Open Government

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About Open Government

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is committed to increasing openness, transparency, and accountability. Open Government means NWT citizens are informed and engaged with  government activities, programs and services.

Engaging with NWT residents enables government to explore solutions and build effective policy. It also ensures that the GNWT is visible, accessible, and accountable to the people it serves.

The GNWT is putting the principles of Open Government into action in the areas of Open Data, Open Information, and Open Dialogue.

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History of Open Government

The term ‘Open Government’ reflects a movement across government to be more transparent, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Open governments across Canada acknowledge that input and expertise from citizens benefit operations and decision-making.

In the Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019, the GNWT committed to increasing transparency and accountability by developing an Open Government Policy.

In the development of the policy, engagements were held across the territory by the Minister Responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency. A “What We Heard” report was tabled during the fall 2017 legislative session.

The resulting policy was developed based on the following:

  • results of public engagement meetings with citizens, media and NGOs
  • input from GNWT departments
  • research on Open Government initiatives in other jurisdictions; and
  • feedback from the Standing Committee on Government Operations.

The Open Government Policy (11.54) was publicly released in March 2018 and sets out actions to advance the GNWT’s commitment to the principles of Open Government in three key areas:

  • the release of information about government programs, publications, activities and spending (Open Information)
  • the release of datasets, facts, figures or statistics (Open Data)
  • meaningful engagement of residents, communities and organizations in government decision-making processes (Open Dialogue)
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