Open Government Directive (OGD)
Government Status: Open
Sep 19, 2011 by Sean Moulton
Late last week, the administration released a status report on their open government efforts over the past two and half years. Impressive progress has been made because of the hard work of public employees across the federal government.
read in fullObama and Open Government: Turning Vision into Reality
Jan 5, 2011 by Gary Bass*
On his first full day in office, President Obama promised an administration premised on transparency, participation, and collaboration. If Obama is successful in transforming government in this way, what does that mean for you?
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 fullAs Orszag Steps Down, the Next OMB Director Must Be Committed to Transparency
Jun 24, 2010 by Sam Rosen-Amy
If you're reading this blog, you probably pay at least a little attention to the news, so you likely already know that Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag will be stepping down in the next month or so. Since this is the first "high level" Obama official to leave, it is predictably setting off a flurry of media attention about Orszag's potential replacement.
Time 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.
Data.gov Celebrates First Birthday with a Makeover
May 24, 2010 by Roger Strother*
The website that currently stores thousands of databases containing federal agency information received a welcome makeover last week as its first birthday present. Since its launch last year, the Data.gov has sparked a national and global movement amongst governments interested in increasing their transparency.
Open Government Advocates Grade Federal Agency Openness Plans
May 4, 2010
On May 3, a group of open government experts, including OMB Watch, released a review of federal agencies’ initial Open Government Plans that were published on April 7. Overall, the independent audit organized by OpenTheGovernment.org found that agencies did good work, but much remains to be done.
Open Government Plans Seek Revamp of Culture and Structure
Apr 20, 2010
On April 7, federal agencies released their individual plans to be more transparent, participatory, and collaborative, pursuant to the Obama administration’s Open Government Directive (OGD). The plans varied in scope and quality, but several interesting trends were noticeable. As agencies update their plans, these trends may become baselines for open government or may be abandoned, depending on how successful key agencies' plans prove to be.
read in fullEPA Plan Seeks to Instill Transparency into Agency DNA
Apr 20, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its plan for improving the agency's transparency as part of the Obama administration's Open Government Directive (OGD). The EPA was an early proponent of the new openness agenda, with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson calling for the agency to operate "as if it were in a fishbowl." The agency's new Open Government Plan documents numerous ongoing and future actions that should continue the agency's advance toward transparency and accountability.
read in fullNew Open Government Directive Memo Limits Depth of Spending Transparency
Apr 8, 2010 by Sam Rosen-Amy
We're generally pretty happy with the new Open Government Directive on federal spending transparency. Specifically, we're pleased to see that the administration is moving to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA). Among other things, FFATA required sub-award reporting information on USAspending.gov, the government's spending website, as of 2009. But for more than a year, the Obama administration has not complied with this aspect of the law (in defense of the current administration, the Bush administration also did nothing to add sub-award data onto USAspending.gov, making this a bi-partisan screw-up). The new memo changes that, and mandates that agencies submit sub-award data to USAspending.gov starting October 1 of this year. The only problem is that the Open Government Directive memo limits the reach of this sub-award reporting.
