Why open government?
Openness is one of the key cross-cutting principles of public sector governance and has also been set as a strategic objective in Estonia’s long-term development strategy, Estonia 2035: “Estonia is an innovative, reliable and people-centred country.” Openness is a prerequisite for the legitimate exercise of public authority. It contributes to the development of better services and solutions and supports the efficient use of resources.
There are many different ways to practise open government. At a minimum, the public and relevant stakeholders should be informed about planned decisions. In Estonia, however, stakeholder engagement has been established as one of the principles of good legislative drafting. Our aim is to move as many processes as possible beyond simple information-sharing and consultation towards meaningful cooperation and co-creation. Opportunities for open government should therefore be considered at the beginning, throughout and at the end of every planned process, so that activities can be carried out as openly as possible.
Co-creation is a cross-sectoral innovation process in which the parties affected by a problem jointly define the challenge, develop new solutions, implement them and evaluate the results. Co-creation is based on equal partnership and aims to create greater public value.
Jacob Torfing, Christopher Ansell, "The Art of Co-Creation: A Guidebook for Practitioners" (2021)
Open Government
Open government means exercising public authority honestly, transparently and in dialogue with citizens. It requires engagement with the public and stakeholders, which may take the form of informing, consulting, involving, collaborating or delegating.
Open government means that policymaking and implementation, at both central and local government level, are:
- transparent – those affected by decisions have access to the knowledge and data on which the decisions are based, and the decision-making process is as open as possible,
- dialogue-based – those affected by a decision are involved in the decision-making process, and solutions are sought through cooperation and co-creation between the public, civil society and private sectors,
- honest and accountable – decision-makers are held accountable and corruption risks are mitigated.
Co-creation is a broader principle that means working together with communities or stakeholder groups affected by the decisions or developments in question.
Estonia also implements activities related to open government as a member of the international Open Government Partnership initiative.
Co-Creation
Co-creative governance can offer several potential benefits:
- collaboration between different stakeholders can foster innovation and generate novel solutions to wicked problems,
- participation and listening to diverse perspectives can lead to more needs-based, effective and higher-quality services,
- a sense of ownership created during the process can help mobilise resources;
- experience and capacity for collective and collaborative action can help networks and communities respond more flexibly and effectively to different challenges, including in crisis situations.
Co-creative governance involves not only dialogue, but also shared decision-making and the empowerment of stakeholders and the public to the extent that they are able to act collaboratively. Where a partnership functions well, initiative and decision-making can be transferred, at least in part, to the public and/or relevant stakeholders. This requires stakeholders and the public to be sufficiently empowered, with the necessary rights, capacity and resources to participate effectively.
A co-creative approach can be applied to a wide range of challenges, from solving local-level problems or developing community initiatives, such as a village swing, to shaping major national strategies. Naturally, these processes can look very different and rely on a wide variety of methods.
Five Approaches
The Co-Creation Toolkit is based on five approaches to open government that are widely used internationally: informing, consulting, involving, collaborating and delegating.
Although these approaches are not necessarily hierarchical, the background colour in the diagram below indicates an increasing degree of co-creation and shared decision-making: the darker the background, the greater the level of shared involvement. In general, co-creative policymaking refers to involvement, collaboration and delegation.
The subpages of the Co-Creation Toolkit provide guidance on how to design co-creative policymaking processes, descriptions of different co-creation methods, and examples of how they can be used.
Co-creation is a creative process that brings together the potential of different stakeholders to generate insights and innovation. It is
- a process where
- a team made up of different stakeholders,
- works actively together
- empowers one another, and
- co-creates,
- produces experimental outcomes, and
- delivers practical results.
Bryan R. Rill, Matti M. Hämäläinen, "The Art of Co-Creation: A Guidebook for Practitioners" (2018)
Informing
The aim is to provide the public and key stakeholders with balanced, objective and understandable information. Informing is the most basic level of open government. It involves one-way communication on issues where there is either no need or no possibility to consult or collaborate with the public or stakeholder groups. Examples of methods include press releases, public memos, websites and information sessions.
checklist for a successful approach:
- How can we ensure that activities and (interim) results are transparent?
- Through which channels will the information reach the target groups?
- How should the information be presented—in terms of wording and format—to ensure that it is easy to follow and understand?
Consulting
The aim is to gather feedback from the public and key stakeholders on questions selected by the public official. Consultation is used when a public official or public sector organisation needs input on specific issues or feedback on particular parts of the work. The initiative and overall control remain with the public official, who decides whom to consult, to what extent, and which input to take into account. Examples of methods include meetings, public discussions for gathering input, research interviews, focus groups and surveys.
checklist for a successful approach:
- Which questions or topics require feedback from stakeholders and/or the public?
- How should the consultation be organised (e.g. by commissioning or conducting research)?
Cooperation
The aim is to establish close, two-way communication with the public and key stakeholders to ensure that their interests are recognised and taken into account as much as possible. Involvement means inviting stakeholders and the public into the process in order to understand their interests and perspectives. This helps strengthen the legitimacy and inclusiveness of both the process and the decisions made. The public official leads the process and makes the decisions, while keeping those involved informed of the outcomes. Examples of methods include meetings, public discussions based on two-way dialogue, and workshops.
checklist for a successful approach:
- How can suitable formats be chosen to ensure meaningful involvement?
- How can participants be kept engaged throughout the process and provided with feedback?
- How should we decide which views and input from participants to take into account?
Partnership
The aim is to maintain continuous cooperation and a partnership with the public and key stakeholders, including shared decision-making. Partnership makes it possible to make the best use of the resources of different parties, including their knowledge, experience and other assets, while also creating a stronger sense of ownership around the issue. It helps participants understand one another’s perspectives and enables decisions to be made jointly. Partnership is especially important when the success of the process depends on several different stakeholders. Examples of methods include regular meetings, workshops, digital collaboration tools, shared working environments that give stakeholders and the public access to information and opportunities to contribute to or participate in decision-making, and network-based cooperation.
checklist for a successful approach:
- Why is cooperation necessary?
- Why is it necessary for stakeholders and/or the public?
- What does partnership mean in this process? What is our role? How can we ensure an effective partnership?
Empowerment
The aim is to transfer initiative and decision-making to the public and/or relevant stakeholders, who work together collaboratively. This requires stakeholders and the public to be sufficiently empowered. Where stakeholder groups or other participants have the capacity and readiness to take a leading role in the process, activities can be delegated to them. This helps strengthen their sense of ownership and can also mobilise additional resources. The public official takes on a supporting and enabling role. Examples of methods include citizens’ committees, working groups and referendums or public votes used for decision-making.
checklist for a successful approach:
- In which areas would delegation be possible or beneficial?
- How can we ensure effective cooperation between the parties involved?
- Are they ready to take on this role? What can we do to support and enable them?
Last updated: 01.09.2026
