The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, through its co-operation projects in Armenia and Ukraine, is supporting local and regional authorities wishing to participate in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Local Programme. A multilateral initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from national, regional and local governments to promote open government and e-governance, the Open Government Partnership has announced the expansion of its Local Programme with a planned intake of up to 50 new local governments in 2020, following the approval for implementation of the new OGP Local Strategy in February 2020. To that end, the OGP has launched a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for local governments interested in joining the programme.

This Congress support is provided through informational sessions and expert assistance in the design of local action plans. Furthermore, the Congress supports both countries in establishing platforms for exchange and co-operation between central and local authorities, together with non-governmental stakeholders, for the design and implementation of their Open Government National Action Plans.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is key international player in the field of open local government and has made it one of its key priorities in the prevention of corruption and the promotion of public ethics at local and regional levels. Aware of the potential of open governance to improve democracy at local and regional levels, the Congress adopted Resolution 435 (2018) and Recommendation 424 (2018) on Transparency and open government inviting local governments to adopt and implement open government standards and training courses to enhance transparency, citizen participation and accountability.