Analysis

Groups Meet with Administration's Open Government Working Group

Last Wednesday more than 20 outside stakeholders joined the regular meeting of the Administration's Open Government Working Group to discuss the new open government plans agencies are expected to create this year.

Commitment Analysis: Modernizing Records Management

The following was written by Anne Weismann of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Amy Bennett of OpenTheGovernment.org

The Administration's latest National Action Plan carries forward its commitment from the first Plan to improve the state of records management across the federal government.  At its core, the new Plan has two goals: (1) improving the management of email, and (2) making it easier for the public to find records.  However laudable these goals, the new commitment offers little promise of reaching them, as it requires agencies to take only small steps, and critically leaves too many things to agency discretion.

Commitment Analysis: Privacy and Transparency in the National Action Plan

The following was written by Ginger McCall of the Sunlight Foundation. 

The "privacy" commitments contained in the Obama Administration's Second National Action Plan are sorely lacking. It is impossible to truly address privacy and transparency topics without making reforms to the growing surveillance infrastructure, including the surveillance by the National Security Agency.

Decision Making, Influence, and the Public’s Right to Know

Lobbying disclosure standards recently released by Access Info Europe and the Sunlight Foundations show how far the US has to go before the public has access to the kinds of information it needs to understand how lobbyists are influencing policy-makers. Access Info Europe’s draft of disclosure standards outlines the information the public needs to get an accurate picture of how outside influence is wielded inside governments. The Sunlight Foundation’s draft of international lobbying disclosure guidelines outlines what constitutes an effective lobbyist registry, what information should be disclosed by lobbyists, what data the public needs, and how this information should be made accessible to the public.