Why Open Government Is Important
Partisans on either side of the political spectrum will say that "change" they can believe in is hard to find, when looking back over the first year of the Obama Presidency. If anything, it seems as if the country has gotten more polarized -- over government spending, health care, energy and terrorism.
Among the President's campaign promises, there is one area in which his Administration has lived up to most expectations and stand in start difference to their predecessors: transparency and openness in government.
On the first full day of the Obama Administration, the President signed a "Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government," setting guiding principles for executive branch agencies to implement as they transitioned to new leadership. (Incidentally, the memo was signed on the same day that the President and First Lady opened the White House in a public Open House, which I was privileged to be invited to attend.)
Last month, the President issued a Presidential Open Government Directive, which compels Executive Branch agencies to report back to the White House on how they will comply with three benchmark themes: transparency, public participation and collaboration.
While politics often guides what issues an agency prioritizes, the Obama Administration has made clear that the process by which that policy is implemented needs to change, adapting to meet the unique needs and possibilities of a new century. What's at stake is all-partisan: strengthening our democracy, by improving its efficiency and effectiveness.
As the Memorandum recognizes, new technology offers innovative and creative solutions to "Government 2.0." The Internet makes the objective of having government universally accessible to all Americans a real possibility. It should also be noted that on the policy angle, the Administration has made universal broadband a priority, beginning with funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the FCC recently began a series of cross-country meetings on the issue. Transparency of government operations increases accountability, allows for information to be more accessible and fulfill the spirit of public disclosure legislation.
Access to government information is only the first step. Interaction and participation with it is the next step. By allowing diverse opinions during the rule-making process, the quality of decisions will increase. Even within government, this is important. Technology and web 2.0 are knocking down cross-agency, even cross-department, barriers to participations. By allowing relevant government agencies and career professionals easy access to information, government operations increase and are improved.
Finally, the memorandum identifies collaboration as the third principle for government to adapt. While transparency and participation can be seen as taking place before and during the decision-making process, collaboration is a critical step in knowing what happens next- or answering the question, "how best can we use this information (data)?" The ARRA is a good example; the government set up www.recovery.gov to show how the $700 billion stimulus spending bill was being spent. Another great examples comes at the local level, with technical applications such as See Click Fix that allow for the public to use, adapt and collaborate with publicly available information and data- whether that be pointing out the need for city services- or the regional spread of a pandemic influenza.
With every major initiative, critics will point to areas in which the Obama Administration could be even more open and even more transparent--such as fulfilling the campaign promise to have all bills online for 72-hours before the President signs them, or opening up the closed-door health care negotiations to C-SPAN cameras--but it is irrefutable that the progress made over the last year is a dramatic step forward into 21st century e-government.
Note: Tomorrow, The Open Government Directive Workshop Series holds its second session, bringing together stakeholders from across government to discuss and collaborative how their agencies can learn from others in adapting to the principles set forward in the Presidential Memorandum. I will be live-tweeting and reporting from the Workshop for SocialGovernment.
Among the President's campaign promises, there is one area in which his Administration has lived up to most expectations and stand in start difference to their predecessors: transparency and openness in government.
On the first full day of the Obama Administration, the President signed a "Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government," setting guiding principles for executive branch agencies to implement as they transitioned to new leadership. (Incidentally, the memo was signed on the same day that the President and First Lady opened the White House in a public Open House, which I was privileged to be invited to attend.)
Last month, the President issued a Presidential Open Government Directive, which compels Executive Branch agencies to report back to the White House on how they will comply with three benchmark themes: transparency, public participation and collaboration.
While politics often guides what issues an agency prioritizes, the Obama Administration has made clear that the process by which that policy is implemented needs to change, adapting to meet the unique needs and possibilities of a new century. What's at stake is all-partisan: strengthening our democracy, by improving its efficiency and effectiveness.
As the Memorandum recognizes, new technology offers innovative and creative solutions to "Government 2.0." The Internet makes the objective of having government universally accessible to all Americans a real possibility. It should also be noted that on the policy angle, the Administration has made universal broadband a priority, beginning with funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the FCC recently began a series of cross-country meetings on the issue. Transparency of government operations increases accountability, allows for information to be more accessible and fulfill the spirit of public disclosure legislation.
Access to government information is only the first step. Interaction and participation with it is the next step. By allowing diverse opinions during the rule-making process, the quality of decisions will increase. Even within government, this is important. Technology and web 2.0 are knocking down cross-agency, even cross-department, barriers to participations. By allowing relevant government agencies and career professionals easy access to information, government operations increase and are improved.
Finally, the memorandum identifies collaboration as the third principle for government to adapt. While transparency and participation can be seen as taking place before and during the decision-making process, collaboration is a critical step in knowing what happens next- or answering the question, "how best can we use this information (data)?" The ARRA is a good example; the government set up www.recovery.gov to show how the $700 billion stimulus spending bill was being spent. Another great examples comes at the local level, with technical applications such as See Click Fix that allow for the public to use, adapt and collaborate with publicly available information and data- whether that be pointing out the need for city services- or the regional spread of a pandemic influenza.
With every major initiative, critics will point to areas in which the Obama Administration could be even more open and even more transparent--such as fulfilling the campaign promise to have all bills online for 72-hours before the President signs them, or opening up the closed-door health care negotiations to C-SPAN cameras--but it is irrefutable that the progress made over the last year is a dramatic step forward into 21st century e-government.
Note: Tomorrow, The Open Government Directive Workshop Series holds its second session, bringing together stakeholders from across government to discuss and collaborative how their agencies can learn from others in adapting to the principles set forward in the Presidential Memorandum. I will be live-tweeting and reporting from the Workshop for SocialGovernment.
posted by Chris Golden @ 5:50 PM
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