France Joins Open Government Partnership

French minister Marylise Lebranchu announced earlier today at the Paris Conference that France is joining the Open Government Partnership. It’s the logical next step following France’s work on open data and open government. In particular, a small entity called Etalab acted like a startup within the French government to release a new version of Data.gouv.fr. Many open data advocates praised France’s work in this area.

What does it actually mean when you join the open government partnership? The French government has 12 months to draft a comprehensive report on what it plans to do to become more open. If you’re interested in government innovation, this initiative is very interesting.

In particular, there are four key areas in the partnership — members need to “promote transparency, fight corruption, empower citizens, and harness the power of new technologies to make government more effective and accountable.”