Manish Bapna Discusses Priorities for Open Government Partnership at UN General Assembly

In a speech to the UN General Assembly on September 20, 2016, Manish Bapna proposed three priorities for the Open Government Partnership: integrating climate and governance agendas, upholding governance standards to protect civic space, and expanding the open government movement to include subnational governments and a wider array of civil society groups.

• The first priority for the Open Government Partnership is to integrate the agendas of climate change and good governance, as the two are interdependent. Bapna argues that transparency and citizen engagement can drive climate action, citing how releasing air pollution data in China stimulates citizen demand for changes in energy production and factory siting, and how open data on weather and climate projections in the United States, Kenya, and France can improve resilience planning.
• The second priority is for OGP to 'lead by example' in response to a global trend of closing civic space, noting that CIVICUS recorded violations of fundamental civic rights in 109 countries, nearly one-third of which are OGP members. Proposed actions include strengthening eligibility criteria for new members, upholding response policies for countries failing governance standards, and speaking out against violations of basic rights by OGP countries.
• The third priority is to expand the open government movement beyond national ministries and transparency-focused groups. This involves engaging subnational entities like cities and regions through a new pilot initiative, broadening civil society engagement to include sustainable development and climate change groups, and increasing involvement with the private sector and parliaments.

APA

Bapna, M. (2016). Manish Bapna Discusses Priorities for Open Government Partnership at UN General Assembly. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/manish-bapna-discusses-priorities-open-government-partnership-un-general-assembly

Chicago

Bapna, Manish. Manish Bapna Discusses Priorities for Open Government Partnership at UN General Assembly. World Resources Institute, 2016. https://www.wri.org/insights/manish-bapna-discusses-priorities-open-government-partnership-un-general-assembly.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bapna |first1=Manish |title=Manish Bapna Discusses Priorities for Open Government Partnership at UN General Assembly |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=21 September 2016 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/manish-bapna-discusses-priorities-open-government-partnership-un-general-assembly |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bapna2016manish, author = {Bapna, Manish}, title = {{Manish Bapna Discusses Priorities for Open Government Partnership at UN General Assembly}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/manish-bapna-discusses-priorities-open-government-partnership-un-general-assembly}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }