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Open Government Initiative Blog

  • Social Security 101: It’s There For You!

    Posted by Frank Baitman and Aneesh Chopra on March 7, 2011 at 3:44 PM EDT

    More than seventy-five years ago, Social Security began with a promise to protect all Americans from a life of poverty in old age.  Since then, the program’s protections have grown to cover other life events, like disability, the loss of a loved one, or severe financial hardship.  Many Americans may think Social Security is only about retirement, but it actually can benefit people well before they retire. 

    Now the Social Security Administration is teaming up with President Obama’s Open Government initiative to help educate Americans about these important benefits. Open Government—built on the principles of transparency and public participation—has been a hallmark of this Administration and continues to engage Americans in a dialogue about their government and what it does on their behalf.  To this end, the Social Security Administration will host a webinar, Social Security 101: What’s In It For Me?  on March 10th at 3pm EST/Noon PST.  Viewers will gain a better understanding of how Social Security provides support through both unexpected and predictable life events. Participants will connect through an interactive, online medium and get answers to questions like, “What’s that FICA tax that comes out of my paycheck?” and “Why do I need to start planningnow for my financial future?”

    The webinar will be geared especially towards college students and young workers—many of whom may not realize what Social Security has to offer—but it will also be an opportunity for people of all ages to learn more about one of this country’s most important programs.

    Watch, learn something new, and join the conversation.  RSVP and view the webinar here.

    Frank Baitman is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Social Security Administration

    Aneesh Chopra is the U.S. Chief Technology Officer

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  • Air Force Launches Open Innovation Pavilion

    Posted by Robynn Sturm on March 4, 2011 at 5:01 PM EDT

    In partnership with the Wright Brothers Institute, the U.S. Air Force Research Lab this week launched a new Open Innovation Pavilion on InnoCentive, an online innovation marketplace where more than a quarter million of the world’s brightest minds solve tough problems for cash awards.

    The newly launched Pavilion already features more than $100,000 in prizes for novel solutions to four tough challenges facing the U.S. Air Force:

    • The Design and Simulation of an Accurate Shooter-Locator competition challenges innovators to develop a method to detect small arms fire within a fraction of a second and accurately pinpoint its source;
    • The Humanitarian Air Drop challenge seeks novel ways to drop humanitarian supplies into populated areas without danger of falling debris to the people below;
    • The Vehicle Stopper challenge seeks a viable, sustainable, and affordable means of stopping an uncooperative fleeing vehicle without permanent damage to the vehicle or harm to any of its passengers; and
    • The Remote Human Demographic Characterization challenge seeks a system that can determine the approximate age and gender of small groups of people at a distance.

    The Air Force Open Innovation Pavilion is just the latest milestone in the Obama Administration’s efforts to increase the use of prizes and challenges to spur innovation and solve tough problems.  In March 2010, the Office of Management and Budget issued a formal policy framework to guide agency leadership in using prizes to advance their core mission.  In September 2010, the Administration launched Challenge.gov, a one-stop shop where entrepreneurs and citizen solvers can find public-sector prizes. And in January, the President signed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, providing all agencies with broad authority to conduct prize competitions. As a result, in the first six months alone, Challenge.gov has featured more than 70 challenges from more than 25 agencies across the Executive Branch.

    For example, in 2010 NASA piloted a series of science and technical challenges core to its mission in the NASA Innovation Pavilion.  One of the challenges sought a forecasting algorithm to protect America’s astronauts from radiation exposure in space.  Over 500 problem solvers from 53 countries answered NASA’s call.  Expecting no solutions for this long intractable problem, NASA received a solution that exceeded their requirements from a retired radio-frequency engineer in rural New Hampshire.  The winner had never before responded to a government request for proposals, let alone worked with NASA. Yet his winning approach forecast solar proton events with 85 percent accuracy, a result NASA dubbed “outstanding.”

    Who will be the next unexpected solver? To share your expertise and compete for cash prizes visit www.Challenge.gov.

    Robynn Sturm is Advisor for Open Innovation to the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

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  • ExpertNet: Two More Weeks to Weigh In

    Posted by David McClure on January 6, 2011 at 3:53 PM EDT

    On December 8, the White House Open Government Initiative and General Services Administration with the support of OMB requested your input in helping us design a next generation public engagement platform where public officials pose questions to citizens and obtain useful and informed contributions for consideration and action. 

    Because the online consultation has been so informative, we are extending the comment period by two weeks until January 23, 2011 and encourage you to participate and to invite others. Keep in mind you can follow additions and changes to the consultation by going to expertnet.wikispaces.com and clicking on Notify Me.

    In the next two weeks, we hope that you will continue to inform our thinking by helping us clarify proposed processes, provide additional information on similar platforms, or propose new ways of accomplishing the goal for each step.  Together we will work towards creating a next generation citizen engagement platform that enables participatory government in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

    Even during the busy holiday season, the feedback that we’ve seen has been plentiful and helpful.  We hope that an extra two weeks will give everyone who wants the opportunity to give feedback the opportunity to do so. 

    Since we launched the wiki four weeks ago, hundreds of users from over 70 countries have visited the site, engaging in an interesting dialogue on how to improve ExpertNet.  So far, over 500 messages have been posted to the discussion forums. In addition, people have begun to edit our draft description of ExpertNet directly. For example, wiki edits have included “drkarger” adding a reference section at the end of each editable page for the community to contribute resource examples that relate to that process step. Here’s an example of references contributed for the final step in the process.  “TimHuegerich” added links to clarify and provide examples of lesser known topics on the Background and Principles wiki page, among other edits, and “kfogel” updated the government feedback section suggesting that a final step be added to close the loop. 

    There’s even a wiki page where you can suggest an alternative name to ExpertNet.  More than a dozen names have been contributed, including AmericaKnows.gov, SynergyNet, OpenGovWiki, CitizensNet, WiththePeople, and UnitedNet.  One commenter even suggested using an online poll to decide which name the public likes the best.  In the spirit of true collaboration, one commenter even set up a forum to allow the public to discuss their favorite name. 

    We hope to foster innovation by asking for feedback on the ExpertNet design concept in a new way and hope you will continue to share your best thinking about the future of citizen engagement through January 23, 2011. If you prefer not to access the wiki, you can email your comments to us at expertnet@ostp.gov.

    David McClure is Associate Administrator for the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies at the U.S. General Services Administration

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  • ExpertNet Wiki: An Update

    Posted by Aneesh Chopra and Shelley Metzenbaum on December 29, 2010 at 11:21 AM EDT

    Earlier this month, the White House Open Government Initiative and General Services Administration requested your input in helping us to design an effective public engagement tool that will make it simple for public officials to pose questions that you can share your expertise in ways that are timely, relevant and informative for policymaking.  Here's a detailed description (what technologists call a "use case") of the online process in hopes of getting specific suggestions in response:

    First, public officials use ExpertNet to pose questions to the public about any topic we're working on -- from creating new jobs to preventing homelessness among Veterans or developing next-gen transportation systems. A simple, online "wizard" will help them make their questions clear. There's an active discussion on the ExpertNet wiki about how to design constraints into questions to improve the quality of responses. One user, GovLoop, writes  "it is really hard to write great questions. In survey research, a lot of time and effort is spent on the question formation." Another user, AngieChock, points to the Delphi Approach of posing questions to encourage an interchange of views. Check out "Defining the Topic and Asking Questions" for more.  

    Second, we want to make sure that the questions reach people with the greatest expertise or enthusiasm for a topic.  We imagine distributing questions to professional, online communities; user MDickey1 suggests simply using RSS feeds. Mixtmedia, another wiki user, also adds that better distribution of news about public participation opportunities will attract citizens serving their democracy, entrepreneurs wishing to impress government and others with their marketable know how. Check out Distributing Questions to Professional Networks for more about whether to enable people to rate and rank one another's submissions - in the way we now rate movies or books. Check out Facilitating Structured Responses for more.

    Finally, we know that no system will work unless public officials participate actively and explain how the agency uses public's ideas. For example, David Stern1 offers a detailed design  for a feedback template. Check out "Synthesizing Public Input and Returning Feedback" for more.

    What We Want to Hear More Of

    Submissions that have been helpful include those that offer suggestions or solutions to queries or offer a new way of thinking about an aspect of the platform.  We are eager to hear about specific examples of tools that will achieve goals outlined here (or something different and why that's preferable).  We'd like specific examples of people using such practices, what works well, and what doesn't.  We want prototypes, wireframes, and designs.  Our goal is to implement a new system for citizen participation as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

    Expertise Understood Broadly

    We chose "ExpertNet" as the working title (we have a page where you can suggest an alternative) because we believe that everyone has expertise, experience and enthusiasm which, if shared in manageable ways, will help us make smarter decisions together.  We aren't just looking for participation from people with the highest professional qualifications. We want to make sure that everyone who is interested and has something relevant and useful to share has an opportunity to participate. This is a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" and we have the technology to collaborate on solving the major issues that confront us.

    Aneesh Chopra is U.S. Chief Technology Officer

    Shelley Metzenbaum is Associate Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for Performance and Personnel Management

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  • Holiday Season Merrimack Making

    Posted by Aneesh Chopra on December 23, 2010 at 9:34 PM EDT

    On December 8th, along with Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Shikhar Ghosh, I hosted my second “Entrepreneurs’ Town Hall” to hear first hand about the challenges and opportunities confronting founders on “Main Street” (read about the first Town Hall here, or check out the video).  Nearly 100 entrepreneurs from the Merrimack Valley area in northern Massachusetts participated as we gathered to celebrate the launch of an exciting new philanthropic initiative—the Merrimack Valley Sandbox, an effort designed to foster an innovation ecosystem through the region’s leading universities and community colleges.

    Endowed with a $5M grant from famed entrepreneur Desh Deshpande (who also serves as Co-Chair of the National Council for Innovation & Entrepreneurship), the Sandbox will provide leadership training, seed funding and capacity-building support to organizations and individuals in the region.

    We will post video from the town hall soon, but here are a few highlights:

    Clean Tech Entrepreneurs Commercialize Federal Research:  I heard from Peter Vandermeulen, CEO of the local startup 7AC Technologies, who shared his favorable experience working with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab. Although it took nearly a year to finalize, Peter was pleased to have had the opportunity to commercialize technology that he posits could cut in half the use of energy for heating and cooling of buildings. His advice on how we might improve our commercialization efforts was to evaluate the process of determining when an exclusive license might be granted to “kick-start” an entrepreneurial venture. I’ve taken that message back to our team for consideration.

    Open Government Fuels Entrepreneurship:  One of the highlights of my trip was hearing from Conor White-Sullivan, CEO of Localocracy. A graduate of UMass-Amherst, this charismatic entrepreneur talked about his startup’s recent partnership with the Boston Globe to link open government platforms with local media. His idea is a new model of civic engagement—one in which identified members of the community express their views and invite public participation on key issues facing the neighborhood, came to him during a 1-credit course in school, he said.  His approach was, of course, music to my ears, as it has been a high Obama Administration priority to step up efforts to leverage technology for citizen participation. His request was to simplify access to voter registration data, as that is the “fuel” for his identity system. I’ve tasked our open government team to conduct due diligence on this matter.

    Importance of SBIR as a Vehicle for Early Stage Capital:  Several entrepreneurs at the forum spoke of the advantages of the Small Business Investment Research program as a source of capital at the stage of business maturation when it is difficult to gain access to capital. Thaddeus Fulford-Jones, CEO of Locately, spoke of the ease with which he won a National Science Foundation SBIR grant within 5-6 months of applying. But it was a story told by Robert Goldberg—a Partner at Neumitra—that commanded my most immediate attention.

    Robert expressed concern that his primary information source on SBIR grant opportunities, SBIR.gov, was down for maintenance with a message alerting visitors that it would be months before the site could be re-launched. This was unfortunate as it meant he had to sift through each Federal agency’s solicitations page to learn of opportunities.

    Thanks to the leadership of NSF’s new Director, Dr. Subra Suresh, and his terrific team, including Tom Peterson, Kesh Narayanan, and Cheryl Albus, the site went live last week.

    I was encouraged by the degree to which our Nation’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the Merrimack Valley—a great reminder that innovation flourishes in all corners of our country if we nurture the right components of the ecosystem—and I am keen to address the myriad concerns that emerged throughout the discussion. In that spirit, I wish to extend my deepest thanks to the Deshpande Foundation, which helped arrange for our town hall, and to the entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners who participated. Happy holidays to all, and here is to an innovative and entrepreneurial New Year!

    Aneesh Chopra is U.S. Chief Technology Officer

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  • Congress Grants Broad Prize Authority to All Federal Agencies

    Posted by Tom Kalil and Robynn Sturm on December 21, 2010 at 6:24 PM EDT

    The America COMPETES Act passed by Congress today provides all agencies with broad authority to conduct prize competitions as called for by President Obama in his 2009 Strategy for American Innovation.  By giving agencies a simple and clear legal path, the America COMPETES Act will make it dramatically easier for agencies to use prizes and challenges to spur innovation, solve tough problems, and advance their core missions.

    In a world of widely dispersed knowledge, prizes and challenges are an essential tool for every agency’s toolkit.  As the co-founder of Sun Microsystems Bill Joy once famously said, “No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else.” This fact calls for a fundamental shift in the way an institution solves problems. Prizes and challenges are part of the solution. 

    A recent McKinsey report found that the private sector and a new generation of philanthropists are embracing prizes. Catalyzed by new crowd sourcing technologies, investments in prize competitions have increased significantly in recent years.  According to the study, more than 60 prizes of at least $100,000 each made their debuts from 2000 to 2007, representing almost $250 million in new prize money. 

    As the Wall Street Journal recently concluded, “These prizes have proliferated because they actually work.”  Specifically, well-designed prizes allow the sponsor to dramatically increase the number and diversity of minds tackling a tough problem, to articulate a bold goal without having to predict the team or approach that is most likely to succeed, and to only pay for results.

    Despites these benefits, the public sector have been slow to reap the benefits of open innovation strategies. The Obama Administration is committed to change that.

    On his very first day in office, the President set out new principles for the way government works. Recognizing that the problems of the 21st century are too great to be solved by government alone, he called for an “all hands on deck” approach that taps the “distributed intelligence” of the Nation.

    In September 2009, in his Strategy for American Innovation, President Obama expanded on these principles to explicitly call on agencies to increase their use of prizes and challenges to solve tough problems. In March, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum to all agency heads affirming the Administration’s commitment to this problem-solving approach and providing a policy and legal framework to guide agencies in using prizes to stimulate innovation to advance their core missions. And, in September 2010, the White House and the General Services Administration launched Challenge.gov, a one-stop shop where entrepreneurs, innovators, and citizen solvers can compete for prestige and prizes by providing novel solutions to tough national problems, large and small.

    As a result, 2010 has witnessed widespread government experimentation with prizes.  In its first 3 months, Challenge.gov featured 57 challenges from 27 agencies across the Executive Branch, generating novel solutions for childhood obesity, advanced vehicle technologies, financing for small businesses, Type One Diabetes, and many other national priorities.

    The prize authority in the America COMPETES Act will further unleash the public sector’s ability to leverage prizes and challenges to spur innovation.  Stay tuned to Challenge.gov for new developments in the New Year!

    In the meantime, you can read more about today’s passage of the America COMPETES Act on the OSTP blog and find the full text of the final bill here.

    Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

    Robynn Sturm is Advisor for Open Innovation to the Deputy Director

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