Lebanon
This chapter focuses on the core competencies that are in place in Lebanon for implementing strategic communications, and how they can be upgraded and deployed to support the country’s policy objectives and regain citizen trust. These competencies, when applied well, can evolve communications from an information dissemination tool to a lever of stakeholder participation and improved policy and service design and implementation.
Public communication is a core pillar of open government reforms. It serves as an essential instrument of transparency and a vehicle for citizens’ engagement in policy making. Given the challenging socio-economic context, Lebanon is facing and the importance of urgent governance reforms to address public grievances, communication between institutions and citizens will be an important aspect of restoring trust and establishing a constructive dialogue on solving the country’s challenges.
This chapter reviews the governance and structures that apply to the public communication function in Lebanon against a range of approaches. It discusses the level of institutionalisation and the practices that could support a better execution of this function for whole-of-government policy objectives and for greater support of open government principles. It finally proposes recommendations for reforms that favour a shift towards more strategic use of communication.
Lebanon’s legal framework implementing the AEOI Standard is in place and is consistent with the requirements of the AEOI Terms of Reference. This includes Lebanon’s domestic legislative framework requiring Reporting Financial Institutions to conduct the due diligence and reporting procedures (CR1) and its international legal framework to exchange the information with all of Lebanon’s Interested Appropriate Partners (CR2).
Public communication is a means for governments to inform and interact with citizens. It enables citizens to be informed about policies and reforms that affect their lives and become engaged in policy-making processes. “When delivered strategically public communication can support better policy making and service delivery, as it raises awareness about reforms and helps to change behaviour.” (OECD, 2019[6]) Communication is therefore an essential part of open government initiatives as it can promote greater transparency, participation and accountability. Provision 6 of the OECD Recommendation on Open Government calls upon adherents to “actively communicate on open government strategies and initiatives, as well as on their outputs, outcomes and impacts, in order to ensure that they are well-known within and outside government, to favour their uptake, as well as to stimulate stakeholder buy-in” (OECD, 2017[1]). However, the importance of public communication is still not fully recognised; for example, only 10% of surveyed centres of government list the promotion of transparency and stakeholder participation as a key objective of their communication strategy (OECD, 2018[43]).
Open government is a culture of governance that aims to transform how the public administration works and interacts with its citizens. The transversal nature of open government strategies and initiatives requires an effective governance structure with appropriate co-ordination mechanisms at horizontal and vertical levels. Therefore, the OECD Recommendations advise countries to “co-ordinate, through the necessary institutional mechanisms, open government strategies and initiatives – horizontally and vertically – across all levels of government to ensure that they are aligned with and contribute to all relevant socio-economic objectives” (Provision 3). Ideally, such a governance structure includes the following two aspects:
Around the world, governments are facing increasingly complex challenges, including persistently low levels of public trust, rising economic and financial instability, and social fragmentation and polarisation. Meanwhile, citizens are becoming more vocal, particularly given the amplifying effect of digital technologies, and their expectations are growing for a more transparent and accountable public sector and better public services. These issues are especially relevant in Lebanon, where regional turmoil, political instability and sluggish economic growth have posed considerable obstacles.
Lebanon has recently expressed interest in undertaking the reforms necessary to adhere to the OECD Recommendation on Open Government, and in becoming eligible to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP).This OECD Open Government Scan of Lebanonprovides, for the government’s consideration, a broad range of policies and initiatives reflecting the principles of transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholder participation.
A robust legal framework that guarantees rights regarding accessing information and civic space, and enables possibilities for participation and accountability, is a pre-condition for designing and implementing open government initiatives. These legal and regulatory prerequisites determine the rules, rights and obligations of all stakeholders involved and provides a common framework. Ideally it is elaborated through an inclusive process and is transparent, widely communicated and accessible. The OECD Recommendation on Open Government recommends “ensuring the existence and implementation of the necessary open government legal and regulatory framework, including through the provision of supporting documents such as guidelines and manuals, while establishing adequate oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance” (Provision 2).
To join the Open Government Partnership (OGP), governments commit to upholding the principles of open and transparent government by endorsing the Open Government Declaration. Members must also meet the eligibility criteria and pass the OGP values check. Prior to submitting the first action plan, OGP members should identify responsible government departments and engage with civil society for a clear and open process of participation.1 Aspiring OGP members need to obtain 12 out of 16 possible points, according to the OGP minimum eligibility criteria,2 in order to join the OGP. Lebanon currently has 8 points, as noted in .
One of the core principles of an open government culture is stakeholder participation. This refers to all the ways in which stakeholders can be involved in the policy cycle and in service design and delivery and can include different levels of participation, including:
Open government is a culture of governance that does not only apply to the executive branch of the state, but that can apply to all state institutions. Despite most open government initiatives worldwide focusing on the executive, countries are designing specific strategies and initiatives for an “open judiciary”, “open parliament”, “open subnational government” and “open independent institutions”, or are even adopting an open state approach. Costa Rica for example signed the first-ever Declaration for the Creation of an Open State in 2016, and Colombia is the first country to elaborate an Open State Policy (OECD, 2019[6]). An open state is “when all public institutions of the executive, parliament and the judiciary, independent public institutions, and all levels of government join forces and collaborate with civil society, academia, the media and the private sector to design and implement a reform agenda to make public governance more transparent, accountable and participatory” (OECD, 2016[2]).The OECD therefore recommends that states “promote a progressive move from the concept of open government towards that of open state, while recognising the respective roles, prerogatives and overall independence of all concerned parties” (OECD, 2016[2]).
Around the world, governments are facing increasingly complex challenges, including persistently low levels of public trust, rising economic and financial instability, and social fragmentation and polarisation. Meanwhile, citizens are becoming more vocal, particularly given the amplifying effect of digital technologies, and their expectations are growing for a more transparent and accountable public sector and better public services. These issues are especially relevant in Lebanon, where regional turmoil, political instability and sluggish economic growth have posed considerable obstacles.
Designing and implementing open government initiatives requires resources and changes in the public administration. While these initiatives are intended to improve the relationship between government and its citizens, as well as enhance transparency and accountability, this can only be ensured and confirmed, and therefore the use of funds and efforts justified, through effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. A solid M&E system is necessary for assessing if intended goals are achieved, for identifying challenges and obstacles, and for rectifying initiatives accordingly.
The current context of Lebanon expressing an interest to adhere to the 2017 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Open Government (hereafter “the Recommendation”) and to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP) offers an opportunity to foster a new culture of open governance at the municipal as well as national level. Taking into account the commitment of the national government to promote open government principles and initiatives, two municipalities that have engaged in transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholder participation efforts were selected to participate in a scan and capacity building exercise with the OECD. These municipalities are Byblos (known locally as “Jbeil”) and Shweir – Ain Sindyneh (referred to as “Shweir” hereafter). The objective of this scan is to review the institutional policy frameworks and open government practices and initiatives in the municipality in order to align them with OECD standards, increase their impact, and disseminate their best practices and lessons learned with other Lebanese municipalities. Open local authorities are also an important part of a country’s transition from open government to open state.
Countries worldwide have been designing and implementing open government initiatives for many decades. With the creation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), countries have started creating open government action plans that assemble a series of initiatives, include a calendar and milestones. While action plans have enabled governments to unite several actors around the same vision and create further awareness about ongoing initiatives, they do not offer a long-term vision with strategic objectives and corresponding actions. The OECD Recommendation on Open Government (hereafter “the OECD Recommendation”) therefore recommends to “take measures, in all branches and at all levels of the government, to develop and implement open government strategies and initiatives in collaboration with stakeholders and to foster commitment from politicians, members of parliament, senior public managers and public officials, to ensure successful implementation and prevent or overcome obstacles related to resistance to change” (OECD, 2017[1]).
El presente capítulo trata sobre el Programa de Educación Cívico-Tributaria del Líbano. Comienza haciendo un recorrido por el programa al completo y sus objetivos, seguido del análisis de un elemento en concreto: el «Calendario del Contribuyente». Por último, realiza una reflexión sobre el impacto y las enseñanzas extraídas como fruto de la iniciativa.