OpenTheGovernment.org | Americans for Less Secrecy, More DemocracyOpenTheGovernment.org seeks to advance the public's right to know and to reduce secrec

OUT with Secrecy and IN with Sunshine

Transparency advocates with the OpenTheGovernment.org coalition recommend a list of federal government practices that should be “Out,” and what should be “In.” Despite an increased focus on open government by the Executive branch over the last few years, some of the federal government’s actions continue to hinder the public from having an informed understanding of what the government is doing and why.

12/29/2012

12 Days of Open Government Resolutions

Resolution 1: Begin gathering public input for Version 2 of the US National Action Plan

Resolution 2: Make it easier for the public to track agencies’ open government work

Resolution 3: Encourage Agencies to Join FOIAOnline

Resolution 4: Direct Agencies to Update their FOIA Regulations

12/25/2012

Agencies Missing the Tools for Transparency

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the public’s gateway to information about its government. That gateway, however, is often obstructed by lack of resources, a culture of secrecy, and what US Attorney General Eric Holder described in his 2009 FOIA memo as “unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.” In our Managing FOIA blog, we chronicled our recent experiences with these hurdles, inefficiencies, and inconsistencies. Today, the National Security Archive shed some light on why these obstacles persist.

12/04/2012

Evaluating What a Difference a Year Makes: US Participation in the Open Government Partnership

In late January, OpenTheGovernment.org will release a report on whether and how well the Obama Administration has carried out the National Action Plan (Plan) it submitted as a part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). For those of you who don't know, the Open Government Partnership is an international effort to make governments more transparent and collaborative. Nations that join the Partnership must, among other things, collaborate with civil society organizations to develop a National Action Plan with concrete commitments. In the vein of encouraging and rewarding collaboration, the evaluation released in January will look at not only whether the government completed the letter of its commitment, but also the extent to which it collaborated with civil society organizations and acted on our recommendations.

11/30/2012

Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act Passes in Senate

On November 13th, 2012, following more than a decade of advocacy from the openness and accountability community, Congress finally enacted protections for those who expose waste, fraud, abuse, and illegality in government. The Senate unanimously passed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA, S. 743), closing loopholes for federal whistleblowers who fight for accountable government and safeguard taxpayer dollars. The House of Representatives unanimously approved the WPEA in September.

11/14/2012

OpenTheGov Blog Tracks, Compares FOIA Processes

OpenTheGovernment.org recently launched a blog, Managing FOIA, to compare the experience using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) at different federal agencies.

The blog tracks the progress of our request at 17 agencies. Three of the requests were made using the recently-launched FOIAonline website. The remaining requests were made using either the agency's online submission form or via email to the 14 agencies that received the highest number of requests in 2011.

10/16/2012

Presidential Policy Directive Supports Whistleblowers, Good Sign for Open and Accountable Government

Yesterday the White House took a significant step towards fostering open and accountable government and fulfilling the promise of the Open Government Partnership by issuing a historic Presidential Policy Directive on Whistleblower Protections. The Open Government Partnership is an international effort to make more open, effective, and accountable.

10/11/2012

Time to Take Advantage of the PIDB's Potential

Among various important issues the 112^th Congress will need to address before adjourning, is the reauthorization of the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB), an advisory committee established by Congress in order to promote the fullest possible public access to a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of significant U.S. national security decisions and activities, that is set to sunset at the end of 2012.

10/02/2012

FOIAonline Explained

On October 1st, FOIAonline, a service that makes it easier for the public to make and track requests for government information made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) at participating agencies, went live. Click "Read more" to see how the system works.

09/27/2012

Progress Report Marks 1 Year Anniversary of Open Government Partnership US National Plan

To mark the anniversary of the release of the Open Government Partnership US National Action Plan, OpenTheGovernment.org and a team of organizations released a progress report on the steps the Administration’s implementation of the report.

09/20/2012

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