Today, we’re pleased to announce that the Web Foundation, on behalf of the Global Open Data Initiative, will co-chair a new thematic working group, focused upon open data, within the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Our co-chair will be the Government of Canada.  This is an important development in our ongoing work to harness the opportunities created by opening government data.

This has come about as the OGP has decided to pilot thematic working groups to support the creation and implementation of more ambitious open government commitments as part of OGP national action plans. The OGP has selected five topic areas where there is high demand allied with the desire to tackle some new frontiers in open government. Open data is one of the areas identified.

These working groups will provide practical ways for participants to share experiences, expertise, and lessons learned, as well as identify opportunities for targeted technical assistance and peer exchange. Each group will convene an initial in-person meeting at the OGP Annual Summit in London in October. At these open meetings, each working group will seek consensus on priority areas of engagement. Thereafter, participants are expected to actively collaborate through in-person and virtual sessions.

Participation in the group is open to OGP governments interested in pursuing commitments in the particular thematic area, along with civil society experts in each thematic area.  We are aiming for balanced participation between civil society and governments.

If you represent an OGP government, please contact your country OGP point of contact. If you represent a non-government organization, please submit a form to confirm your interest in joining. We will get in touch with you to confirm your participation and inform you of next steps.

We look forward to using this opportunity to drive further progress, and hope to see many of you in London!