Openness and trust as key elements of public administration and its development – take the new Action Plan into use
The national Open Government Action Plan for 2019–2023 was published in Kouvola on 24 September. The Action Plan concerns the entire public administration of Finland.
Finland is involved in the Open Government Partnership of 79 countries, as part of which national action plans are released.
Finland's fourth national Open Government Action Plan was published in Kouvola on 24 September. The aim of the new Action Plan is to support the strengthening of trust between various operators in society and help ensure equal opportunities for all to take part in the activities and development of society. Finland's national Action Plans have been published since 2013.
Development of openness requires continuous work
Even though in international comparisons Finland is at the top of the lists in openness, continuous development is essential. In order to ensure openness, inclusion and trust, operators in administration must develop their present practices with determination and continuously.
“It is a strength for Finland that openness is a key value for us, also visible in legislation. However, openness should be fostered, promoted and improved all the time,” said Sirpa Paatero, Minister of Local Government and Ownership Steering, in connection with the publication of the Open Government Action Plan in Kouvola.
In their national Actions Plans, the Open Government Partnership countries commit to promoting openness ambitiously. Finland's programme has four commitments.
- The first commitment is to promote sustainable openness, which commits to strengthening understanding, knowledge of clear administrative language and plain language, and the commitment of management and personnel to promoting openness.
- The second commitment is to draw up an open government strategy that is taken into use at the core of activities.
- The third commitment is to establish an openness register to make the impact work more transparent.
- The fourth commitment is to open up open data and especially interfaces, to produce quality criteria for data utilisation and ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence.
The Action Plan was prepared through an open process. Altogether 66 comments were received during the final consultation round. The Action Plan is for four years 2019–2023 and concerns the entire public sector.
Fourth Open Government Action Plan
Speech by Sirpa Paatero, Minister of Local Government and Ownership Steering
Inquiries:
Katju Holkeri, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 2955 30087, katju.holkeri(at)vm.fi