OECD - Open Government in Biscay

The OECD Secretariat wishes to express its gratitude to all those who made this Review possible, starting with the government of Biscay, which has been fully engaged and facilitated meetings with all relevant stakeholders. In particular, to Unai Rementeria, President of the Province, whose full engagement and leadership was crucial to the process. Special thanks also go to Ibone Bengoetxea, Deputy of the Department of Public Administration and Institutional Relations, to Ibon Oate, General Director of the Strategic Planning Office and Head of the Cabinet of Modernisation, Good Governance and Transparency, to Igor Camao, Chief of Staff of the President of the Province, as well as to the teams of the Cabinet of Modernisation, Good Governance and Transparency and of the Observatory of Biscay, who worked closely with the OECD team throughout the Review. Special thanks also go to Leyre Vitorica, General Director of Good Governance and Transparency and her predecessor Nerea Martiartu, as well as to Mara Presa, Advisor at the Department of Public Administration and Institutional Relations, to Maitane Leizaola, General Director of the Observatory of Biscay and to Jonatan Moreno, Advisor at the Observatory of Biscay for their continuous support.

The OECD team also expresses its appreciation to all the stakeholders from the different Departments of the Provincial Council of Biscay, BiscayTIK, Lantik and municipalities of the Province, as well as to members of the private sector, civil society organisations and academia interviewed during the fact-finding mission for their openness, insights and fruitful discussions. The team would also like to thank all the participants of the capacity-building workshops carried out on 3 December 2018.

The OECD would also like to extend its gratitude to the following public officials from Finland and the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina who acted as peer reviewers by sharing valuable knowledge and experience:

• Katju Holkeri, Financial Counsellor, Public Governance Department, Ministry of Finance, Finland.

• Niklas Wilhelmsson, Advisor, Unit for Democracy, Ministry of Justice, Finland.

• Juan Martn Vila, General Director of Institutional Quality and Open Government, Government of the City of Buenos Aires.

• Maricel Lonati, Manager of Institutional Articulation, General Directorate of Institutional Quality and Open Government, Government of the City of Buenos Aires.

The Open Government Review of Biscay was carried out under the leadership of Marcos Bonturi, Director of the Public Governance Directorate. The Review is part of the series of Open Government Reviews developed by the Governance Reviews and Partnerships Division (GRP), under the responsibility of Martin Forst. The Review was drafted under the strategic direction of Alessandro Bellantoni, Deputy Head of Division and coordinator of the OECD Open Government Unit, who provided extensive comments on all chapters and harmonised the narrative. The Review process was co-ordinated by Emma Cantera with the support of Carla Musi, both also drafted chapters 1, 2, 3 and 5. Chapter 4 was drafted by Eva Beuselinck, Diego Milln and Ivan Stola. Julie Harris provided editorial support. Ciara Muller and Roxana Glavanov provided communications support, quality control and prepared the manuscript for publication. Caroline Semery and Lauren Thwaites provided administrative support.