The first OECD Report on Public Communication: The Global Context and the Way Forward examines the public communication structures, mandates and practices of centres of governments and ministries of health from 46 countries, based on the 2020 Understanding Public Communication surveys.

This report provides an in-depth, evidence-based analysis of open government initiatives and the challenges countries face in implementing and co-ordinating them.

Open government is a powerful catalyst for driving democracy, public trust, and inclusive growth. In recognition of this, the OECD Council adopted the Recommendation on Open Government in 2017. To date, it remains the first - and only - internationally recognised legal instrument on open government and has guided many countries in designing and implementing their open government agendas. This report takes stock of countries' implementation of the Recommendation, its dissemination, and its ongoing significance. It is based on an OECD survey carried out in 2020/2021 among all countries that adhered to the Recommendation and other partner countries, as well as on further data collected through a perception survey with delegates to the OECD Working Party on Open Government.

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.

This report presents the main findings of the second OECD cross-national Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, carried out in late 2023. With nearly 60 000 responses, representative of the adult population in 30 OECD countries, the survey investigated how people's expectations and experiences with government influence their trust in public institutions. These experiences and expectations range from day-to-day interactions with public institutions to government decision making on complex policy issues. The report identifies some of the main drivers of trust in government and other public institutions and discusses opportunities for policy action. For the first time, the report also analyses how trust levels and drivers have evolved in the 20 OECD countries that participated in the 2021 survey and how an information environment marked by an increasing amount of polarising content and disinformation affects people’s trust in public institutions.

This Public Communication Scan of the United Kingdom, the first such scan of an OECD Member country, brings new insights to the OECD’s work on understanding how public communication contributes to democratic governance.