About Open Government
Open government is a culture of public governance that is based on the principles of transparency, accountability, and public participation, and seeks to strengthen democracy and sustainable development through technology and innovation. The application of the principles of openness in the daily activities of institutions ensures better quality public services, efficient use of public funds, sustainability of public policy decisions, and their understanding.
Horizontal areas for better results:
- decision making;
- open data;
- budget;
- public services;
- civil service;
- Government-society dialogue;
- public procurement.
An open state is one in which the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, independent state institutions, and local authorities (recognising their functions, prerogatives, and independence under the existing legal and institutional framework) in all sectors operate openly, cooperate, and seek synergies for transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in the life of the state.
An open state consists of the following:
- open Government;
- open courts;
- open parliament;
- open local authorities;
- open independent control bodies.
An open state is a feature of modern democracy, the key to renewing the relationship between citizens and government, and building trust in government. The idea of an open state is being developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to pool the entire public sector to develop open government.
Open public governance principles
Lithuania follows the following internationally recognised principles of open public governance:
Transparency. The way public sector operates, where organisations operate in a visible, predictable, and understandable way, and where plans, processes, funding, and other information are presented in a public and clear manner. The principle includes dissemination of information, communication, publicity, responsibility of decision-makers, and validity and clarity of decisions.
Accountability. Responsibility of public sector organisations and accountability to the public: they must be accountable for their work, the achieved results, and funding in an understandable and user-friendly way, and take responsibility for the decisions made, explaining their reasons. Accountability is not only a calendar year report, but also feedback and rationale given for each important process and decision.
Participation. The process by which citizens, with a view to influencing decisions, are free to express their views, discuss relevant issues, and submit proposals in a variety of forms and ways (written submissions, round tables, working groups, etc.). Participation includes informing, consultation, involving, and empowering citizens and civil society organisations.
More information on the structure and activities of the Open Government: