Everyone knows that implementation of commitments is at the core of the Open Government Partnership (OGP)’s mission for transformational reforms. However, more than a third of commitments reviewed to date by the Independent Reporting Mechanism have not been implemented. For natural resource commitments, this is an especially relevant issue. This report from the Openness in Natural Resource Working Group, Closing the Gap: Strengthening the Development and Implementation of Natural Resource Commitments in the Open Government Partnership, highlights that countries make more natural resource commitments when compared to other sectors like health or education. However, only about half of the reviewed natural resource commitments have been completed or substantially implemented. The report explores why this has been the case and offers concrete recommendations to government officials, civil society representatives and the OGP Support Unit on how to address this gap.

OGP case studies

To understand some of the challenges implementing Open Government Partnership (OGP) commitments, the Openness in Natural Resources Working Group commissioned a series of case studies from civil society partners in Mexico, Nigeria and Peru. These researchers have been actively involved in the co-creation process in their country and offer a unique perspective, supplemented with interviews from key government and other civil society participants. As the entire OGP community wrestles with how to foster better implementation, here are a few key insights synthesized from these case studies.

• Get earlier and wider political buy-in from all relevant ministries.
• Design realistic timeframes.
• Mainstream budgets for implementation into the commitment section process.
• Improve the quality and specificity of commitments.
• Build the capacity of civil society partners to participate in implementation monitoring.