The Open Government Partnership and Development of the U.S. Open Government Plan

The Open Government Plan of the United States will be formally launched in September on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City. As we continue our work on the plan, we want to thank you for your help and participation.  Last week, on this blog, we posed several questions asking for your ideas about how we can focus open government efforts on improving public services and increasing public integrity.  We are grateful for the helpful responses we have received, and we will be publishing all responsive submissions online in the next few weeks. 

In response to our inquiries, some people have asked for additional information about the Open Government Partnership and the Open Government Plan, and on how they fit into the Administration’s domestic Open Government Initiative.  We provide some more detail here.   

The White House’s Open Government Initiative is a domestic effort, launched on the President’s first full day in office, to work toward an “unprecedented level of openness in government.”  Over the past two years, responding to the President’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, Federal agencies have done a great deal to make information about how government works more accessible to the public, to solicit citizens’ participation in government decision-making, and to collaborate with all sectors of the economy on new and innovative solutions.  

The Open Government Partnership will strengthen the momentum towards more open and accountable government that we see emerging around the globe.  By participating in the Open Government Partnership, the U.S. will build on the foundation that we have established through the Open Government Initiative, and identify next steps toward promoting the President’s commitment to transparency, participation, and accountability in government.

As we continue to develop our plan, we would like to ask for your help again.  We noted in the last blog post that countries participating in the Open Government Partnership have pledged to tackle one or more of five key challenges that face governments today.  Today, we are asking for your thoughts and ideas related to two of these key challenges – more effectively managing public resources and increasing corporate accountability:

1. Managing and properly archiving government records using new technologies not only makes government more efficient but also preserves vital records for the future.  What issues should the government take into consideration as it contemplates a records management system in an electronic environment? What would be the appropriate next steps?
2. The President’s January 18, 2011, Memorandum on Regulatory Compliancedirected Administration officials to create a platform to make compliance and enforcement “data available online in searchable form, including on centralized platforms,” and ordered that Administration officials “shall work to explore how best to generate and share enforcement and compliance information across the Government.”  What existing tools can best help the government do this?
3. What are the best practices used by other countries that effectively and fairly promote corporate accountability?  What lessons can be drawn for the U.S.?

Please send us your thoughts to opengov@ostp.gov.  All responsive submissions that we receive will be posted online in the future.  Please do not include any personally identifiable information other than your name or the name of your organization in the body of your response.  We will carefully consider your ideas and input as we develop our National Plan.  Thank you.

Aneesh Chopra is the U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Cass Sunstein is the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs