The White House Is Open to Your Suggestions on Openness
Got suggestions for how to open the federal government to citizens? The Obama administration is (almost) ready to listen.
In a notice published in today's Federal Register, the president's Office of Science and Technology Policy called on the public to send recommendations via a new White House Web page -- www.whitehouse.gov/open -- or via e-mail at opengov@ostp.gov.
The page is not up yet, but we'll be checking throughout the day. We've also asked the White House to tell us when the page will be up.
Today's solicitation follows up on a memo (PDF) that President Obama issued on his second day in office, which called for his chief technology officer, the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration to write a directive for making government more open. Obama pointed to three key principles of open government: transparency to help citizens know what their government is doing, citizens' participation in government, and tools for collaboration across all levels of government.
Whether your suggestion is about a specific agency or directed across the board, the administration is seeking answers to some of these questions:
- What information should be available online?
- How can government be more transparent?
- How can citizens better participate in decision-making?
- How can the effectiveness of openness be measured?
Get thinking -- the deadline for submissions is June 19. Comments, even those that come in by e-mail, may be made available to the public.
For one open-records advocate, Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org, getting agencies to manage electronic records is her No. 1 recommendation. "We now have no assurance that the records of the government that are being created electronically are being managed and preserved," she said.
She also hopes to see a culture shift from federal agencies' seeing information as belonging to them rather than to the public.
"We're glad the process is finally in place," she added.
Update: Whitehouse.gov/open is now open!
Get Updates
Our Hottest Stories
- Bank of America Lied to Homeowners and Rewarded Foreclosures, Former Employees Say
- Time Out: Federal Complaint Alleges Rampant Abuse in Texas Truancy Program
- Worried about the Mass Surveillance? How to Practice Safer Communication
- In Westchester, Progress on Housing and the Specter of Another Fight
- Walmart Accepted Clothing from Banned Bangladesh Factories
- When Interns Should be Paid: A #ProjectIntern Explainer
- Without a Final Map, New York Rebuilds on Uncertain Ground
- Five Ways Congress is Trying to Curb Rape in the Military
- Objection Overruled: Top Prosecutor Must Testify in Wrongful Conviction Case
- Rape and Other Sexual Violence Prevalent in Juvenile Justice System
- Bank of America Lied to Homeowners and Rewarded Foreclosures, Former Employees Say
- The NSA Black Hole: 5 Basic Things We Still Don’t Know About the Agency's Snooping
- Walmart Accepted Clothing from Banned Bangladesh Factories
- The Best Stories on the Government’s Growing Surveillance
- Worried about the Mass Surveillance? How to Practice Safer Communication
- Betting Against the Future: How Industry Loses When Interns Go Unpaid
- Five Ways Congress is Trying to Curb Rape in the Military
- A Father’s Day Remembrance
- Unpaid Interns Win Major Ruling in 'Black Swan' Case — Now What?
- Remember When the Patriot Act Debate Was All About Library Records?
