9 May 2022 - Open Government Partnership EAP quarterly meeting

Meeting: Open Government Partnership EAP quarterly meeting

Date:        9 May 2022

Time:        12pm-1pm

Attendees

Te Kawa Mataaho (TKM): Hugo Vitalis (Deputy Commissioner, Integrity Ethics and Standards);  Dean Rosson (OGP team manager); Stephen Moore, Rachel Greer and Christine Lloyd (OGP team)

EAP: Suzanne Snively; Sarah Colcord, Simon Wright, Sean Audain, Farib Sos, Rachel Roberts

Apologies: Jacqueline Paul

Topics for discussion

• Introducing new OGP team member
• OGP NAP4 Workshops 1 and 2
• Potential extension of EAP term
• Project plan

New OGP team member

Dean Rosson introduced new OGP team member and principal advisor, Tula Garry.

OGP NAP4 Workshops process - General discussion

• the small group discussion is going really well – need more of this - increase the time in small groups, eg using a “world cafe” approach in preference to plenaries;
• good to be seeking timely participant feedback on workshops;
• scope for greater clarity as to aims and next steps post-workshops; managing risks regarding influence, improving the experience to attract more participants, including civil society organisations (CSOs) that have not been attending so far;
• working through the process for deciding what will become commitments and how many viable commitments there will be;
• OGP is about how we create a new and better way of government – we need to reflect this in our own processes, approach and not follow or get stuck in old ways of doing;
• Officials and civil society bring valuable knowledge and perspectives not limited to their subject matter expertise. We could tap into this resource more and acknowledge it, perhaps through giving officials designated time slots for and feedback about the value of their contribution;
• Local government/councils also have a role to play in OGP and are meeting soon re digital cities, a potential opportunity to explore possible involvement in NAP4 work before the first week of August, when Councils close for the elections
• need a principle of working/how we work in the workshops. EAP could share the Ngā Uara agreed between EAP and OGP officials, as a guide to korero and our values in the workshops
• need to decide what changes are feasible to make within the NAP4 time constraints, who/what could add value and how we can increase participation, and what transitions to a goal for NAP5;
• agreed Christine will consult Simon and Rachel about changing the workshop process to increase the break-out discussion time and enhance the experience.

OGP Participation in general and looking toward NAP5

• noted that participating in the OGP process is a privilege but there remains a considerable way to go to increase the NZ OGP diversity and to include and involve people at a grass roots level, to achieve broad and deep reach into the community, to include the disadvantaged and marginalised, and to build a sustainable OGP process, noting that:
  • TKM and EAP could reach out to national groups and communities. Examples include: Rotary, Lions, local government and Citizens Advice Bureau. The regional Commissioner’s network is another potential contact point;
  • there is an imperative to involve CEOs and agencies with responsibilities for community engagement, to utilise their skills and involve them in OGP efforts. For example:
    • through agencies operating a feed-back mechanism on their websites to enable the public to engage and make suggestions about the way the agency engages and the work agencies are doing;
    • through introducing new mechanisms from the top (just as Risk Committees were introduced in the past), such as CEOs appointing a key stakeholder/engagement person, building an across government stakeholder/engagement cohort;
  • there may be opportunities to access new networks from the ground up as well as from the top. For example, a new cross-agency stakeholder consultation group being formed that may be a mechanism to facilitate access;
  • we want to approach OGP outreach through building relationships and include, for example, Māori and Iwi, in a way that is not transactional but supports the relationships;
  • there is potential for CSO reps participating in the OGP work to also focus their efforts on building a following, to attract more people and more diversity into participating in OGP.
• in attracting more people and greater diversity into an OGP community and expanding our reach, we may want to consider using deliberative mini-processes as an option for NAP5.

A Stakeholder Map

• This needs to be accorded priority and recognise the challenges faced by CSOs in doing their own work and continuing to support OGP
• we could investigate sources of stakeholder information, could perhaps contact DIA, the Charities Commission and possibly Stats, for data, including on community group numbers.
• new informal agency networks might also provide good intelligence

Potential extension of EAP term

• Proposed that EAP current terms are extended to cover the development of NAP4 as introducing a new EAP at the end of the current plan development would not be ideal
• One EAP member will not be seeking an extension to their term as an EAP member which ends in October 2022. All other EAP members are happy to have their appointment term extended until the end of January 2023.  A number are unlikely to seek a further appointment term post January 2023. 
• It will be important to:
  • operate a staggered transition process for the new appointments, to support continuity and maintain knowledge of OGP work to date;
  • seek out suitable appointees while at the same time avoiding shoulder-tapping
• to seek to appoint a new EAP member shortly, to replace the outgoing member, even if new appointee acts as an observer for the remainder of the year
• to plan a transition to a new EAP, including new members and TOR
  • Appointment process for EAP members - important that we do not shoulder-tap and conduct a transparent process
  • there will be work to do on a new TOR and new processes to support NAP5.

The Project Plan

• need to re-schedule the monthly EAP meeting in June, or the timing of the Minister’s briefing, to allow discussion on NAP4 before the Minister’s briefing on the potential commitments for NAP4
• we need to be cognisant of the time constraints for NAP4 and getting a Cabinet paper to the Minister in September 2022 to meet our deadlines, noting the small gap between the end of the workshops and the job of developing and refining draft commitments.
  • The Process for Agreeing NAP4 to go to the Minister
    • Could clarify in the project plan the process we will use for the sharing of Cabinet papers with EAP and with CSOs;
    • note that this process will take some time and this time needs to be factored in;
    • we will need to flag with CSOs etc that proposals for NAP4 consultation are coming and how it will happen;
    • in the last such consultation, EAP did a presentation to the Minister. It takes time to prepare and run but is a useful tool.

Agreed Actions:

• EAP and OGP officials will:
  • work together (ie Simon and Rachel with Christine) on adapting the current workshop process to maximise the discussion and encourage a greater range of input, including from officials;
  • actively support good conduct expectations in the workshops, including discussing with the facilitator;
  • prioritise the work on building a stakeholder map, noting that TKM resources meaning this will start 2 or 3 weeks post the workshops.

• OGP officials will:
  • establish a process for the appointment of a new EAP member this year, with the departure of one member at the end of October 2022, taking into account comments about selection;
  • recommend that all other EAP members have their term of appointment extended to the end of January 2023;
  • re-schedule the monthly EAP meeting in June, to allow discussion on NAP4 before the Minister’s briefing on the draft National Action Plan 4
  • note the time constraints for NAP4 delivery and the need to consult with CSOs before briefing the Minister.