Open Government Partnership Reporting Mechanism Working Group: terms of reference

Terms of reference: Open Government Partnership Scotland – Reporting Mechanism Working Group 

Group function and purpose

The Reporting Mechanism Working Group is a short-life working group which has been established by mandate of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Scotland Steering Group. Its aim is to scope and present options for how the partnership in Scotland might measure and report activity and impact related to the next OGP action plan for Scotland. 

Scope of activities and deliverables

The Working Group will research and produce a series of options for courses of action the Steering Group may choose to take regarding measurement and reporting of activities and impacts. This will take the form of production of a written paper. 

Selection of or delivery of reporting/measurement approaches or relevant courses of action are not within the scope of this working group. 

Timing and reporting requirements

The Working Group was approved in September 2020 and has been tasked with developing a paper for consideration by the Steering Group by February 2021. 

Responsibilities of group members

Group members are expected to: 

• provide resources to assist in the work and deliverables of the working group 
• conduct themselves in alignment with the principles, values and aims of the OGP 
• collaborate and work effectively as a group to deliver the purpose of the group 
• engage with others respectfully and professionally 

Working group process and decision making 

The working group will meet at the discretion of the chair and at the request of members. The chair and secretariat will endeavour to ensure all agendas and meeting papers are distributed in good time in advance of meetings. 

All documents adopted by the working group will be shared with the OGP steering group for record-keeping. 

The working group will advise the Steering Group of progress at appropriate intervals. 

Decisions will be made on the basis of group consensus wherever possible. In the event of disagreement or issues which cannot be otherwise resolved, group members will refer issues to the Steering Group. 

Meetings will be held remotely unless otherwise stated. 

Membership 

The working group is comprised of: 

• Alex Stobart, Director Scotland, MyDex CIC
• Daren Fitzhenry (Chair), Scottish Information Commissioner
• Doreen Grove, Head of Open Government, Scottish Government
• Erin Gray, Head of Policy and Information, Scottish Information Commissioner
• Jillian Matthew, Performance Audit and Best Value, Audit Scotland
• Kelly McBride, Director Scotland, Democratic Society
• Lucy McTernan, Independent Expert
• Saskia Kearns, OGP Commitment 4 Lead, Scottish Government

Secretariat for the group will be provided by the Scottish Government. 

Any interested member of the OGP in Scotland may apply to join the working group by contacting the chair of the working group, secretariat or the OGP Scotland Steering Group. The working group may however decide to limit participation to a fixed number of participants. 

Members of the Working Group may request to be removed from the group at any time by writing to the Chair of the Working Group or the secretariat. 

Chair 

The Working Group is chaired by Daren Fitzhenry, the Scottish Information Commissioner. Meetings are convened by the Chair. 

Resources 

No additional resources have been allocated by the OGP Scotland Steering Group to the delivery of the Working Group’s tasks. Any consultancy work undertaken at the discretion of one of the members of the working group does not engage any other participants in the working group or the OGP membership, and will be the sole liability of that member. 

Revision of these terms of reference 

These Terms of Reference can be revised from time to time. A copy of the revised Terms of Reference must be sent to the OGP Steering Group for record-keeping.