There has been limited private sector engagement in OGP to date. This discussion paper commissioned by the OGP Support Unit seeks to explain why this is so and suggests some options for promoting increased private sector engagement going forward.

History/Context

OGP’s policy and guidance documents take an ambivalent position towards the private sector as a stakeholder to engage, without acknowledging the private sector’s unique potential value. The private sector includes a diverse set of actors and an effective OGP engagement strategy must pay attention to different entry points and concerns of the private sector at various levels.

Two attempts at engaging the private sector – through OGP’s Networking Mechanism and the Private Sector Council – failed to gain traction, mostly because they focused on creating a “supply” of private sector expertise without facilitating the demand from governments and civil society. Among the many actors in the global governance and sustainability fields, OGP is poorly known by the private sector.

Articulating clear value propositions regarding the mutual benefit of the private sector to open government/OGP is critical to attracting private sector interest.