T

en years ago, a person living in Indonesia might have had to stand in long lines, going from government office to government office to ask for a simple road repair or redress of grievance. Today, that citizen can use LAPOR! on their mobile phones to file complaints, make inquiries and get responses from all levels of government.

Open government solutions to the problems of citizens are emerging across the Asia-Pacific region. In South Korea, newly elected leaders have returned to Gwanghwamun Square, where nearly a million citizens had gathered to protest corruption only a short while ago, to hear directly from citizens and ask them about their hopes and aspirations for how government could truly serve their needs. In Sri Lanka, families displaced by the country’s protracted civil war are using a recently adopted right-to-information law to find answers about the legal status of the lands they have been resettled on, follow up on compensation owed for land obtained by the state for development projects, and highlight instances of illegal land grabbing.

The regency of Bojonegoro, East Java, has seen a revolution in government-citizen interaction, with unrestricted access to public officials and problem-driven management. As a result, the regency has seen impressive fiscal savings, economic growth, and a marked decrease in unemployment and poverty levels.

There are signs of progress and of increased trust in institutions in the region. Yet, it would be naive to assume this region is immune to challenging trends that we see globally. Trust in major institutions such as the government, non-governmental organizations, the media, and the private sector is declining across the globe.

Pervasive corruption, closing civic space, and economic inequality pose serious threats to future progress. And in the Asia-Pacific, in particular, the consequences of climate change and rapid urbanization and their disproportionate impacts on the poor, including many already living in unacceptable conditions, cannot be ignored.

Open government can be a potent antidote to some of these issues — but it needs to be deepened and scaled up to tackle key societal challenges, and propelled forward through genuine partnerships that cut across traditional government-civil society divides, to have lasting impact.

This is the idea that drives the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global initiative that brings together reformers of 74 national governments and 15 sub-national governments with thousands of civil society organizations across the world, and the promise that brings regional leaders to Indonesia for the Asia-Pacific Leaders Forum on Open Government this week.

The regional leaders attending the forum will discuss how the region can move forward in an inclusive and sustainable way, and the role open government can play in building citizen trust, helping to forge paths out of poverty, and furthering inclusive growth that leaves no one behind. The Leaders Forum comes at a critical time — next year, 10 out of 13 OGP national governments and three sub-national governments will be working with civil society to develop new commitments to open government.

This provides an unprecedented opportunity for these countries to focus on:

Embracing innovation and tackling new frontiers of open government: The Asia-Pacific has seen some of the most innovative open government solutions — from participatory budgeting, social audits, to technology-enabled citizen participation in policy-making. The next round of commitments should continue to push boundaries and role-model how others can approach seemingly intractable problems. And, the region needs to lead on new frontiers of open government reforms including on climate change, service delivery, beneficial ownership, lobby reform and open contracting.

Delivering transformational impact: More transformational goals need to be meaningfully implemented to ensure that OGP will deliver on its promise to improve lives. Strong political leadership, backed by technical support and resources needed to see ambitious commitments through to fulfill their potential as leaders of the open government movement. Right now, the region trails others in delivering transformative reforms. In 2018, let’s raise the bar significantly, aiming to double the delivery of ambitious commitments.

Joining forces to advance open government within the region: Asia-Pacific countries and communities need to work together to further the progress of open government. This includes actively supporting countries recently joining the movement — Afghanistan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyz Republic — as well as convincing others to join.

Where we see success, we need to deepen. Where we see failure, we need to learn. In the world’s most populous region, there is extraordinary potential to harness the power of open government for inclusive development — but we must work together.

It is my hope that the reformers attending the Asia-Pacific Leaders Forum on Open Government will return home with a renewed commitment to deliver on the precious promise of open government — that governments truly serve their citizens.
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The writer is chief executive officer of the Open Government Partnership and a former vice president of the World Bank. The Asia-Pacific Leaders Forum on Open Government takes place Thursday in Jakarta.