Next week, Aneesh Chopra, who has been appointed though not yet confirmed as Chief Technology Officer, will issue long-awaited recommendations for the Open Government Directive.  Sources indicate that the recommendations will be open to public comment through unspecified new media conduits.  While a nice gesture, I worry that the vague and apparently last minute plans for gathering public input will fall short of the more collaborative and participatory process that the administration has been promising.

There are several problems with the reported scenario.  First is that the process and expected timeline remains unclear to the public.  There has been great interest in the new open government policies being developed for the directive.  However, participation will continue to be stymied if the administration does not make clear ahead of time when information will be released, how long people will have react and how they should provide comments.  These details remain unclear or complexly unknown to the general public.  For instance, according to President Obama’s January 21st memo, the deadline for these recommendations is May 21.  Chopra will reportedly begin releasing individual recommendations by the 21st, however they are expected to come out over the course of several days.  If the deadline needs to be extended for a staggered release that administration seems to prefer, then an extension should be announced.  As things stand now, some may mistakenly interpret what is released on or before May 21 as the extent of the recommendations.    

Further, while I applaud the administration’s effort to utilize new media technologies, it appears there will not be an official Request for Comment through the Federal Register, the most customary method for seeking public input.  The administration followed the normal RFC procedure for the scientific integrity memo and the regulatory review executive order, but not for the open government directive. It may be that an RFC will be published for the Open Government Directive but again those plans have not been made clear. 

In March, OMB Watch hosted an event at the Center for American Progress in which over 40 groups came together to begin giving input on the recommendations.  During this event, the administration told the right-to-know community that they were planning to adhere to President Obama’s call for a participatory and collaborative process by seeking public comment.  However, they have waited until the last minute to do so.  The reason for the delay is unclear – so far, the official position has been to blame it on the late arrival of the CTO.   Gary Bass, of OMB Watch, stated, “The reality is this guy is just getting on board.  It sounds like he might get on board the same day the recommendations are due."