Page 130 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

128 A Project of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) Step 9: Government response How you will you respond? Your response will be shaped by the commitment you make at the beginning of the process. You should consider: • Assume their report is immediately public. • Making a response in person. • A response document that details an official position on each recommendation and closes the loop for participants. • Updates on the implementation of recommendations. It is important that you continue to communicate the progress of each recommendation. At first this might be a closing the loop meeting that might see you inviting participants back for an update 6-months later. You might then opt to maintain regular email contact with participants at key points of implementation. This approach is valuable for government because participants can continue to give insight into how recommendations could or should be implemented. It also continues to bring participants into the decision-making process ensuring they remain advocates of the outputs.