“Charities have a very powerful role in this,” said David Cameron from a London stage in 2013. He was speaking as co-chair of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) which had grown from eight countries to 61, each signing up to the principle that more people should see, shape and scrutinise how governments work.
Now, over a decade later, and with many more countries involved, the UK will once again take a leading role, co-chairing OGP from October 2026.
So, let me ask: do you feel powerful? You should.
“Open government” is not a buzzword or a slogan. It’s the difference between systems that happen to people – and systems that can be questioned, corrected and improved. The difference between a government doing things to people, and a government doing things with people. And it has never been more relevant to charities’ work.
The person who turns up for advice, confused and without answers, because an algorithm has made a decision that hits their income.
The homelessness charity that loses another contract. Its workers know the rough sleepers by name, but the tender favours providers built for a different scale – those with bid teams, compliance capacity, and the stamina to live inside portals and frameworks.
The family charity, once focused on support, now spends half its time countering misinformation so children get vaccinated and communities remain cohesive.
This is the front line of open government. It is where power is questioned: who has it, who doesn’t, and whether the rules can ever change. They can.
Let’s start with algorithms
In 2021, the UK government – working with civil society through the OGP – published one of the world’s first algorithmic transparency standards. A further government-civil society commitment followed in the last open government plan. And it is now mandatory for government departments to say what algorithmic tools they are using, why they are using them, and what safeguards exist.
That is progress: it takes something that once sat in the shadows and makes it visible – describable, publishable, challengeable. But more must be done. Transparency needs to travel beyond Whitehall, into local government and the commissioned services where so many life-changing decisions are made.
Charities should help shape that shift, because you see the consequences of unexplained, and sometimes unjust, decisions.
Funding for charities and misinformation
In the most recent open government plan, government and civil society agreed to work together on implementing the Procurement Act 2023 – improving systems, skills, and engagement.
That partnership is ongoing. Getting charities into the room takes time and resources that many simply don't have – but those who can should be there, pressing for procurement that values community outcomes as much as scale, and removes the barriers that hold smaller charities back: complexity, disproportionate requirements, and processes that reward bid-writing capacity over local knowledge and results.
Charities are doing democracy work now, whether anyone labels it that way or not. When misinformation spreads, charities pick up the pieces - in clinics and schools, in community centres, in family homes.
The UK government has said the focus of its OGP year will include online disinformation and shrinking space for civil society. But if the UK is going to lead internationally, it needs to show what leadership looks like at home: practical support for community resilience and the organisations doing the trust-repair work. Charities could help shape that agenda through open government.
Reasons for optimism
The government’s new Civil Society Covenant recognises the value of partnership – working with civil society rather than simply consulting it. It commits to respecting independence, enabling advocacy, and not penalising organisations that disagree with government policy. Those are significant steps.
Now comes the chance to build on that foundation. The covenant has its own structures – a joint council, task and finish groups, an £11.6m fund for local partnerships – but open government offers something complementary: a proven process that turns principles into measurable commitments, with independent scrutiny, inside a global partnership of 74 countries. A process that has endured across six prime ministers since 2011.
Elements of the covenant’s work – those task and finish groups, for example – could lead to, or generate, commitments in the next open government plan, due before the end of 2026, with timelines and accountability built in.
That process is about to begin. This is your window. It is not just that you can shape policy. It is that you are close to where policy lands. You hear the stories first. You can translate policy into lived experience - into practical change people can feel. And the more those stories are told, the more they remake the idea of government itself: not something done to communities, but something built with them. That is how trust in democracy returns.
Kevin Keith is chair of the UK Open Government Network. For more information on how to get involved, email: [email protected]
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