CAF and OECD Push for Digitalization and Innovation for Public Value

With the aim of analyzing opportunities for digital innovation and openness in Latin American countries, officials from national, regional and local governments participated in the OECD-CAF Network on Open and Innovative Government in Latin America and the Caribbean, sponsored by the Colombian government and the City of Cali. In the meeting, decision makers assessed the progress and challenges facing the region, in a context of social fracture, and promoted alternatives for the future openness agenda in the region.

In recent years, countries in the region have carried out major public sector reforms to achieve more agile, more open and more innovative governments, based on four principles: digital innovation, citizen participation, public transparency, and accountability. Some countries are pioneers in the transition from the concept of Open Government to Open State, by disseminating these principles across all branches of the state and levels of government. While significant strides have been made, a number of challenges still remain for a successful implementation of comprehensive strategies and innovative initiatives in the field, which were discussed by the participants in the meeting held in Cali, Colombia.

The multi-day meeting featured experience-sharing sessions focused on reinforcing strategies for digital innovation of the state, and fostering public policies on Open State.

In the discussion groups, the team from CAF Directorate of Digital Innovation of the State informed the results on two priority areas:

• GovTech, with a presentation on the findings and recommendations of the GovTech Ibero-America Report and GovTech 2020 Index, which will be published early next year, and on fostering partnerships with digital micro-enterprises and start-ups for public innovation; and
• Open data against corruption, with a presentation on the experiences in the implementation of the Inter-American Open Data Program to Combat Corruption (PIDA) adopted by the OAS in 2018 at the Summit of the Americas.

The OECD-CAF initiative for the development of a regional report on the state of digital government in Latin America 2020 was also announced. In addition, CAF presented the Economy and Development Report (EDR 2019) “Integrity in Public Policies. Keys to Preventing Corruption,” which reviews progress and outstanding challenges, with a focus on proposals in four areas of action: Rules and oversight in public service, Entry mechanisms for bureaucracy and politics, Transparency and citizen oversight, and Governance of private interests.

Carlos Santiso, director of digital innovation of the State at CAF summarized the conclusions of the event by noting: “One of the main messages was the fundamental role of government openness in order to restore trust in government, improve transparency and curb corruption, while being part of the solution to bridge democratic gaps in societies and address the key challenges in social inclusion and economic inequality. Emphasis was also made on the need to innovate with a view to improving quality of life and promote the data economy. Lastly, participants underscored the importance of bringing in the private sector and how GovTech start-ups represent a unique opportunity for new public-private partnerships for public innovation and social trust.”

The OECD-CAF Network on Open and Innovative Government in Latin America and the Caribbean is a platform to promote effective public policy dialogue, and exchange knowledge and good practices with OECD countries in the areas of good governance, open government, public sector innovation, in particular in the areas of digital government, open data and citizen participation. This year the meeting was sponsored by the Open Government Partnership (OGP).