Obama Administration: A Status Update on Its Open Government Initiative

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2009

Advanced Learning Institute

December 2009

Obama Administration:

A Status Update on Its Open Government Initiative

John Kamensky, Senior [email protected]

2 © Copyright IBM Corporation 2009

Overview

Obama’s Transparent and Open Government Policy

White House Themes Open data Open idea generation Open spending Open platforms

Elements of OMB Directive

Resources

“My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. . . Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.”


Obama’s Transparency and Open Government Memo

Government should be transparent.- Agencies should use technology to put information about their operations

and decisions online- Agencies should solicit feedback to identify info of greatest use to public

Government should be participatory- Agencies should offer increased opportunities to participate in

policymaking

Government should be collaborative- Agencies should engage Americans in the work of their agencies- Agencies should solicit feedback to assess and improve collaboration


Evolution of White House Implementation Efforts

Internal White House Leadership- Directive implementation- Range of players

Experimentation- Open for Questions

Initial Deadline: May 21st- Feedback from federal

MAX Community

- Feedback from Advocacy Groups

Citizen Feedback Efforts, post-May 21st - White House Website, Blog- Phase I - Brainstorm- Phase II - Blog- Phase III - Wiki

December 8th OMB Guidance


Open Data Initiatives

Data.Gov


Open Idea Generation, Policy-Input Initiatives

External Quadrennial Homeland Security Review CDC Flu Video EPA Regulation Website Redesign

Internal Veterans Affairs’ Innovation Contest OMB’s SAVE Award HHS’s code-a-thon to fix National Health Information Network TSA’s Idea Factory State Department Communities of Practice


Open Spending Initiatives

USASpending.Gov

Recovery.Gov

Federal IT Spending Dashboard


Open Government Platform Initiatives

Apps.Gov

Create Communities of Practice

Create Innovation Labs


OMB Guidance: Open Government Directive

Publish Government Information Online- Presumption of openness, publish in open format

Improve Quality of Government Information- Quality of federal spending data, long term strategy

Create, Institutionalize Culture of Open Gov- Agencies create Open Gov plans- OMB creates Open Gov Dashboard- Cross-agency working group, best practices

Create Enabling Policy Framework- ID policy barriers, revise


Key OMB Activities

Establish working group on transparency, accountability, participation, collaboration by 1/22/10

Issue guidance on information quality of federal spending data by 2/6/10

Create an Open Government Dashboard by 2/6/10

Issue guidance on use of incentives to improve Open Gov by 3/8/10

Issue guidance on federal spending transparency by 4/7/10

Complete review of OMB policies to identify impediments, and propose revisions by 4/7/10


Key Agency Activities

Publish at least 3 “high value” data sets by 1/22/10

Designate senior official accountable for quality of spending info by 1/22/10

Create Open Government Webpage by 2/6/10

Publish an Open Government Plan by 4/7/10

Reduce backlog of FOIA requests by 10 percent by 12/8/10


Elements of Agency Open Government Plans

Must reflect “extensive” input of agency leaders, employees, public, experts, and include timelines for action

Components:- Transparency – inventory agency hi-value info; detail

compliance with existing efforts (e.g., Data.gov)- Participation – links to existing participatory processes;

develop new feedback mechanisms- Collaboration – use of tech platforms, incentives- Flagship Initiative – undertake at least one; explain how

it improves agency operations.


Resources

White House Open Gov Site- http://www.whitehouse.gov/open

GSA Intergovernmental Solutions Newsletter- “Engaging Citizens in

Government” (Fall 2009)- http://www.usaservices.gov/pdf

_docs/EngagingCitizens.pdf

- “Transparency and Open Government” (Spring 2009)

- http://www.usaservices.gov/events_news/documents/Transparency.pdf

“Strengthening Our Nation’s Democracy” Report- http://www.americaspeaks.org/index.cf

m?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=925

IBM Center Report “Public Deliberation: A Manager’s Guide to Citizen Engagement”- http://www.businessofgovernment.org/p

ublications/grant_reports/details/index.asp?GID=239

Documents

Obama Administration: A Status Update on Its Open Government Initiative