Making government more open through encounters, reliable information and cooperation

The fifth Open Government Action Plan is devoted to making public administration more open and inclusive. Public administration will be developed through three commitments and through concrete measures linked to them. The Action Plan will be released by Minister of Local and Regional Government Anna-Kaisa Ikonen in Oulu on 5 October.

The Open Government Action Plans are part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which Finland has been a member of since 2013. Every four years, the members of the OGP draw up an action plan and commit to the plan's principles and objectives when developing public administration. 

“Finland is known as a pioneer of open government. We are a strong democracy, and our people have a great deal of confidence in public institutions. Confidence in public administration is based on its ability to serve people openly, efficiently and responsibly,” said Minister of Local and Regional Government Anna-Kaisa Ikonen.

The commitments of the fifth Open Government Action Plan (2023–2026) are: 

1. National dialogues and encounters in services
2. Improving competence and inclusion with reliable information and cooperation 
3. Support for open government actors in Finland and abroad

Objectives and concrete measures to reach those objectives have been specified for each commitment. For example, one objective for the commitment to improve dialogue is that encounters between citizens and public administration give people the feeling that their matter is important. The spread of misinformation and disinformation will be combated through education open to everyone and through dialogue. Good practices will be collected and shared more effectively. 

The implementation of the Action Plan will be supported by a working group whose members work in the public sector and civil society on the key themes of the Action Plan. 

Open government is a key resource for Finnish society

Openness is a key objective for public administration. It requires government to be transparent, ethical and accountable and to provide access to information. Openness enables citizens to participate in decision-making and helps democracy grow to better meet people's needs.

“The openness of government is a major resource for public administration. Only by being open can we strengthen trust in public administration,” said Juha Sarkio, Director General at the Ministry of Finance.

An Open Government Strategy outlining the key priorities for development up to 2030 was drawn up in connection with the previous Action Plan. The long-term goal is to build trust, security and confidence in the future among citizens. This goal will be achieved by improving dialogue in society and promoting the intelligibility of government and the inclusion of people. In order to achieve these objectives, public administration needs to develop competence, management and international cooperation. 

The fifth Open Government Action Plan will be released at an even in the Oulu Music Centre starting at 9:45. The event is open to all. 

Inquiries

Katju Holkeri, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Tel. +358 295 530 087, katju.holkeri(at)gov.fi