency and open government is one of the priorities identified by the Congress in its Roadmap of activities on the ‘prevention of corruption and the promotion of public ethics at local and regional levels’, adopted at the 31st session in October 2016.
This report highlights the potential of open governance to improve democracy at local and regional levels. It explores the concept of ‘Open government’ and identifies local government activities to which it can apply, such as budgeting, law making, policy making, contracting and service delivery.
In its resolution, the Congress invites local and regional authorities to adopt and implement open government standards and to introduce training courses in their administrations to raise awareness on the importance of transparency. It calls on them to promote the participation of citizens in local public life, in particular by encouraging public participation in their policy and decision-making processes and promoting the involvement of citizens in defining budget priorities and evaluating procurement contracts. In its recommendation, it asks the Committee of Ministers to call on governments to encourage local and regional authorities to publish key documents and information, promote public consultation processes, and support the monitoring and implementation of transparency measures.