LIST OF PANELS

Governments and policy makers around the world are initiating and implementing open government initiatives. Governments which are signatories to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) commit to making government more inclusive, responsive and accountable (OGP 2018). As a term, open government is now used to describe a wide range of goals and functions, including making government data publicly available, improving the delivery of public services and encouraging public participation in government decision-making (Clarke and Francoli 2014).

As a member of the OGP, Canada has developed an open government policy framework and commitment to impact change. However, to this day, the major focus remains on making government data publicly available, while implementation of other open government initiatives, including public participation commitments lag behind (Clarke and Francoli 2014, 2017; Roy 2016). Other countries, such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand experience similar challenges (Evans and Campos 2013; Price 2017; Stewart 2018).

It is important to understand challenges that governments face in order to engage the public in a meaningful way. However, the analysis of these challenges should be complemented by practical solutions on how governments can foster public participation and inclusion. This panel will explore the future of public participation and inclusion initiatives within an open government agenda, and help to drive government action. Specifically, the panel will discuss trends and developments (or lack of) in advancing opportunities for public participation, and implications for policy-making.

References:

Clarke, Amanda and Mary Francoli. 2017. “Digital Government and Permanent Campaigning” in Permanent Campaigning in Canada edited by Alex Marland, Anna Esselment, and Thierry Giasson. 241–258. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Clarke, Amanda and Mary Francoli. 2014. “What’s in a name? Questioning the homogeneity of ‘open government’ programs across seven countries”, Journal of e-Democracy and Open Government. 6(1): 248-266.

Evans, Angela M. and Adriana Campos. 2013. Open government initiatives: Challenges of citizen participation. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 32(1): 172-185.

Open Government Partnership. 2018. “What Is the Open Government Partnership.” Accessed October 13, 2018. http://www.opengovpartnership.org/about

Price, Steven. 2017. “New Zealand End-Of-Term Report 2014–2016”. Accessed October 13, 2018. https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/new-zealand-end-of-term-report-2014-2016

Roy, Jeffrey. 2017. “Digital government and service delivery: An examination of performance and prospects”. Canadian Public Administration. 60(4): 538–561.

Stewart, Daniel. 2018. “Australia Mid-Term Report 2016-2018.” Accessed October 13, 2018. https://www.opengovpartnership.org/report/australia-mid-term-report-2016-2018-year-1

As a part of their open government agenda, governments have been emphasizing the need for increased public participation in government decision-making. However, in Canada, the major focus remains on making government data publicly available, while implementation of other open government initiatives, including public participation commitments lag behind (Clarke and Francoli 2014, 2017; Roy 2016).

For 2019, the Government of Canada has declared its priorities for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit as participation, inclusion and impact, thus signaling the importance of enhancing public participation in government decision-making. It is important to understand challenges that governments face in order to engage the public in a meaningful way.

This panel calls for papers that address aspects of public participation and inclusion initiatives within an open government agenda. There are no geographical restrictions: we welcome papers that focus on public participation and inclusion initiatives in any country and/or level of government. Research questions can explore (but not limited to):

• How and why governments encourage public participation and inclusion in government decision-making?
• How under-represented citizens can be engaged in government decision-making?
• What role does technology play in fostering public participation and inclusion?
• How and why to measure the impact of public participation initiatives?
• What are the existing challenges that hinder meaningful public participation and inclusion?
• What are the ways of overcoming existing challenges and ensuring meaningful engagement?
• What are the ways to promote public participation on the federal, regional and municipal levels, and globally?

Papers can be theoretical or empirical in nature, and employ quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. We aim to stimulate the discussion about benefits and challenges of public participation in government decision-making, and ways to advance opportunities for public participation as well as identify implications for policy-making.