Recommitting Ourselves to Making Government More Effective
Last week, President Obama stood with other heads of state to endorse the principles of the Open Government Partnership and launch the U.S. Open Government National Action Plan.
We are proud of the work done so far to make our government more efficient and effective, and to illustrate the breadth of work done so far, many agencies posted blogs on their achievements of the last two and a half years. In particular, the Department of Transportation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of the Treasury, Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, and General Services Administration are recommitting themselves to the principles of open government.
More still, agencies are doubling down and announcing new and innovative initiatives in addition to the commitments that are already in their Open Government Plans. For example, the Department of Justice plans to convene an Interagency Technology Working Group to focus on expanding the use of technology in the core elements of FOIA administration. And, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will establish an Innovation Lab that will benefit HUD through the incubation of novel and unique ideas that improve interactions with customers, increase mission efficiency and efficacy, and reduce duplication of effort.
Agencies continue to play a lead role in making our government more open. One initiative in our Plan commits to working to modernize the management of government records. To that end, the Archivist of the United States David Ferriero will convene a meeting of international archivists to discuss the role they play in a more open government. And, NASA will launch the International Space Apps Challenge to help improve public services and promote innovation through collaboration.
The Plan that we unveiled last week, and the initiatives that agencies are continuing to implement, are part of a larger effort to fulfill the President’s commitment to make our government more “open and competent.” In some ways, the hard work is just beginning, but we look forward to the work ahead.
Chris Vein is the US Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Government Innovation
Remington Gregg is Advisor for Open Government
White House Blogs
- The White House Blog
- Middle Class Task Force
- Council of Economic Advisers
- Council on Environmental Quality
- Council on Women and Girls
- Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
- Office of Management and Budget
- Office of Public Engagement
- Office of Science & Tech Policy
- Office of Urban Affairs
- Open Government
- Faith and Neighborhood Partnerships
- Social Innovation and Civic Participation
- US Trade Representative
- Office National Drug Control Policy
categories
- Blueprint for an America Built to Last
- Equal Pay
- White House Internships
- Civil Rights
- Defense
- Disabilities
- Economy
- Education
- Energy and Environment
- Ethics
- Family
- Fiscal Responsibility
- Foreign Policy
- Health Care
- Homeland Security
- Immigration
- Inside the White House
- Poverty
- Rural
- Seniors and Social Security
- Service
- Taxes
- Technology
- Urban Policy
- Veterans
- Women
- Additional Issues