Transparency
HHS has posted more than 300 data sets and tools in data.gov since the plan started. In January 2011 HHS announced the launch of two key assets to give the public greater access and utility of data. The Health Indicators Warehouse is a new resource built through a multi-agency collaboration, and it houses more than 1,200 health indicators and highly-qualified data that are used to support research and applications. At the same time, HHS became the primary agency to build the new community in data.gov focused on health data, Healthdata.gov. These resources are now being widely promoted to create new uses in the form of information services and applications. More details are provided under the Health Data Initiative flagship activity. The data holdings in Healthdata.gov include every component described in the original plan including the publication of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Dashboard that was published in February 2012. Other key examples to demonstrate public value from HHS data include the HealthCare.gov website, originally launched in July 2010 to provide the public with new resources to find information resources on both public and private health insurance plan options that are suitable to the public.
Substantial progress has been made in many areas developed to support greater transparency and understanding about financial resource data. The HHS Open Government Financial Data Quality Plan was implemented and continues to meet projected timelines. Among the major successes of this plan was the completion of a new tool known as the Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) in 2011 which has received wide acclaim by members of the public interested in tracking federal expenditures in grant programs by region and program. The HHS Innovation Council works closely with the Office of the Chief Information Officer on close coordination of reporting on the Federal IT Dashboard. This effort provides public transparency toward best practices in expenditures and resource management of information technology across the federal government.
HHS has also established a working group, including Innovation Council members, to make the regulatory rulemaking and review process more accessible to the general public. The Department will provide updates through the HHS Open Government website. This website was also used to publish required notifications regarding the HHS prevention and public health fund associated with agencies appropriations for 2012. Agency plans for uses of the funds and details about how to track progress are provided through this site.
Transparency across the agencies has increased through the use of broadcast, web, and new media capabilities, including the launch of new media services in many Operating Divisions. The sharing of best practices and augmentation of skills and knowledge in information gathering, ideation platforms, and crowdsourcing techniques has been implemented and used extensively. The Innovation Council recently partnered with the HHS Federal Advisory Committee executive officers to conduct a survey demonstrating increasing trends of uses of these technologies to augment public participation and transparency of government action.
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