The Action Plan for the Implementation of the OGP Initiative in the Republic of Croatia for the period 2026-2028

The Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia is in the process of developing the fifth Action Plan for the implementation of the Open Government Partnership initiative in the Republic of Croatia.

The Action Plan is being developed with the aim of achieving further progress by the Republic of Croatia in the implementation of the Open Government Partnership initiative, i.e. progress in achieving the goals of the initiative in the areas of transparency and openness of the work of public authorities, inclusion and empowerment of citizens and civil society in decision-making processes, the fight against corruption, environmental protection and the use of new technologies to improve the quality of services provided by public administration to citizens.

The development of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Open Government Partnership initiative for the period of the next two years began in 2024, upon the expiration of the fourth Action Plan for the implementation of the Open Government Partnership initiative for the period from 2022 to 2023.

The process of developing the fifth Action Plan for the implementation of the Open Government Partnership initiative in the Republic of Croatia for the period from 2025 to 2027 began with an invitation to citizens, associations and the entire interested public to fill out a short questionnaire to highlight problems, or propose areas and priorities and potential measures that will serve as a basis for the preparation of a new Action Plan for the implementation of the initiative in the Republic of Croatia. During the two-week period during which the questionnaire was available for completion, four proposals were submitted by civil society organizations and citizens. Sector analysis forms were also collected from members of the Open Government Partnership Council, and based on the collected contributions, as well as the recommendations of the global initiative, the first Draft National Action Plan for the Implementation of the Open Government Partnership in the Republic of Croatia for the period 2025-2027 was developed.

Based on the proposals received during the consultation on the priorities of the fifth Action Plan and information obtained from the Report on the implementation of the fourth Action Plan (in the category: Next steps), recommendations from the IRM report (Independent Reporting Mechanism) on the results of the implementation of the Action Plan for the period 2022 - 2023, as well as the continuity of the sessions of the Open Government Partnership Council during 20204 and 2025 (3 sessions per year), which were mostly focused on proposing activities and discussing the fifth Action Plan for the implementation of the Open Government Partnership initiative in the Republic of Croatia, the Action Plan for the period 2025-2027 has taken its first shape.

When developing the Action Plan, the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia was also guided by the strategic goals set out in the Global Strategy of the Open Government Partnership initiative 2023 - 2028 - building connected communities in which different sectors work together on reforms; expanding the principles of open government to all levels (local, sub-national/regional, national), and all branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial); protecting and expanding the space for civic action; accelerating collective progress in open government reforms and collecting information on innovations and success stories.

Although the Action Plan was originally planned for the period 2025-2027, due to delays in its development, at the end of 2025 the implementation period covered by the Action Plan was updated and the deadlines for the implementation of activities were aligned in order to shift the overall implementation of the Action Plan from the period initially covering the period 2025-2027 to the period 2026-2028.

Based on the described working methods, as well as the contributions of the competent state administration bodies and members of the Open Government Partnership Initiative Council through consultative meetings and other working methods, a final draft of the new Action Plan has been prepared, which will be presented to the public in March 2026 and will then be sent for public consultation, i.e. published on the e-Consultation portal.

After the analysis of the comments received during the public consultation, a report on the consultation will be prepared and published, and, after the session of the Open Government Partnership Initiative Council, the final draft of the Action Plan will be sent to state administration bodies for opinion, and then to the adoption procedure at the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

In accordance with the obligations assumed by joining the Open Government Partnership Initiative, but also following the implementation period covered by the Action Plan, the Republic of Croatia is obliged to adopt the new Action Plan by 30 June 2026.