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An Open Door to Open Government

February 8, 2010 at 3:33 PM ET by Dan Pfeiffer

Summary:

Dan Pfeiffer discusses the new open government pages across government.

While most of Washington spent the weekend digging out of the snow, federal agencies were taking the next steps in making their work more transparent for the American people. Since early December, agencies have worked to create their own webpages to serve as the gateway for each agency’s implementation of the Open Government Directive. These pages all went live this weekend, complete with the latest news and updates, downloadable information unique to that agency, and information about how each agency is moving to implement the President’s call for a more transparent, participatory, and collaborative government.

Importantly, each of these sites will be the focal point for the agency's open government plans that, after public feedback and suggestion, will make our work across the Administration more accessible to the American people. That's why each Open Government Webpage incorporates a mechanism to seek your ideas and insights. Most agencies are leveraging a new, no-cost public engagement app from the General Services Administration that allows them to pay less attention to designing tools and more attention to running, moderating, and analyzing public input. It will help to make the agency open government pages more effective at turning public suggestions into government actions.

Here at the White House, we're keeping tabs on the agencies’ efforts. A dashboard – launched this weekend – tracks agency progress toward the goals of the Open Government Directive. This dashboard will continue to evolve with your feedback.

Since day one, the President has committed his Administration to break down long-standing barriers between the people and their government. The steps that the agencies are taking are designed to change the culture of government from a closed, opaque structure to one that is more accessible and accountable to citizens.

Check out the agency sites and see their work for yourself.