Global Affiliate Hubs

Since Open Gov Hub was founded in 2012, many people who have visited us in Washington have been inspired by our unique model to think about establishing similar civic innovation hubs in their home cities around the world.

One of our founding members, Accountability Lab, led the initial growth of affiliate Open Gov Hubs in other countries starting in 2014, and continues to help start these hubs to foster ecosystems of support in many countries.

Then in 2019, we were able to formalize our GAH program and dedicate Hub time and resources to the affiliate hubs, with support from the Open Society Foundations.

In 2019, we began with 6 affiliate hubs in the GAH network, then in 2020 expanded to 13 hubs, who we still work with today.

All hubs in the network share a commitment to open government values (transparency, accountability, and civic participation) and a commitment to fostering collaborations to catalyze greater social change in their countries.

Open Gov Hub Global Affiliate Hubs (GAH) program currently coaches and connects 12 hubs across 12 countries and 5 continents.

GAH Program Goals

The 3 goals of the GAH program are simple but vital to help hubs thrive:

  • Support the financial sustainability of affiliate hubs (ex: coaching on business models/earned income strategies for social impact)

  • Support the staff sustainability of affiliate hubs (ex: hiring and staff development; and promoting healthy work-life balance and burnout prevention)

  • Facilitate cross-country collaborations on timely open government reforms (ex: related to common issues like pandemic recovery or mitigating corruption, to more citizen participation with civic tech, etc.)

2021 Global Virtual Retreat

What We Do?

We offer regular coaching support to all affiliate hubs, in addition to a number of activities designed to stimulate collaborations across our network - from an Annual Collaboration Fund, Global Webinars, Peer Learning Groups, and more.

2021 Global Virtual Retreat

How We Do It?

This work is guided by a few key principles:

  • Demand driven: Our team in Washington never sets out to convince people in certain countries that they need a hub. We are not trying to build a global empire of Open Gov Hubs! :) Instead, we are happy to coach and connect leaders who see this model as being transformative in their countries and communities

  • Mission and business alignment: All hubs should recognize the power of social enterprise, and make sure their social impact and business models are designed to serve each other.

  • Two-way peer learning: Everyone in the network has something to share and something to learn from others! No matter how new or experience the hub and its team is. Even as the oldest hub in the network, Open Gov Hub in Washington DC learns often from our partners

Current Cohort of Global Affiliate Hubs

Want to Join Us and Start Your Own Affiliate Open Gov Hub?

Thank you so much of your initial interest to learn more about joining our global network of civic innovation hubs!

Please complete this Contact Us Form and we will be in touch!