After 15 years of Open Government Indonesia (OGI), the challenge of open government no longer lies only in fulfilling commitments and action plans, but in the extent to which the principles of transparency, participation, and accountability bring about changes in governance and benefits felt by the public. This idea was one of the main topics of the Policy Dialogue "Strengthening the Integration of Open Government Principles into National Development Governance," organized by PWYP Indonesia with support from the Open Government Partnership- European Union on 27 August 2026 in Jakarta. The event involved ministries and agencies holding strategic positions in the disclosure and national development agenda, such as Bappenas, the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Central Information Commission (KIP), as well as several civil society organizations implementing OGI NAP VII, particularly INFID.
The discussion opened with a presentation of a policy paper prepared by PWYP Indonesia, represented by Giri Ahmad Taufik of the author team. He said that after 15 years of OGI, it is important to consider how government openness can "level up." The success of open government cannot be measured merely by the completion of an action plan, but by the extent to which the principles of transparency, participation, and accountability are applied in everyday government activities. In his view, these principles are already embedded in various government policies and instruments. The challenge is to see how these instruments are interconnected and to use them to drive more substantive change. In this way, open government would not be a stand-alone agenda but would help improve the quality of governance, democracy, public services, and development.
Several speakers then responded to this idea. Rini Purwandari of the Central Information Commission stressed that information openness is not solely the responsibility of the Information Commission but is part of government governance and the fulfillment of citizens' rights. She argued that existing instruments, including the Public Information Openness Indicator (IKIP), should be linked to the government's performance accountability system so that measuring openness does not stop at the completion of administrative documents. The results of such measurement could also be used as a basis for supporting local governments, for example through assistance for regions still facing openness problems. Openness indicators could thus function as instruments for improving governance rather than merely as assessment tools.
Rini also highlighted an opportunity to use openness measurement results as a basis for evaluating and supporting local governments. Regions that meet openness standards could be considered for certain incentives, while those still facing problems could receive assistance. In this way, information openness would not only serve as an assessment indicator but could also be used to drive governance reform.
Indah Nuria Savitri of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the importance of translating open government commitments into domestic government practice. In her view, consistency between the commitments Indonesia makes at the international level and its domestic governance practices is also important for Indonesia's credibility in carrying out its various international commitments.
Meanwhile, Nugroho Arif of the Ministry of PANRB stressed open government as closely linked to bureaucratic reform. He noted that the principles of openness are already reflected in various policies and regulations, even if they do not always use the term open government. The challenge is to ensure that these principles are applied consistently and produce benefits for the public.
This was also a concern for Maharani Putri S. Wibowo of the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, who also chairs the OGI Implementation Team. She observed that there is still a gap in understanding open government's contribution to development. Measurement so far has focused mostly on whether action plans and commitments have been carried out, while the resulting changes for development and society have not been sufficiently visible. Impact indicators therefore need to become an important part of developing open government, including by linking them to national development agendas such as the National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN), the SDGs, and Indonesia's OECD accession process.
This view was reinforced by Bona Tua of INFID. He argued that evaluations of openness need to answer more concrete questions: whether the data that has been opened leads to better-targeted budget allocations, whether public consultations influence the substance of policy, and whether openness makes information and services more accessible to previously marginalized groups. The success of open government, therefore, cannot be measured only by the number of commitments completed, documents made available, or forums held, but also by the changes it produces.
To support this approach, Bona proposed developing an impact indicator matrix that integrates openness variables from various sectoral indices into the OGP framework, along with stronger coordination across ministries, agencies, and civil society.
Aryanto Nugroho, as moderator, emphasized the importance of looking at the relationship between activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact in OGP evaluation. In the case of information openness, for example, evaluation should not only check whether information is available or certain standards have been met. It should also examine whether openness influences behavior, improves the quality of decision-making, enhances public services, or produces benefits for the public.
Evaluation therefore also needs to distinguish between open government principles as values and their translation into policies, indicators, and measurement instruments. Measurement should not stop at inputs and outputs but should extend to outcomes and impact in order to capture real change.
The policy dialogue underscored the importance of shifting the way Open Government Indonesia is viewed: from an agenda measured merely by the fulfillment of commitments toward an approach that looks at real changes in governance and people's lives. Integrating the principles of transparency, participation, and accountability into the national development system can be an important step to ensure that open government does not run as a separate agenda but becomes part of efforts to improve the quality of policy, public services, and government accountability. Going forward, strengthening outcome- and impact-based indicators, together with collaboration across ministries, agencies, and civil society, will be essential to ensure that government openness is not only visible in documents but also genuinely benefits the public.