The European Ombudsman office invites you to a presentation of the results of a joint survey by the OECD and the European Ombudsman on the role of Ombudsman Institutions in Open Government and their role in the broader public governance reform agenda.

The survey examined the extent to which ombudsman institutions themselves practise open government and how ombudsman institutions can contribute to furthering a citizen-centred culture of governance in their countries.

Ninety-three ombudsman institutions in 65 countries worldwide and the European Ombudsman responded to the survey, which asked about ombudsman engagement with stakeholders; their use of social media and how they contribute to public governance reforms, and open government initiatives and strategies in particular.

The survey’s findings show that while ombudsman institutions have a good basis for participating in national open government agendas, they perceive a lack of political will to cooperate with them as a challenge and are not always aware of how their work contributes to open government reforms. This and other findings will be discussed by representatives from the European Network of Ombudsmen and from civil society.

Key questions include how ombudsman institutions and civil society can persuade governments to strengthen accountability and transparency and give citizens a more active role in policy-making.

Agenda

• 12.30 Welcome and sandwich lunch
• 13.50 Welcome address by Emily O'Reilly, European Ombudsman
• 14.00 Presentation of the OECD survey on the role of Ombudsman Institutions in Open Government - Alessandro Bellantoni, Senior Policy Analyst and Head of Open Government Unit, OECD
• 14.30 Q&A
• 15.30 Wrap-up coffee

Venue: European Ombudsman Office, Rue Montoyer 30, 1047 Brussels 

Please register by 27 August 2018 here.