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

When Agencies Get It Right: Highlighting Best Openness Practices

OpenTheGovernment.org and our coalition partners spend a great deal of time highlighting what the government can do better to further openness and enhance accountability. But even as we often make note of the negative, we frequently see agencies that are doing it right, serving as examples of innovation, openness, and transparency for their fellow agencies and colleagues.

03/07/2013

50 States: Now a Little More Open

The Sunlight Foundation’s Open States site now includes searchable legislative data for all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Open States users can identify their state lawmakers, review their votes, search for legislation, and track activity.

03/01/2013

Share Your Open Government Ideas with the White House

The White House will release its self-assessment for the Open Government Partnership this spring. The administration is seeking public input as they reflect upon the successes and challenges of the implementation of the first National Action Plan. The deadline for comments is Friday, March 1st.

02/25/2013

Happy Valentine's Day From OpenTheGovernment.org

In honor of Valentine's Day, we've written our own love poem for open government. Show us your open gov love! Send us your own stanza on Facebook!

02/13/2013

Dear Mr. President: Here's How to Secure Your Open Government Legacy

During last night’s State of The Union Address, President Obama pledged to be more transparent to the American people and to the world about the Administration’s policy regarding the targeting, detention, and prosecution of terrorists, saying, “I recognize that in our democracy, no one should just take my word that we're doing things the right way.” President Obama is right, but the need for greater transparency goes well beyond the Administration’s counterterrorism policies.

02/13/2013

Dear President Obama: It's Time to Define Your Open Government Legacy

In his State of the Union address, President Obama promised more transparency on counterterrorism issues, but did not address his open government legacy. Below, we outline the steps President Obama should take to honor his open government pledge.

The following letter previously appeared as a guest opinion on The Hill's Congress Blog.

02/13/2013

A Second Term Open Government Agenda

"Four years ago, the coalition I lead welcomed President Obama’s pledge to hold himself and his administration to a new standard of openness. Today, I urge the president to implement early in his second term an agenda that advances that promised transparency. Openness needs to be the default position for the federal government."

On The Hill today, Executive Director Patrice McDermott outlines the progress made and the path forward for open government. We've broken down the steps below.

02/01/2013

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

12 Days of Open Government Resolutions - Day 2: Update Public on Agencies' Open Gov Work

Each post in the series of posts we plan to publish between now and December 25 focuses on a resolution the Obama Administration realistically can use to make the federal government more open and accountable in the coming year. See below for links to previous resolutions.

Open Government Resolution 2 for the Obama Administration - Make it easier for the public to track agencies’ open government work

12/14/2012

12 Days of Open Government Resolutions - Day 1: Public Input on V2 of National Action Plan

Conventional wisdom may hold that resolutions are made to be broken. Here at OpenTheGovernment.org, though, we believe that there is an art to making resolutions that stick: be bold, but also decide to do something that you can reasonably accomplish in a year. From now through December 25, we'll be proposing one resolution per day that the Obama Administration can use to make the federal government more open and accountable in the coming year.

12/13/2012