Categories of Information Disseminated by ORO Via Web Site

·         Column 1 lists the categories of information ORO disseminates via Web sites.

·          Column 2 indicates the priority ORO assigns to Web publication of each category. 

-          Priority 1: Required by law and regulation, Presidential directive or other official directive or national security; urgent emergency and safety information.

-          Priority 2: Mission-critical and essential for program operations, but not required by law, regulation or Presidential directive  

-          Priority 3: Frequently requested information or services that would improve organization business processes and/or customer service to the public.

-          Priority 4: Other information.

·          Column 3 indicates the publication schedule for the category.

Category	Priority	Publication Target
1.  Urgent emergency management and safety information disseminated on a real-time basis in order to protect the health of the public.	1	Emergency Web site was created in 2003 and will be updated in FY 2007.
2.  Press Information, including press releases on Departmental activities and accomplishments.	2	Items are posted as they are issued.
3.  General departmental information, such as mission and function statements, contact information, fact sheets, calendars, meetings and announcements.	3	Items are posted and updated as required.
4.  Programmatic and administrative information, including specific information about the diverse ORO programs and training information.	3	As programs change, items are updated.
5.  Procurement and Contract information includes contract solicitations and awarded contracts as well as contact information.	2	Both new and awarded contracts are updated as they occur.
6.  Budget Information includes current budget, payroll information and economic impact of DOE on State of Tennessee.	3	Budget and payroll data are updated each Fiscal Year and the Economic Impact report is posted as issued.
7.  Regulatory information includes information requiring public notification and review opportunities.	1	Regulatory items are regularly posted to Information Center Web site.

Linking Policy

ORO policy for hyperlinks requires a website to be funded, sponsored, supported, or partnered by the DOE, be educational in nature, or be another Government web site.

Links may be made to our web site from other personal and organizational web pages. We request that you link to our site rather than downloading portions of it to another web server, so that our viewers will see our most up-to-date information.

The following items are mandatory links for all DOE Web sites:

• Strategic plan and annual performance plans
• Descriptions of agency organizational structure, mission and statutory authority
• Information made available under the Freedom of Information Act
• Specific Web site privacy policies
• FirstGov.gov
• Summary statistical data about equal employment opportunity complaints filed with the agency and written notification of “Whistleblower” rights and protections as required by the No Fear Act of 2002
• The agency point of contact for small businesses as required by the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002
• Other cross-government portals or links required by law or policy

Linking Policy

1.        Linking Policy for External Links.

a.       The ability to hyperlink to sources external to the organization is a fundamental part of the World Wide Web, and can add significant value to the functionality of the publicly accessible ORO Web site. ORO Elements must establish objective and supportable criteria or guidelines for the selection and maintenance of links to external web pages. 

b.       Links to non-ORO Web resources should support the organization’s mission. 

c.       External links should be reviewed on an established schedule to ensure their continued suitability. If the content of a linked external site becomes questionable or objectionable, remove the link. The schedule must be included in the linking policy.

d.       No product endorsements or preferential treatment must be given on publicly accessible official ORO Web sites.

e.       No payment of any kind must be accepted in exchange for a link placed on an organization’s publicly accessible official ORO Web site.

f.         Publicly accessible ORO Web sites must not require or encourage users to choose any specific browser software. Only text or hyperlinked text must be used to direct visitors to software download sites. Graphics or logos depicting companies/products must not appear on publicly accessible ORO Web sites.

g.       When external links to non-government web sites are included, the head of the ORO Element, or the subordinate organization, is responsible for ensuring that a disclaimer is made that neither the ORO nor the organization endorses the product or organization at the destination, nor does the ORO exercise any responsibility over the content at the destination. This includes credits given to contractors who produce ORO Web sites.

2.                   Notification: DOE public Web sites should notify visitors when they are leaving the Web site for a non-DOE Web site.  It is not mandatory for DOE public Web sites to notify visitors when they are leaving the Web site for another federal government Web site. Options for notifying visitors that they are leaving the Web site include—

a.       placing an icon (not graphic or logo depicting companies/products) next to the link;

b.       identifying the destination Web site in the link text or description itself;

c.       inserting an intercepting page that displays the notification, after the user selects the link; or

d.       displaying all non-federal links in a separate listing from federal links.

3.                   Disclaimers:  Federal public Web sites must disclaim responsibility for the content and privacy policies used by non-federal government Web sites.  In the interest of seamless government and maintaining the general public’s trust, federal public Web sites should not disclaim responsibility for the content of other federal public Web sites.  A disclaimer, such as the one below, must be displayed when linking to external sites. This disclaimer may appear on the page or pages listing external links, or through an intermediate "exit notice" page generated by the server whenever a request is made for any site other than the official DOE Web site.

“The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the DOE Oak Ridge Office of this Web site or the information, products or services contained therein."

Exceptions:  Organizations are not responsible for maintaining links contained in documents or reports belonging to another organization or entity that are republished on the Web site.

This policy complies with the Office of Management & Budget policy for establishing and maintaining publicly accessible information services.