Austin & OGP in 2018
Pioneer Program Extended
Pioneer Program 2018
On September 20, 2017, the member nations of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee met in New York City to discuss OGP's "Pioneer" program for local government, which is completing its pilot year this December. Austin is in the first cohort of 15 Pioneers, and the Steering Committee's discussion included an overview of Austin efforts.
The Committee voted to not only continue the program but to bring aboard 15 more Pioneers in 2018! Their Resolution states,
"The Steering Committee welcomes the strong early results of the subnational pilot program and the 15 pioneer local governments. We recognise the crucial link between the emphasis in OGP’s overall strategic refresh on citizen-centric governance and the importance of further integrating local governments into OGP. The Steering Committee recognises that the subnational pilot Pioneers model has worked well, and that OGP should build sustainably based on learning from the initial program (including from the IRM), while balancing the availability of resources and the opportunity costs associated with continued subnational expansion. We support maintaining the involvement of the current 15 Pioneers with new action plans in 2018, and we agree to recruit up to an additional 15 Pioneers to join the program in 2018. In addition, we agree to re-launch the OGP Leaders tier of subnational governments and civil society partners with an emphasis on lightweight peer learning and networking."
Austin 2018
OGP's extension of the Pioneer program is a wonderful opportunity for Austin to continue receiving international guidance, peer learning, and inspiration for its many open government efforts.
How will projects evolve in 2018? Will there be new projects or new phases of existing projects? Who can we bring aboard in 2018 to amplify these efforts and continue to showcase and highlight the great work happening at and in the City of Austin?
Leave your comments and recommendations here, as we begin to plan for the year ahead.