Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

New EPA Rulemaking Gateway: Building a Public Participation Calendar

Published by Tim on February 19, 2010 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

For some time, I’ve been suggesting the creation of a national public participation calendar and project directory as a key component of the Open Government Directive:

Based on this post on NextGov, it looks like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving in that direction: EPA Web site paving the way to transparency

As more agencies deploy online score cards that publicly chart the progress of specific missions, the Environmental Protection Agency’s new Web site for tracking rulemaking could be a model, some government transparency activists say.
EPA launched its site, the Rulemaking Gateway, on Thursday to inform the public of the status of high-priority regulatory actions, such as proposals to control greenhouse gas emissions in heavy-duty vehicles and revise vehicle fuel economy labels.
[...]
EPA has committed to releasing rulemaking plans earlier than in the past. As soon as an agency regulatory policy officer determines it is appropriate to start developing a rule, information will be posted on the gateway, officials said. A regulation could appear on the site months or even years before a file is created on the governmentwide rule-tracking site Regulations.gov.
[...]
The gateway is tightly tied to Regulations.gov to increase public participation in the rulemaking process, said Madia, a federal regulatory policy analyst at the group.
[...]
The EPA Web site will show updated proposals monthly, as decisions are made. Time-sensitive information, such as announcements about public meetings, will be refreshed daily.

You can check out EPA’s new Rulemaking Gateway here.

Things are starting to look really interesting…

OpenGov Open Feedback Firehose

Published by Tim on February 6, 2010 in Uncategorized. 12 Comments Tags: , .

Update 2010/02/15: Added feeds for Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the list below, added National Archives to Pipes feed.

The Open Government Directive, issued on December 8, 2009 stated:

1. Publish Government Information Online

[...]

e.  Within 60 days, each agency shall create an Open Government Webpage located at http://www.[agency].gov/open to serve as the gateway for agency activities related to the Open Government Directive and shall maintain and update that webpage in a timely fashion.

f.  Each Open Government Webpage shall incorporate a mechanism for the public to:

i. Give feedback on and assessment of the quality of published information;
ii. Provide input about which information to prioritize for publication; and
iii. Provide input on the agency’s Open Government Plan (see 3.a.).

That day is today!

Here are three sites that track which of the agency.gov/open pages are already live or have feedback options in place:

As was expected, most of these sites are using IdeaScale for input gathering and discussion. Some of you may remember this tool from phase 1 of the Open Government Dialogue (see here, here).

Below is a list of RSS feeds available from the various idea gathering and discussion forums (scroll down for link to the ultimate combo firehose feed):

1. Federal Communications Commission

  • http://rebootfcc.uservoice.com/forums/40005-open-how-can-the-fcc-improve-its-work-on-the-open/activity.atom
  • http://rebootfcc.uservoice.com/forums/37117-engagement-what-are-ways-in-which-the-fcc-can-bet/activity.atom
  • http://rebootfcc.uservoice.com/forums/37639-engagement-how-can-the-fcc-also-increase-engageme/activity.atom
  • http://rebootfcc.uservoice.com/forums/37637-engagement-what-technologies-and-practices-could-/activity.atom
  • http://rebootfcc.uservoice.com/forums/37643-engagement-how-can-the-fcc-better-facilitate-the-/activity.atom
  • http://rebootfcc.uservoice.com/forums/37175-engagement-how-should-the-fcc-improve-its-engagem/activity.atom
  • http://rebootfcc.uservoice.com/forums/37118-engagement-in-what-ways-can-social-networks-furth/activity.atom
2. Social Security Administration
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777476/ideascale_7069.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777476/ideascale_comments_7069.xml
3. National Science Foundation
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777472/ideascale_7046.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777472/ideascale_comments_7046.xml
4. Department of Justice
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777454/ideascale_7036.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777454/ideascale_comments_7036.xml
5. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
No RSS feeds available. Feedback option via this contact form: http://www.federalreserve.gov/feedback.cfm
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777446/ideascale_7029.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777446/ideascale_comments_7029.xml
7. General Services Administration
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777469/ideascale_6960.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777469/ideascale_comments_6960.xml
8. Department of Defense
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777447/ideascale_7067.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777447/ideascale_comments_7067.xml
9. Department of Energy
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777450/ideascale_7031.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777450/ideascale_comments_7031.xml
10. Department of State
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777461/ideascale_7038.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777461/ideascale_comments_7038.xml
11. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
No RSS feed available. Feedback option via this online form: http://www1.eeoc.gov/open/feedback.cfm
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/811036/ideascale_7239.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/811036/ideascale_comments_7239.xml
No feedback option available besides generic “contact us” page.
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777449/ideascale_7030.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777449/ideascale_comments_7030.xml
Opportunity to discuss their Open Government Plan on the blog: http://www.hhs.gov/open/plan/ourplan_1.html
  • http://www.hhs.gov/open/plan/rss_69775.xml
  • http://www.hhs.gov/open/discussion/rss_69813.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777467/ideascale_7042.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777467/ideascale_comments_7042.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777466/ideascale_7110.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777466/ideascale_comments_7110.xml
18. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777473/ideascale_7048.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777473/ideascale_comments_7048.xml
19. Securities and Exchange Commission
No feedback option available besides email address.
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/779496/ideascale_7043.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/779496/ideascale_comments_7043.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777475/ideascale_7068.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777475/ideascale_comments_7068.xml
No feedback option available yet.
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777462/ideascale_7039.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777462/ideascale_comments_7039.xml
24. Department of Labor
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777460/ideascale_7037.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777460/ideascale_comments_7037.xml
25. Department of Agriculture
  • http://www.usda.gov/open/ideas.nsf/rss.xml?openagent&product=Transparency
  • http://www.usda.gov/open/ideas.nsf/rss.xml?openagent&product=Participation
  • http://www.usda.gov/open/ideas.nsf/rss.xml?openagent&product=Collaboration
  • http://www.usda.gov/open/ideas.nsf/rss.xml?openagent&product=Innovation
  • http://www.usda.gov/open/ideas.nsf/rss.xml?openagent&product=Datasets
  • http://www.usda.gov/open/ideas.nsf/rss.xml?openagent&product=All%20Other
26. White House
No specific feedback options. A number of discussions have been held on the OSTP blog on behalf of the White House.
27. Federal Bureau of Investigation
No feedback option as of this writing.
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777452/ideascale_7033.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777452/ideascale_comments_7033.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777453/ideascale_7034.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777453/ideascale_comments_7034.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777464/ideascale_7040.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777464/ideascale_comments_7040.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777465/ideascale_7041.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777465/ideascale_comments_7041.xml
32. Consumer Product Safety Commission
No feedback option as of this writing.
33. Federal Election Commission
No feedback option as of this writing.
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777470/ideascale_7044.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777470/ideascale_comments_7044.xml
35. National Transportation Safety Board
No feedback option as of this writing.
36. Central Intelligence Agency
No feedback option as of this writing.
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777474/ideascale_7047.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/777474/ideascale_comments_7047.xml

38. Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive Office of the President

  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/803629/ideascale_7129.xml
  • http://www.ideascale.com//userimages/sub-1/803629/ideascale_comments_7129.xml
* * *
I’ve put together a combined RSS feed via Yahoo! Pipes: OGD Open Feedback Firehose
I’ll update the pipe as more forums go online.  Leave a comment if you do anything interesting with the feed.

Aneesh Chopra Explains What Citizen Participation Might Look Like

Published by Tim on December 11, 2009 in Uncategorized. 5 Comments Tags: , , , .

In a post on the White House blog today, Aneesh Chopra, Federal Chief Technology Officer and the Associate Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, follows up on some of the questions that went unanswered during the FAQ on Tuesday: Answering Your Questions on the Open Government Directive

Russ Gaskin of Washington, DC commented: [W]ould like an example of what citizen participation might look like under this directive.
Russ, I expect citizen participation initiatives to build on the outburst of creativity and experimentation we’ve seen in this space in the first 10 months of this Administration.
For example, Open for Questions gave Americans across the nation a direct line to the Administration to ask exactly what they wanted to know about the Administration’s efforts to get the economy back on track. Openinternet.gov enriched the official record on net neutrality with more than 22,000 comments.   Across the country and online, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been seeking the best ideas for the next generation of school reform through his Listening and Learning Tour.  A Health IT Online Forum is currently drawing on the expertise of stakeholders on the front lines of healthcare delivery to uncover new strategies to accelerate the adoption of Health IT.  And, just yesterday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy launched the Public Access Policy Forum  to better understand how the Executive Branch might best enhance public access to peer reviewed papers arising from all federal science and technology agencies.
Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the unprecedented three-phase public consultation process  (brainstorming, discussion, drafting) that shaped the Open Government Directive itself.   You can learn more about the Open Government Initiative public consultation process and other innovations in participatory decision making in the Open Government Progress Report to the American People and in the White House Open Government Innovations Gallery.
At the same time, I hope that all of you will engage in the agency public consultation processes that will shape their Open Government plans. I know that Washington does not have a monopoly on the best ideas and want your ideas for how we can make participation opportunities more meaningful for citizens.

Russ Gaskin of Washington, DC commented: [W]ould like an example of what citizen participation might look like under this directive.

Russ, I expect citizen participation initiatives to build on the outburst of creativity and experimentation we’ve seen in this space in the first 10 months of this Administration.

For example, Open for Questions gave Americans across the nation a direct line to the Administration to ask exactly what they wanted to know about the Administration’s efforts to get the economy back on track. Openinternet.gov enriched the official record on net neutrality with more than 22,000 comments.   Across the country and online, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been seeking the best ideas for the next generation of school reform through his Listening and Learning Tour.  A Health IT Online Forum is currently drawing on the expertise of stakeholders on the front lines of healthcare delivery to uncover new strategies to accelerate the adoption of Health IT.  And, just yesterday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy launched the Public Access Policy Forum to better understand how the Executive Branch might best enhance public access to peer reviewed papers arising from all federal science and technology agencies.

Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the unprecedented three-phase public consultation process  (brainstorming, discussion, drafting) that shaped the Open Government Directive itself.   You can learn more about the Open Government Initiative public consultation process and other innovations in participatory decision making in the Open Government Progress Report to the American People and in the White House Open Government Innovations Gallery.

At the same time, I hope that all of you will engage in the agency public consultation processes that will shape their Open Government plans. I know that Washington does not have a monopoly on the best ideas and want your ideas for how we can make participation opportunities more meaningful for citizens.

Earlier this year, a number of organizations in the participation field collaborated on several occasions to provide the White House with detailed input on exactly this question — how to make participation meaningful. The following two efforts were probably the most notable:

  • The Public Engagement Principles (PEP) Project was launched in mid-February 2009 to create clarity in our field about what we consider to be the fundamental components of quality public engagement, and to support Barack Obama’s January 21st memorandum on transparency and open government.  The following principles were developed collaboratively by members and leaders of NCDD, IAP2 (the International Association of Public Participation), the Co-Intelligence Institute, and many others. — PEP website, PDF download (1.6MB)
  • Strengthening our Nations Democracy II. On August 2-4, 2009, “experts and advocates for strengthening our nation’s democracy” came together to create new momentum and plans for bringing together the emerging democracy reform movement behind a common set of priorities. At the second Strengthening Our Nation’s Democracy conference, participants shared what they have been learning from their work across the country, and rolled up their sleeves to create collective recommendations and action steps. — PDF download (1.1MB)

Unlike the eight Open Government Data Principles, a set of guidelines developed two years ago by the Open Government Working Group (see meeting notes) which are reflected in the Open Government Directive almost verbatim, the above mentioned recommendations on participation were not explicitly included in the Directive. It remains to be seen to what degree they’ll be found in the Open Government Plans that are now being crafted at the agency level.

Participation And the Open Government Directive

Published by Tim on December 8, 2009 in Public Participation, Radar and Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: , .

Being eagerly awaited by many in the field, the Open Government Directive was released this morning: Open Government Directive (PDF, 84 KB)

Here’s a summary of snippets that deal with participation and engagement:

Participation allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise so that their government can make policies with the benefit of information that is widely dispersed in society.

[...]

3. Components of the plan

[...]

b. Participation: To create more informed and effective policies, the Federal Government should promote opportunities for the public to participate throughout the decision-making process.  Your agency’s Open Government Plan should explain in detail how your agency will improve participation, including steps your agency will take to revise its current practices to increase opportunities for public participation in and feedback on the agency’s core mission activities.  The specific details should include proposed changes to internal management and administrative policies to improve participation.

i. The Plan should include descriptions of and links to appropriate websites where the public can engage in existing participatory processes of your agency.

ii. The Plan should include proposals for new feedback mechanisms, including innovative tools and practices that create new and easier methods for public engagement.

[...]
e) Public and Agency Involvement: Your agency’s Open Government Plan should include, but not be limited to, the requirements set forth in this attachment.  Extensive public and employee engagement should take place during the formation of this plan, which should lead to the incorporation of relevant and useful ideas developed in that dialogue.  Public engagement should continue to be part of your agency’s periodic review and modification of its plan.  Your agency should respond to public feedback on a regular basis.

3. Components of the plan

b. Participation:  To create more informed and effective policies, the Federal
Government should promote opportunities for the public to participate
throughout the decision-making process.  Your agency’s Open Government
Plan should explain in detail how your agency will improve participation,
including steps your agency will take to revise its current practices to increase
opportunities for public participation in and feedback on the agency’s core
mission activities.  The specific details should include proposed changes to
internal management and administrative policies to improve participation.
i. The Plan should include descriptions of and links to appropriate
websites where the public can engage in existing participatory
processes of your agency.
ii. The Plan should include proposals for new feedback mechanisms,
including innovative tools and practices that create new and easier
methods for public engagement.
For what it’s worth, here’s how many times the key terms are mentioned in the Directive: transparency (21x), collaboration (16x), participation (14x) and engagement (3x).
Here’s the timeline:
  • Within 45 days: establish a working group that focuses on transparency, accountability, participation, and collaboration within the Federal Government. …
  • Within 60 days: create an Open Government Dashboard on www.whitehouse.gov/open.  The Open Government Dashboard (to include each agency’s Open Government Plan, aggregate statistics and visualizations)
  • Within 120 days: each agency shall develop and publish on its Open Government Webpage an Open Government Plan that will describe how it will improve transparency and integrate public participation and collaboration into its activities.
It’ll be up to the agencies to describe in more detail how they plan to embed public participation in their work.