Open Government Activities

TRANSPARENCY

Strengthening a Culture of Effectiveness and Accountability through Openness

January 2009
President issues Executive Order promoting the release of Presidential Records

January 2009
White House posts online all waivers under the President’s Executive Order on Ethics

February 2009
Launch of Recovery.gov enables the American people to track how Recovery Act money is being spent

February 2009
Defense Secretary Gates emphasizes transparency, cooperation, and communication in government during an address in Turkey

March 2009
White House streams all five break-out sessions of Health Care Forum at Whitehouse.gov

March 2009
Department of Justice issues new pro-transparency guidelines for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), establishing a presumption in favor of voluntary disclosure of government information

March 2009
President Obama issues a memorandum on Presidential Signing Statements

April 2009
The Federal Aviation Administration makes its entire Bird Strike database available to the public

April 2009
White House provides online access to staff financial reports (SF-278s)

April and May 2009
White House posts the President and Vice President’s tax returns and financial disclosure forms online

April 2009
U.S. Government Printing Office launches new, online federal digital system to increase public access to archived Government information

May 2009
The Council of Chief Information Officers launches Data.gov, a citizen-friendly platform that provides access to Federal datasets

June 2009
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius launches Transparency Task Force at the Food and Drug Administration

June 2009
President announces that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office will increase transparency by allowing applicants to get updates on the status of their applications via e-mail, text messages, and the web.

July 2009
Chief Information Officer launches “IT Dashboard,” a new, one-stop clearinghouse of information that allows the public to track $76 billion in federal IT initiatives and hold the government accountable for results

July 2009
White House posts salaries for White House staff in online, searchable database

July 2009
The Departments of Agriculture and Commerce launch BroadbandUSA.gov, a streamlined online application for broadband initiatives under the Recovery Act

July 2009
The Millennium Challenge Corporation launches MCC’s Results Online, tracking worldwide poverty reduction partnerships.

August 2009
White House webcasts meetings, such as President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Policy

September 2009
White House announces historic new policy to disclose White House visitor logs

September 2009
Attorney General adopts tough state secrets policy

September 2009
White House directs executive agencies and departments that federally-registered lobbyists not be appointed to agency advisory boards and commissions

October 2009
The National Archives and Records Administration and the Government Printing Office publish the Federal Register in XML, empowering individuals to take control over how they want to read the Federal Register

October 2009
For the first time, the White House posts visitor records online

PARTICIPATION

Reinvigorating Democracy and Improving Decisions through Meaningful Participation in Public Policymaking

February - October 2009
Agencies adopt new technologies to generate and capture good ideas from the Federal workforce. The State Department launches “Sounding Board,” an electronic suggestion box (February 2009); The Federal Communication Commission starts “Reboot the FCC” (June 2009); The Department of Labor launches an Open Government blog to solicit efficiency and openness ideas from DOL employees (July 2009); The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Establish “Idea Lab,” a crowd-sourcing tool for agency-wide idea generation and problem solving (August 2009); The White House launches the SAVE Award and the GreenGov Challenge (October 2009).

February 2009
The Office of Management and Budget launches first public comment on an Executive Order

February 2009
The General Service Administration Signs First Social Media Terms of Service Agreement

March 2009
In the Open for Questions Town Hall, the President answers questions that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public

April 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency launches Pick 5 for the Environment

April 2009
The Office of Science and Technology Policy launches blog to solicit public comment on science integrity policy

April 2009
The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board engages public in national, online dialogue to solicit ideas, tools, and approaches to strengthen Recovery.gov

May 2009
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan takes “Listening Tour” online

May 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs launch Regulations.gov Exchange, an online forum inviting the public to propose ideas for how to improve Regulations.gov, the website for commenting on pending regulations

May-July 2009
White House launches unprecedented 3-stage public consultation process on Whitehouse.gov to engage the American public in designing the Administration’s Open Government policy. Phase I invited the public to submit ideas, refine the ideas of others, and vote the best ones to the top. Phase II asked the public to engage in a deeper conversation on the most challenging themes to emerge from Phase I. Finally, Phase III invited the public to use a web-based wiki to collaboratively craft recommendations for how to hardwire the principles of open government in the core activities of Departments and Agencies government-wide.

June 2009
White House hosts online healthcare discussion with the President

June 2009
White House and the National Archives and Records Administration start the Declassification Policy Forum to seek public input on declassification policy

July 2009
The Federal Communications Commission launches Broadband.gov to engage Americans in the development of the National Broadband Plan

July 2009
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) opens forum to seek public input on the Federal web site cookies policy

July 2009
The Office of Management and Budget and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board host a town hall meeting to discuss latest recipient reporting guidance

July 2009
The Department of Defense launches the Web 2.0 Guidance Forum to seek public input in developing a responsible and effective use of emerging Internet-based capabilities

August 2009
The Federal Communications Commission launches National Broadband Plan Brainstorm to seek examples from the public about how broadband is being used to achieve national priorities

August 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency seeks public input on national enforcement priorities through online forum

September 2009
President Obama announces the VA Innovation Initiative, challenging employees to submit groundbreaking ideas to improve the claims process for Veterans

September 2009
The Federal Communications Commission launches OpenInternet.gov, attracting more than 20,000 people to comment on the future of the Internet

October 2009
The Department of Health and Human Services Health IT Standards Committee Launches the Health IT Standards “FACA” blog to get the public’s view on moving forward with healthcare information technology

November 2009
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office launches the Director’s Blog to engage the public on ways the office can function better

November 2009
The Department of Housing and Urban Development puts your Ideas in Action for the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan