How to Strengthen Transparency in the U.S. Open Government Plan
Sep 1, 2011 by Gavin Baker
Yesterday, OMB Watch submitted its recommendations for the Obama administration's national plan for the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The administration will unveil its plan, with new concrete commitments to increase transparency, at the international OGP meeting on Sept. 20.
read in fullTransparency Hearing Highlights Spending Data Issues
Mar 16, 2011 by Sam Rosen-Amy
Even though Sunshine Week is officially this week, the House of Representatives got the ball rolling last Friday. The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform (say that ten times fast) held a hearing called "Transparency Through Technology: Evaluating Federal Open-Government Initiatives," although the hearing focused more on spending transparency than anything else. While one would expect that an oversight hearing in the House “evaluating” the Obama administration’s transparency efforts would be contentious, the most surprising aspect of the hearing was that it wasn’t.
Get Ready for a Lot More Information on Government Performance
Dec 23, 2010 by Gavin Baker
The Government Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Performance Improvement Act, now awaiting President Obama's signature, will significantly expand the amount of information available to the public about government performance.
read in fullWhy Doesn't Federal Spending Add Up?
Sep 9, 2010 by Gavin Baker
A new report by the Sunlight Foundation found widespread errors in USASpending.gov data.
read in fullTime for Agency Data Quality Plans Comes and Goes with Little to Show
May 28, 2010 by Roger Strother*
The Open Government Directive (OGD) issued on December 8, 2009 included a mandate that all agencies create a data quality plan that enhanced the transparency of how agencies spend federal funds. Two weeks ago, these plans were supposed to be finalized and released to the public but so far we can only find one agency’s plan.
New Recovery Act Memo Comes as Recipients Improve Reporting
May 5, 2010 by Sam Rosen-Amy
On Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a new guidance on Recovery Act recipient reporting. The memo expands on several earlier memos on the same topic, but it lays out more concrete steps for agencies to follow.
read in fullWhat Happened to Obama’s Commitment to Scientific Integrity?
Mar 9, 2010 by Matthew Madia
Today, March 9, is the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s scientific integrity memo which instructed his staff to produce within 120 days recommendations for ensuring independence of federal scientists and limiting political interference in their work. 365 days later, we’re still waiting.
read in fullRecovery Act Data Shows Recipients Are Learning
Feb 25, 2010 by Sam Rosen-Amy
Earlier today, the Recovery Board released the list of Recovery Act recipients who did not file during the second reporting period. According to the Board, recipients of 1,036 Recovery Act awards failed to file during this quarter, which was from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2009. That number represents a whopping 76 percent decline from the first reporting cycle, which saw 4,359 missing award reports, and is less than one percent of all the award reports. Equally good news is that of the 1,036 missing reports, only 389 were from "repeat offenders," or recipients who failed to file in both quarters.
Transparency Community Voices Concerns over Data.gov
Feb 4, 2010 by Roger Strother*
Yesterday, a group of organizations, including OMB Watch, submitted concerns with the high-value datasets published on Data.gov in compliance with the requirements of the Open Government Directive (OGD) issued on Dec. 8. The OGD required that agencies submit at least three high value datasets within 45 days through Data.gov. These groups outlined the major problems with the site and its implementation thus far. I have summarized these issues below.
read in fullOMB Watch Suggests Improvements for Information Policy
Jan 4, 2010 by Matthew Madia
There’s no time like the holidays – when packages are wrapped up tight with paper only to be torn apart – to talk about paperwork. That’s why OMB Watch has submitted to the White House comments on improving implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
