Publications & Documents

This paper provides recommendations to foster integrity and transparency in decision making in the State of Mexico, by regulating access and promoting stakeholder engagement; and to enhance transparency and integrity in the funding of political parties and election campaigns. It addresses current challenges related to political finance such as cash contributions and clientelism, as well as the need to ensure adequate audit capacities and effective sanctions that advance accountability. Likewise, it analyses the state of play in terms of interactions between stakeholders, on the one hand, and public officials and legislators, on the other, providing recommendations to prevent policy capture, preserve integrity, and strengthen transparency.

This paper concludes the project 'Support to Improve Effectiveness of Lithuania’s Innovation Policy' which summarises the findings, policy options and recommended actions. It aimed at providing support to efforts of the Government of Lithuania to better deliver existing policies, and develop and implement appropriate new policies, instruments and institutions in selected areas of science, technology and innovation (STI) policy. The report takes stock of recent policy actions taken since the 'OECD Review of Innovation Policy: Lithuania 2016'. Drawing on international good practices it explores the scope for improvement in selected areas of STI policy: a) consolidation of innovation agencies and enhancing Lithuania’s STI Council, b) public procurement of innovation , c) mission-oriented innovation policies, and d) industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence. The project has been aligned with ongoing Lithuanian reform processes, some of which are reflected in the ‘New Generation Lithuania’ plan related to the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The digital transformation of public sectors, economies and societies is generating challenges as well as opportunities for governments. Robust public governance is needed to respond to these challenges, reap the full benefits of digital and data-driven government, and encourage a holistic, systemic transformation. This Handbook presents the OECD Framework on the Governance of Digital Government, which was developed based on the experiences of Member and Partner countries. The Handbook identifies the aspects that need to be addressed when devising public governance frameworks for digital government, including contextual factors, institutional models and policy levers. Based on the Framework, the Handbook also provides a practical and easy-to-use toolkit for policy makers seeking to improve the digital government maturity of their administrations.

Trust between citizens and their governments is crucial for the legitimacy and functioning of democracies. This paper discusses the main determinants of people’s trust in public institutions and their measurement, in times of crisis as well as for a long-term, strong, inclusive and green recovery. It presents evidence on the great variation in the levels and drivers of trust across public institutions, across levels of government within countries, and among population groups. It also identifies three main trust challenges for public governance that were heightened by the COVID-19 crisis: i) people’s views on the credibility and effectiveness of government action on intergenerational and often global challenges; ii) the changes in political participation and political attitudes; and iii) an increasing distrust of and disengagement from democratic processes. Building on previous OECD work, and taking into account lessons from other crises and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper introduces a revised and expanded version of the OECD Framework on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions. Furthermore, it discusses how this Framework is applied in the OECD Trust Survey. Both the Framework and the Survey aim to provide governments with actionable evidence to build and maintain people’s trust as the basis for successful planning and policy reforms, allowing democracies to be fitter, stronger and more resilient in the future.

Face aux défis interdépendants de notre époque, il convient d’adopter, dans le domaine de la gouvernance publique, une démarche cohérente et pluridimensionnelle. Le Cadre d’action de l’OCDE en matière de bonne gouvernance publique offre à tous les niveaux d’administration un outil intégré de diagnostic, d’orientation et de comparaison qui a pour objectif d’améliorer la qualité de la gouvernance publique — objectif qui revêt une importance stratégique immédiate pour les pouvoirs publics, à l’heure où il leur faut gérer la crise liée au COVID-19 et préparer une reprise durable et inclusive. Ce Cadre d’action s’appuie sur les instruments juridiques adoptés par l’OCDE dans ce domaine, et sur les enseignements tirés depuis dix ans à la faveur des Examens de l’OCDE sur la gouvernance publique et d’autres examens nationaux ou sectoriels. La première partie de ce Cadre d’action évoque l’importance des valeurs fondamentales de la gouvernance et passe en revue les éléments catalyseurs d’une bonne gouvernance publique que les pouvoirs publics peuvent mettre en place pour réussir leurs réformes. La deuxième partie du Cadre d’action présente une vue d’ensemble des outils de gestion et des instruments d’action qui peuvent améliorer la qualité et l’impact de l’action publique aux différentes étapes de son cycle. Dans chaque chapitre, les responsables publics trouveront une liste de questions stratégiques sur lesquelles ils pourront s’appuyer pour évaluer les capacités institutionnelles et décisionnelles de leur administration dans des domaines essentiels de la gouvernance publique.

Access to justice for all is a global objective enshrined in SDG 16. To help countries achieve this objective, the OECD People-Centred Justice Framework and Principles sets out elements of a government-wide strategy for people-centred justice, inter-agency cooperation and communication, as well as mechanisms to ensure accountability and sustainability. The Framework building on a people-centred purpose as its foundation is structured around four pillars: 1) designing and delivering people-centred services, 2) governance enablers and infrastructure, 3) people empowerment, and 4) planning, monitoring and accountability.

The OECD Integrity Review of Thailand 2021 assesses three key elements of Thailand’s integrity system: disciplinary mechanisms and sanctions, risk management, and integrity in policy and decision making in the public sector. The Review presents concrete reform actions on how to make the disciplinary regime more coherent and effective, and provides recommendations for strengthening corruption risk management practices. Finally, the Review assesses the government decision-making process and provides options for increasing its transparency and integrity for more accountable and equitable policies.

The first OECD Report on Public Communication: The Global Context and the Way Forward examines the public communication structures, mandates and practices of centres of governments and ministries of health from 46 countries, based on the 2020 Understanding Public Communication surveys. It analyses how this important government function contributes to better policies and services, greater citizen trust, and, ultimately, stronger democracies in an increasingly complex information environment. It looks at the role public communication can play in responding to the challenges posed by the spread of mis- and disinformation and in building more resilient media and information ecosystems. It also makes the case for a more strategic use of communication by governments, both to pursue policy objectives and promote more open governments, by providing an extensive mapping of trends, gaps and lessons learned. Finally, it highlights pioneering efforts to move towards the professionalisation of the government communication function and identifies areas for further research to support this transition.