Innovation is vital for any country’s development. Developing countries, however, face many hurdles in their efforts to innovate, to acquire and effectively use technology to reduce poverty, and to undertake original scientific research. Chief among these constraints are weak policy-making structures and lack of credible information on which to base policies.

Open Forum has been dedicated to improve the lives of the poorest, disadvantaged and marginalized since 2001. Open Forum helps the grassroots communities and civil society to overcome development challenges and works towards accelerating the progress of human development. It also supports the development organization to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In addition, it assists communities to find lasting solutions, strengthens capacity, and thus, improves their lives, and increases their self-reliance.

Open Forum endeavours to conduct its operations according to sound management practices and principles of transparency, accountability, efficiency, and obtaining results. Open Forum also tracks in real time its project allocations, commitments, and expenditures. We believe in an ongoing response model. For this the validation, ongoing learning along with the effectiveness to the communities being benefited is of prime concern. With the experience of fundraising, communications, trainings, seminars, events, media and public relations in print and electronic media, brand building, and hands on development work on both macro and micro issues, the team at Open Forum provides a relevant strategy for your organization to reach out to individuals and organizations effectively and timely.

Open Forum is committed to build a knowledge-sharing environment in communities that inspire and facilitate the realization of an e-Development, which suggests and informs the community about the development and about deployment of Citizen centric Services through web enabled processes, electronic workflows, e-Enabled applications, collaborative partnerships and participation of Citizens, Communities and stakeholders. Open Forum which integrates several Programmes & Activities under its Advocacy & Communications, Policy Advocacy, Training & Capacity Building, Research & Analysis, Partnership & Networking, Community Mobilization, Knowledge for Development, Building Communication Opportunities, Communication for Development, Human Rights, Technical Services have enabled a speedy and effective means for dissemination of information, interaction with people and for delivery of information to Citizens. The ongoing programmes are significant in terms of its capability and potential in serving as an important link between the Development Sector and the citizens. It presents the face of the Organization, its Mission, Vision, functions, activities, performance, etc. It provides features enabling public and stakeholders give their views/ feedback and in realizing Digital Democracy. It is in keeping with the national agenda of Social Development and envisaged roadmap for improving information sharing process that these guidelines are being notified to facilitate a drive for modernization and improvement of marginalized.

Aims & Objectives of Open Forum Services

•	Making accurate and reliable information, which can be otherwise made public and useful to Citizens, stakeholders, Non-Government Organizations and people.
•	Pursuit of Excellence and Quality for improved electronic delivery of information and services to citizens/ communities.
•	e-interaction and knowledge sharing between Communities, Govt. officials, Non- Government Organizations and people in general through electronic collaborative processes.
•	Increasing efficiency and transparency in development processes through cost effective means, resource sharing and seamless integration and collaboration among Grassroots Organizations.
•	Commitment to partnership, networking and value addition through citizen’s and stakeholders participation in the decision making.
•	Realizing knowledge based organizational culture focused on enhancing Citizen, Communities and stakeholders satisfaction through innovative and proactive behavioral engineering.

In accordance with this aims & objectives, Open Forum has been pursuing multi-dimensional objectives since its 1st initiative in year 2001. With an operational vintage of nearly a decade in India, and an expanded mandate to cover the entire South Asian region, it was important that a reconnaissance of the relative strengths of the organization be undertaken. The need to do so was further strengthened by the emergence of a number of close competitors and an increasing awareness (though at a gradual pace) among the stakeholders in the region of the scope and potential of ICTs to facilitate sustainable development and human rights. A participatory approach to address this was thus taken.