Exploratory survey for civil society organisations on innovative and participatory policymaking in Armenia

The present survey understands open government as “a culture of governance that promotes the principles of transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholder participation in support of democracy and inclusive growth”. Open government requires that public bodies make information and data publicly available (transparency); incorporate the views, perspectives and inputs from citizens and stakeholders (participation); are responsive, assume responsibility, explain their decisions and answer to the needs and demands of citizens and stakeholders (accountability) and prioritise the public interest over private interests (integrity).

Civic space – defined as “the set of legal, policy, institutional, and practical conditions necessary for non-governmental actors to access information, express themselves, associate, organise, and participate in public life” – is a fundamental precondition and enabler of open government as well as for good governance and inclusive growth more broadly.

With support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the OECD will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the public sector capacity in Armenia for innovative and participatory policymaking to uncover individual, organizational and systemic level drive, capacity, potential and impact for, and of, innovation and participatory policymaking and budgeting.

The assessment will include an analysis of capacity needs of public officials and other key stakeholders, such as civil society organisations, in participatory and innovative policymaking. The assessment will identify the most sustainable and feasible ways to build national capacity for innovative policymaking (with an emphasis on stakeholder participation) and outline potential legal, policy and institutional reforms in its recommendations.