Version 1.1 of the Department of Interior’s Open Government Plan includes several significant improvements in the areas of public participation and collaboration, and continues its excellence in the area of data transparency.  In the two months since the release of the initial plan, DOI has greatly expanded its release of information to data.gov, so much so that it now ranks 2^nd in the federal government in the number of posted datasets. 

The revised plan also contains information about a newly initiated public participation project (America’s Great Outdoors) and announces the creation of a new Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution, which will implement and manage the Department’s public participation and collaboration proposals.  These concrete changes are a welcome improvement over the often vague proposals of the initial Plan.

In future plans, DOI should continue to provide more details and results from actual programs and should strive to push the envelope, to envision and implement a truly “game changing” openness plan that would truly reform DOI’s culture and practices with regards to open government.

View the original evaluation here.

If you any think part of the agency's plan is impressive, or you have concrete suggestions on how the agency could improve its plan, please share your ideas with us using the form at the bottom of the page.