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Opening Governments,

Enabling Change Reflections on capacity building for modern governance in the Americas

JAIMIE BOYD’S FELLOWSHIP REPORT

NOVEMBER 2015

Organization of American States’

Fellowship on Open Government

in the Americas

March to October 2015

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OVERVIEW

From March to October 2015, I participated in the inaugural edition of the Organization of American

States’ Fellowship on Open Government in the Americas (“the Fellowship”). The Fellowship aims to

empower the next generation of public policy leaders in the Americas. It is run by the Organization of

American States (OAS) with support from partners, particularly the United Nations’ Economic

Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). It is funded by numerous donors,

including the Government of Canada.

My experience in the Fellowship was extremely positive. It provided me with excellent exposure to

important trends in modern governance and connected me with an exceptional network of leaders

from across the hemisphere. I unreservedly recommend that the Government of Canada sustain its

support for the Fellowship.

This report includes the following sections:

1. A summary of the Fellowship;

2. My reflections on the Fellowship; and

3. Recommendations on Canadian involvement in the Fellowship.

OUTCOMES AT A GLANCE

24 fellows committed to

enhancing governance outcomes

16 countries represented by the

fellows

6 projects to sustainably

improve openness, accountability and citizen involvement

In-person seminars in Maryland and

Mexico, plus dozens of learning activities

A dedicated network of leaders

from across the hemisphere

A shared vision for open government

in the Americas

ABOUT THE CANADIAN FELLOW

Jaimie Boyd is a policy analyst with the Government of Canada. She works at the

Internal Trade Promotion Office at Industry Canada. She is a graduate of the

Government of Canada’s Accelerated Economist Training Program and an alumnus of

Action Canada, Canada’s leading public policy fellowship. Originally from Victoria, B.C.,

Jaimie holds degrees in political science and economics.

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1. SUMMARY OF THE FELLOWSHIP

OVERVIEW & STRUCTURE

The Fellowship aims to create a network of change makers by connecting the next generation of

public policy leaders from across the Americas. It offers a space for reflection, debate, capacity

building and exchange of knowledge and experiences relating to public policy. It focuses on

emerging trends and tools in public policy, with a particular focus on open government.

Participants are selected from all sectors through a highly competitive process. The 24 fellows that

participated in the inaugural edition of the Fellowship were selected from amongst 657 applicants

from 23 countries in the Americas. They were chosen on the basis of their ability to contribute to

public policy debates, their track record of enhancing governance outcomes, and their commitment

to developing and implementing innovative initiatives to overcome policy challenges in the Americas.

Fellows are required to be proficient in Spanish.

Over the course of the Fellowship period, which lasted from March to November 2015, fellows

participated in the following activities:

- A two week, intensive online course on open government through the OAS Virtual Campus;

- An in-person seminar in Maryland that included training in open government and public

policy; development of leadership skills; and exposure to global leaders in open government;

- Development and implementation of initiatives to enhance open government;

- A six month, online coaching program on open government and project management, run by

the GovLab at New York University;

- An in-person seminar in Mexico, which included participation in the global summit of the

Open Government Partnership.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of the Fellowship is to strengthen open government

practices in public policy across the Americas. Specifically,

it seeks to enhance transparency, civic participation, and

collaboration among stakeholders from different sectors of

society. It thereby seeks to contribute to democratic

governance and modernization of public administrations,

enabling citizens to actively participate in their country’s

political debates, shape public policy and take part in

decision making processes.

To achieve these objectives, the Fellowship proposes to

create a network of change agents, uniting emerging leaders

from the public sector, civil society and the private sector. It

encourages targeted knowledge transfers within the region

to build capacity, foster regional co-operation, and enhance

open government strategies across the Americas.

WHAT IS OPEN GOVERNMENT?

An emerging public policy paradigm

predicated on the belief that

Governments should offer platforms for

collaboration and meaningful

interaction across sectors.

Key values and principles:

- Transparency and accountability

- Participative democracy

- Open, accessible information/data

- Use of new tools and technologies

Pillars:

Open government

Open information

Open data Dialogue &

collaboration

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WHY OPEN GOVERNMENT?

Open government is emerging as one of the most significant trends in contemporary public

administration. It is increasingly considered to be a key element of democratic governance, effective

policy development and implementation, social stability and economic development.

While there have been significant advances in democratic consolidation in the Americas in recent

decades, many countries still lack basic tools relating to transparency, access to information,

e-government and open data. In other, more advanced democracies like Canada, the institutional

framework for open government may be strong, but its implementation may still be incomplete. In

Canada’s case, for example, many experts agree that excellent progress has been made by openly

releasing data, but that other kinds of information can be difficult to access and that dialogue and

collaboration with civil society and the private sector are insufficient. Restrictions on the pillars of

open government are considered to hinder citizen participation in policy development and

implementation, undermining the effectiveness and legitimacy of policy outcomes.

Unlike most other countries in the world, the federal public service in Canada appears to have

adopted a relatively narrow definition of open government; however, many of the activities and

commitments covered by Blueprint 2020, the Central Innovation Hub at the Privy Council Office, and

the Deputy Minister Committee on Policy Innovation would fall under conventional conceptions of

open government, in addition to the efforts led by the Open Government Secretariat within the

Treasury Board Secretariat.

PARTNERS

The Fellowship is run by the Department for Effective

Public Management at the OAS. It receives support from

experts at the United Nations’ Economic Commission for

Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Avina, a

Latin American foundation that supports sustainable

development. It additionally receives support from the

Government of Canada, the Government of Mexico, The

Carter Center, and Hivos, a global non-governmental

organization that supports sustainable development.

THE FELLOWS

Given the highly competitive nature of the selection

process, participants in the inaugural edition of the

Fellowship were remarkable in their knowledge,

leadership abilities, and commitment to enhancing

governance outcomes in the region. All 24 fellows are

recognized leaders in public policy in their respective

countries. Of note, this year’s winner of the top honour

awarded by the Open Government Partnership is led by

a fellow. A summary of the fellows follows below.

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Bruno Andrade

Brandao, Brazil Country director

for Transparency

International

Jaimie Boyd,

Canada Policy analyst,

Industry Canada,

Gov. of Canada

Paulina Bustos,

Mexico Director of

Operations, Code

for Mexico

Fernanda

Campagnucci,

Brazil Deputy director for

Integrity, City of

Sao Paulo

Daniel Carranza,

Uruguay Professor,

consultant and co-

founder of Data

Uruguay

Mauricio Delfin,

Peru PhD candidate at

McGill University

and founder of

Cultura Peru

Mariana Gatti

Font, Uruguay Director of

Transparency,

Government of

Uruguay

Guillermo Incer,

Nicaragua Executive director,

Nicaraguan

Network for

Democracy

Jorge Jimenez

Barillas,

Guatemala

Lawyer and founder

of Open Congress

Jimena Luna,

Chile Policy advisor, Unit

for People with

Disabilities, Gov.

of Chile

Gustavo

Maultasch, Brazil Deputy director,

Technology and

Information, Min.of

External Relations

Ramon Olivas,

Mexico Deputy advisor to

the Deputy Minister,

Ministry of Energy

Natalia Paiva,

Brazil Executive director,

Transparency

Brazil

Iris Palma

Recinos, El

Salvador Director of El

Salvador Data

Laura Paonessa,

Argentina Director, Open

Government Lab,

City of Buenos Aires

Gerardo Perez

Gallardo, Mexico Director of digital

governance, City of

Xalapa

Carlos Pimentel,

Dominican

Republic Country director for

Transparency

International

Maikol Porras,

Costa Rica

Consultant, founder

of the Citizen

Association for

Open Society

Carolina Pozo

Donoso, Ecuador Secretary General

for planning and

open government,

City of Quito

Edilma Prada,

Colombia Journalist, founder

of an independent

newspaper

Fabro Steibel,

Brazil Project coordinator,

Institute for

Technology and

Society

Teofilo Urbieta,

Paraguay Executive director

of Parigual, a

human rights

organization

Alan Vera, Bolivia Policy advisor,

Andean Parliament

Rebeca Yañez,

Chile Professor,

consultant in

information

management

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CAPACITY BUILDING

Throughout all elements of the Fellowship, significant effort was made to ensure that fellows were

exposed to the most recent thinking on open government and public policy; developed their

leadership skills; and had contact with leading thinkers. Examples of guest speakers include:

- Michael Shifter – President of

Inter-American Dialogue

- Gabriela Gomez Montt –

Executive Director of

Laboratorio para la Ciudad,

Mexico City’s government lab

and one of the leading labs

globally

- Laura Neuman – Director of the

Global Access to Information

Initiative, The Carter Center

- Pablo Collada – Executive

Director of Ciudadano

Inteligente, one of Latin

America’s leading public policy

centres

FELLOWSHIP PROJECTS

A key element of the Fellowship was the development and launch of a series

of initiatives to enhance open government in the Americas. These initiatives

were designed and implemented by six task forces formed by fellows at the

first seminar. They were developed over a period of six months with the

support of OAS advisors, the GovLab, and mentors that were assigned to each

project. For example, my project focused on building a platform for monitoring

infrastructure investments; my task force was assigned a mentor from the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with expertise in

infrastructure.

All six initiatives were launched at the global summit of the Open Government

Partnership and were announced by the Secretary General of the OAS at the

opening plenary in the presence of high-profile attendees, including heads of

state. The initiatives are:

- Really Open Gov – a campaign to enhance equality, diversity and

inclusion in conversations and planning around open government

- Opening Countries for Security (APPS, from its acronym in Spanish) – a

strategy to encourage transformative commitments relating to citizen

security in Open Government Action Plans

Fellows participating in one of the GovLab's regular coaching sessions

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- Open Justice – standards for applying the principles of open government to the judiciary

throughout the Americas

- Open Journalism – a project to unite journalists and citizens in order to create media reports

on social issues and other topics of interest

- My City – a platform for monitoring commitments and progress on public infrastructure

investments

- Factory for Government Labs - an initiative to create and strengthen Open Government Labs,

which are spaces for collaboration and innovation with both civil society and governments

THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP

As part of the second seminar, fellows participated in the annual global summit (October 27-29,

2015) of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). OGP is an alliance between 68 countries,

including Canada, which was launched in 2011. It aims to provide an international platform to help

make governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. By requiring countries to

develop biennial action plans, and subjecting evaluation of both the plans and government

performance to an independent reporting mechanism, OGP encourages government and civil society

to work together to develop and implement ambitious open government reforms.

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2. REFLECTIONS ON THE FELLOWSHIP

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE FOR CANADA

The Fellowship offers diverse opportunities to advance the Government of Canada’s interests at

home and abroad. This section highlights three key ways in which the Fellowship aligns with

Canada’s strategic interests.

Open government is a priority

Canada has shown international leadership on open government. The OGP was launched in 2011 to

provide an international platform for countries committed to making their governments more open,

accountable, and responsive to citizens. Canada supports this vision having joined OGP in late

2011. It has also endorsed other international open government initiatives, including the G8 Open

Data Charter and the G8 Science Ministers’ Statement on Open Science. It has demonstrated

significant leadership in developing the International Open Data Charter.

According to its Open Government Action Plan, the Government of Canada is committed to

supporting all three pillars of open government: open data, open information, and open dialogue.

Canada’s strong federal institutions support these efforts; for example, compliance with the Access

to Information Act is far more deeply engrained than in many countries. Canada has also had great

success implementing open data policies, releasing an unprecedented number of high quality data

sets through its open data portal.

In spite of these successes, Canada continues to have opportunities to improve its performance on

open government norms outside of open data. Canada’s independent reporting mechanism, as well

as other relevant stakeholders, have highlighted opportunities to deepen engagement with civil

society, particularly through robust consultation and increased disclosure of information that

pertains to the policy development process.

Exposure to best practices benefits Canada

Given the importance of open government to the

Government of Canada, sustained exposure to global best

practices is highly desirable in order to inform the

development of open government policies and practices. It

is of particular interest given platform commitments made

in October 2015 by the new Liberal government, which

include significant enhancements to open data and open

parliament policies.

Interest in enhancing open government builds on

important pre-existing trends within the federal public

service. Blueprint 2020 recognized that the policy

profession no longer holds a monopoly on providing policy

advice and Destination 2020 pivoted towards

implementing strategies to enhance the networked,

“It is time to shine more light

on government and ensure

that it remains focused on the

people it is meant to serve.

Government and its

information should be open by

default.”

- Liberal Party of Canada

Platform 2015

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innovative nature of the federal public service. Similarly, the Deputy Minister Committee on Policy

Innovation, the Central Innovation Hub at the Privy Council Office, and numerous departmental labs

are committed to enhancing the suite of tools available to the public service for developing and

implementing policy.

Conversations currently taking place within the global open government community are closely

aligned with work taking place in Canada under the banner of policy innovation. As such, there is a

clear strategic advantage associated with policy analysts within the Government of Canada being

party to those conversations given that there are increasing opportunities to implement new tools at

home. Particular insight could be gleaned on best practices in consultation and co-creation.

Key opportunity for soft diplomacy

The Americas are an area of strategic interest for Canada.

Canada’s Department of Global Affairs “[places] great value

in fostering lasting and meaningful relationships with

countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Current

efforts to implement an ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership

are bolstered by strong relationships in the region, as is

Canada’s ability to implement effective programming in

many of its development countries of interest given that 5 of

Canada’s 25 priority regions are in the Americas.

In addition to these broad strategic interests, two of the

three goals identified in Canada’s Strategy for Engagement

in the Americas are supported by the Fellowship:

Goal #2: Addressing insecurity and advancing freedom, democracy, human rights and the

rule of law – The strategy seeks opportunities to share Canadian experience to strengthen

institutions required for stability and growth. The Fellowship provides diverse opportunities

to share Canadian experiences and showcase the strength of its institutions and democratic

practices. In my experience, it provided an effective platform for direct, candid engagement

on these topics with thought leaders from throughout the Americas.

Goal #3: Fostering Lasting Relationships – The Fellowship provided me with access to a very

effective, well connected network of emerging leaders from all sectors throughout the

Americas. While the other fellows are already very accomplished, I have no doubt that they

will continue to offer leadership in public affairs in their respective countries, providing me

and the Canadian public service with exceptional people-to-people connections. These

friendships support existing bilateral relations with countries of particular interest

(e.g., bilateral trade partners, Brazil).

Sharing the Canadian experience

Fellows in various working sessions

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SIGNIFICANT LESSONS

My participation in the fellowship was exceptionally enriching. Not only did it provide me with a new

network of very helpful colleagues, it also exposed me to thinking and experiences that equip me to

offer key observations on modernizing governance which I believe to be deeply relevant to the

current policy environment in Canada. Salient observations are described below.

Democratic norms are evolving

It is commonly acknowledged within the Canadian public service that citizen expectations are

changing. It is less common, however, to connect this reflection to the nature of our institutions and

even our democracy. Through the fellowship, I learnt that in many other countries, citizens and civil

society now connect heightened expectations to questions of legitimacy; that is, institutions that fail

to conform to open government norms are seen as deficient. My experience suggests that, in many

countries, open government has allowed participative democracy to evolve from being perceived as

a luxury to a basic expectation. Even where electoral democracy is less deeply engrained than in

Canada, civil society is increasingly demanding far more than just free and fair elections.

I suggest that changing citizen expectations will increasingly reshape what is conceived in Canada as

good public policy. Indeed the process through which policy initiatives are developed will have

greater inherent value to both civil society and, as diverse actors learn to effectively engage in policy

development processes, to government.

Given this evolving policy environment, Canada has an excellent opportunity to learn from

international counterparts. Governments and civil society organizations around the world are

developing, experimenting with, and iterating new strategies for fruitful cross-sector collaboration.

New tools being used include collaborative technological platforms (e.g., All Our Ideas,

Democracy OS), radical transparency (e.g., Latvian cabinet live-streaming its meetings), opportunities

for co-creation (e.g., Buenos Aires Hackathons) and participatory budgeting (e.g., at the municipal

level across Brazil). I would argue that Canadian public servants should have greater exposure to

these tools to be able to adapt them, as appropriate, to the Canadian policy context.

Civil society can help modernize governance

A second major realization facilitated by the fellowship has been that Canadian civil society is

relatively inactive in Open Government. In many other countries, civil society organizations are

actively demanding transparency and proposing concrete tools to improve cross-sector engagement.

For example, in Chile, a single NGO has developed a suite of over 20 initiatives to enhance

government transparency, including major projects to track beneficial ownership of companies and

reveal political financing. While Canada already has a robust legal framework that obviates the need

for many such initiatives, the Chilean experience and many like it suggest that civil society may have

relevant skills and interests that could enhance openness.

The benefits of such openness are clear in places where civil society is empowered to effectively

engage with government. Organizations are able to analyse data that is relevant to their needs as

well as to intimately and productively provide insight into their interests. In Canada, however, very

few organizations engage vocally in conversations around open government (with the significant

exception of Open North, a Montreal-based NGO). I recognize that the proliferation of NGOs in other

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countries may be symptomatic of ineffective participatory tools and institutions that are less evident

in Canada. However, given the beneficial role of civil society in driving collaboration and improved

governance outcomes, Canada may be well served by looking to other countries as models for

effectively engaging and empowering other sectors.

Peer networks can effect meaningful change

A final major lesson from the Fellowship is first-hand knowledge of the benefits of cross-sector

collaboration between peers as a tool for advancing impactful projects. Through the Fellowship,

fellows were encouraged to form task forces to advance open government projects. The teams were

formed organically but, given the diverse composition of the cohort, ended up being almost entirely

composed of fellows from varied backgrounds and countries. This diversity, combined with the high-

performing nature of the fellows, resulted in a suite of extremely high quality initiatives.

An example of a Fellowship project that had a high degree of visibility at the Open Government

Partnership summit was Really Open Gov, a task force-driven campaign to include marginalized

voices in conversations and plans around government modernization. The initiative had a significant

impact, not least because it directly involved people with community-based agendas and people with

disabilities. It leveraged the diversity of the fellows to meaningfully launch an inclusive and highly-

relevant global campaign. My project, My City, similarly leveraged diversity by involving fellows from

municipal government, federal government, and civil society to build an effective, inclusive platform

to enhance transparency around government procurement.

Although in Canada there is wide-spread recognition of the value of cross-sector collaboration to

advance high-impact projects, there are few real opportunities for federal officials to gain relevant

experience. The Fellowship offered a very concrete opportunity to liaise closely outside of my sector

to build and showcase a high-impact initiative.

EVALUATION

Diverse benefits for the Government of Canada

Participating in the Fellowship was a very positive experience. It provided me with an exceptional

network and intimate exposure to important debates. I recognize that the experience constituted a

significant investment from the OAS and partner organizations, as well as from my own employer by

providing me with training time to participate in Fellowship activities (two weeks over six months,

plus roughly two hours per month for coaching sessions scheduled during work hours). I additionally

invested significant time participating in Fellowship activities, studying emerging trends, and working

Fellows engaging at an OAS Roundtable and at the OGP Summit

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with my task force to launch our Fellowship project. Overall, I am

confident that these investments were very worth-while.

Specific Fellowship outcomes from a Canadian perspective include:

- A highly trained policy analyst well-placed to advise on and

implement open government initiatives across the

Government of Canada;

- Access to a committed network of 24 fellows and many

more Fellowship supporters and mentors that are

committed to supporting open government initiatives in

Canada and throughout the hemisphere;

- A suite of six replicable Fellowship projects that sustainably improve openness,

accountability and citizen involvement;

- Concrete success cases of cross-sector collaboration in support of government

modernization in the Americas;

- Momentum around the global open government movement;

- Visibility of Canadian policies, norms and values across the Americas;

- A shared vision for collaborative strategies to enhance open government and policy

innovation in the Americas.

Exceptional fellowship with clear institutional support

In reflecting on my experience with the Fellowship, I would like to highlight that the positive outcomes

were largely made possible by an incredibly committed team at the OAS. From an institutional

perspective, particular strengths include:

- Extremely well-conceived, organized and executed Fellowship activities, particularly the

seminars in Maryland and Mexico City;

- Very committed team that went to great lengths to provide fellows with outstanding learning

opportunities and to promote our work;

- Demonstrated willingness of the team to adapt Fellowship parameters on the basis of

ongoing feedback provided by fellows; and

- High degree of institutional support from the OAS and partner organizations, notably through

direct promotion of Fellowship projects by the Secretary General of the OAS.

Fellows with Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States

Conclusion of the Fellowship

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3. RECOMMENDATIONS

The Organization of American States’ Fellowship on Open Government in the Americas offers an

exceptional array of potential benefits for the Government of Canada. Given my very enriching and

positive experience with the Fellowship, I would like to offer a few humble recommendations to the

Government of Canada for maximizing the benefit associated with the Fellowship going forward:

- Continue to support the Fellowship financially – I understand that financial support was

provided for the first year by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development

through its development programming. While this pilot funding was very important, it would

be important to identify a reliable, multi-year source of funds to ensure that Canada

continues to garner the reputational benefits associated with supporting such a high-profile

capacity building initiative while remaining involved in advancing the open government

agenda in the Americas. A pertinent model could be the funding arrangements associated

with Action Canada, Canada’s leading public policy fellowship; Heritage Canada provides the

bulk of the funding which is then supplemented by an external partner. The OAS Fellowship

offers an excellent opportunity for the Treasury Board Secretariat (the department that

houses Canada’s Open Government Secretariat) or Global Affairs Canada to show

leadership.

- Support the Fellowship by sharing Canadian expertise – Experts within the Government of

Canada, particularly within the Open Government Secretariat and the Central Innovation

Hub, should immediately reach out to Fellowship coordinators to seek opportunities to

showcase Canadian leadership in governance modernization. To demonstrate the potential

for Canada to play an important role going forward, it may be useful to observe the impact of

another funder, the Government of Mexico, in shaping the fellowship. The Mexican

Presidency hosted the fellows in Mexico for our second seminar. Fellows thereby had

significant exposure to Mexican institutions, including the Department of External Relations

and the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Data Protection.

Enhanced Canadian involvement in the fellowship could similarly offer opportunities to

showcase Canadian leadership.

- Promote the Fellowship within the Government of Canada – Federal officials should

immediately seek to identify high-potential, Spanish-speaking public servants to participate

in future iterations of the Fellowship. The application deadline for the next cohort of fellows

is expected to be in early 2016. Officials that would be particularly well placed to lead efforts

to identify Canadian candidates include the Americas Programming Bureau at Global Affairs

Canada and the Open Government Secretariat. Senior engagement with the fellowship could

be particularly helpful for future fellows as they launch their task force initiatives.

I am available to discuss these recommendations. Please feel free to contact me at

Jaimie.Boyd@canada.ca.

CONTACTS

Matthias Jaeger - mjaeger@oas.org – Program coordinator for the Fellowship

Maria Fernanda Trigo - mtrigo@oas.org – Director, Department for Effective Public Management, Organization of American States

www.oas.org/OpenGovFellowship