Reports

Digital government has become a priority for Luxembourg as a means to enable its public sector to deliver more responsive and trusted services. The Digital Government Review of Luxembourg evaluates the efforts made by the government to transition towards a digital government approach. It provides in-depth analysis and policy recommendations to improve institutional governance, digital investments, digital talent and skills, government service delivery and the strategic use of data. Its findings can help Luxembourg achieve a more digitally mature and data-driven administration to better serve citizens and businesses.

The OECD Guidelines for Citizen Participation Processes are intended for any public official or public institution interested in carrying out a citizen participation process. The guidelines describe ten steps for designing, planning, implementing and evaluating a citizen participation process, and discuss eight different methods for involving citizens: information and data, open meetings, public consultations, open innovation, citizen science, civic monitoring, participatory budgeting and representative deliberative processes. The guidelines are illustrated with examples as well as practical guidance built on evidence gathered by the OECD. Finally, nine guiding principles are presented to help ensure the quality of these processes.

Reflecting on the experiences of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, this OECD working paper illustrates selected international trends that are driving innovation in the practice of public communication across the OECD to make it more inclusive, responsive and compelling. These include advanced uses of 'big data' and analytics to power precise, targeted communication, collaboration with trusted third-party messengers in diverse communities, and the application of behavioural insights (BI) to communication. In turn, these trends can help promote the use of public communication for policy, openness and dialogue. The paper reflects on the implications of these international trends for four countries in Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It looks at local lessons from the pandemic response and identifies avenues for adopting global good practices more widely. The paper focuses on a set of institutional prerequisites, including fostering a culture of innovation in public communication mandates and approaches, ensuring access to specialised skillsets, and strengthening ethical guidance in the use of new technologies and BI.

This Digital Trade Review of Brazil provides an overview of Brazil’s participation in digital trade and the related regulatory environment. It provides insights into how Brazil might ensure that the new challenges raised by the digital transformation for trade can be managed and the benefits shared more inclusively. While Brazil has embraced the digital transformation and has strong potential to benefit from digital trade, it will need to continue the ongoing process of regulatory reform. This includes reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade on ICT goods; reducing regulatory barriers to ICT services; increasing engagement in international discussions on digital trade; and continuing efforts to bridge digital divides.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a set of goals and targets that aim to transform our world towards sustainability. With less than a decade left to achieve these targets, the OECD area as a whole has met or is close to meeting only one quarter of the targets. This Policy Insights explores the key findings from our report The Short and Winding Road to 2030: Measuring Distance to the SDG Targets which discusses the slow progress made by OECD countries towards achieving many SDG targets and highlights the need for strong policy actions to fulfill the entire 2030 Agenda. Fostering inclusion, reversing the long-term decrease in people's trust in institutions, and addressing rising environmental pressures are some of the key areas where OECD countries need to focus to make further progress.

This paper discusses how countries’ vision for science, technology and innovation (STI) priorities has evolved through COVID-19. The analysis was conducted on a sample of 171 STI strategy documents from 11 countries that were released between 2013 and 2021. Depending on the context, these documents seek to build consensus, manage actors, communicate or signal directions for policy, or achieve internal organisational motives. Most of the documents that have emerged since the COVID-19 crisis focus on a dominant ambitious societal goal and specific technologies to implement that goal. For example, environmental sustainability is a shared goal across different countries’ STI strategies, but its specific meaning differs. Most countries’ STI strategies also identify digitalisation as an important tool to achieve other socio-economic goals. Inclusivity is prominent in agendas reflecting country-specific circumstance. Improving resilience is a shared priority and increased in prominence with the COVID-19 experience.

Co-creation – the joint production of innovation between combinations of industry, research, government and civil society – was widely used to respond to the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper describes 30 COVID-19 co-creation initiatives from 21 countries and three international cases. The template focuses on initiatives’ core characteristics, including information on key co-creation partners and their contributions, key outcomes as well as the initiatives’ size. The comparative evidence gathered through interviews with case study initiative leaders also describes what co-creation instruments were used, how networks leading to the collaboration were built, what type of cross-disciplinary co-operation took place, and what role governments played in the process and the procedures adopted to deal with the COVID-19 'exceptionality', including the urgency of producing implementable solutions. The information gathered provides a basis for analyses on co-creation initiatives during COVID-19 and for drawing potential policy implications.

Co-creation – the joint production of innovation between combinations of industry, research, government and civil society – was widely used to respond to COVID-19 challenges. This paper analyses 30 international co-creation initiatives that were implemented to address COVID-19 challenges. Evidence on these initiatives was gathered based on structured interviews with initiative leaders. Existing co-creation networks enabled the rapid emergence of new initiatives to address urgent needs, while digital technologies enabled establishing new – and, where necessary, socially distanced – collaborations. Aside from funding initiatives, governments engaged actively in co-creation by granting access to their networks, advising on initiative goals and offering support to improve quick delivery. The role of civil society was important as well, and the socially impactful nature of research and innovation was a motivating factor for engagement. Harnessing a similarly strong motivation is an important driver of effective future co-creation endeavours also to address the challenges of the green transition.

Online marketplaces matching third-party sellers with consumers are now key e-commerce channels globally. Despite their popularity and the benefits they bring to consumers, they do present a number of risks, for example when their third-party sellers engage in misleading marketing and fraud, or supply unsafe products. This report summarises results from a 2021 OECD survey of 28 countries and 15 platform businesses examining the role of online marketplaces in enhancing consumer protection. The report highlights a range of encouraging initiatives by many participating countries and online marketplaces to better protect consumers, often taken in co-operation with one another, but also identifies several key areas where more action is needed.