NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAThis National Plan builds on, but does not replace, the Open Government Initiative inaugurated by the President’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.Creating a more Open Government requires a sustained commitment by public officials and employees at all levels of government; it also requires an informed and active citizenry. The initiatives we launch today aim to increase public integrity by tackling corruption and by enhancing citizen access to information. They will improve the management of public resources in the U.S. They attempt to improve public services and to spur private sector innovation. Because the American people deserve a 21st Century government, this National Plan embraces the role of technology and innovation in tackling the key challenges that the U.S. and other governments face around the world. In further testament to the value of opening government, many of the ideas presented below were themselves suggested during consultations with the public and non-governmental groups.THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPOGP_18c7ecd2-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a_18c7f07e-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a_18c7f254-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aParticipationPromote Public Participation in Government_18c7f31c-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 1In the United States, we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and the wisdom, energy, and creativity of the American public is the nation’s greatest asset. The U.S. is committed to expanding opportunities for public participation in government, and will:Petition PlatformLaunch the “We the People” Petition Platform. _18c7f3e4-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a1.1Building on President Obama’s desire to hear directly from the American people, the White House has announced that it will launch “We the People” to give Americans a direct line to voice their concerns to the Administration via online petitions. This is a tool to enable the public to create and sign petitions on a range of issues. If a petition meets a public signature threshold, it will be reviewed by White House policymakers, who will consult relevant Administration officials and provide an official and public response. More information can be found at http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/WeThePeople.We the PeopleOpen Source “We the People.” _18c7f4ac-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a1.2The White House plans to publish the source code of “We the People” so that it is available to any government around the world that seeks to solicit and respond to the concerns of the public.Metrics and Best PracticesDevelop Best Practices and Metrics for Public Participation. _18c7f574-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a1.3We will identify best practices for public participation in government and suggest metrics that will allow agencies to assess progress toward the goal of becoming more participatory. This effort will highlight those agencies that have incorporated the most useful and robust forms of public participation in order to encourage other agencies to learn from their examples.Government RecordsModernize Management of Government Records_18c7f646-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 2The backbone of a transparent and accountable government is strong records management that documents the decisions and actions of the Federal Government. The transition to digital information creates new opportunities for records management, but much of government still relies on outdated systems and policies designed during a paperbased world. To meet current challenges, the U.S. will:Policies and PracticesReform Records Management Policies and Practices Across the Executive Branch._18c7f722-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a2.1We will launch an initiative that will recommend reforms and require reporting on current policies and practices. The initiative will consider changes to existing laws and ask how technology can be leveraged to improve records management while making it cost-effective. The initiative will seek a reformed, digital-era, governmentwide records management framework that promotes accountability and performance.FOIAContinue to Improve Freedom of Information Act Administration_18c7f812-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 3The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guarantees public access to executive branch agency records that are not exempted from disclosure. The Administration’s reforms to date have increased transparency, reduced backlogs, and encouraged disclosure of government information before a FOIA request is made. To improve the administration of FOIA, the U.S. will:ProfessionalizationProfessionalize FOIA Administration. _18c7f902-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a3.1We will continue work on a new civil service personnel category (or job series) for officials who specialize in administering FOIA and other information programs. It is important to recognize the professional nature of the work done by those administering FOIA.TechnologyHarness the Power of Technology. _18c7fa06-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a3.2We will expand our use of technology to achieve greater efficiencies in FOIA administration, including utilization of technology to assist in searching for and processing records. Moreover, as agencies increasingly post information on their websites, we will work to ensure that the information is searchable and readily usable by the public.DeclassificationDeclassify National Security Information_18c7fb0a-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 4In many cases, information that at one time was not made public for reasons of national security can eventually be made available through the declassification process. In Executive Order 13526, “Classified National Security Information,” the President established a National Declassification Center to strengthen Open Government by improving coordination among agencies and streamlining the declassification process throughout the Federal Government. In the next year, the Center will:Multi-Agency EffortLead a Multi-Agency Effort. _18c7fc18-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a4.1This multi-agency effort will work to declassify historically valuable classified records in which more than one agency has an interest, and work to address the backlog of 400 million pages previously accessioned to the National Archives. The Center will also oversee the development of standard declassification processes and training to improve and align declassification reviews across agencies. The Center will consider public input when developing its prioritization plan, as well as report on its progress, provide opportunities for public comment in a variety of media, and host at least one public forum to update the public and answer questions.Open Government PlansSupport and Improve Agency Implementation of Open Government Plans_18c7fd8a-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 5The OMB Open Government Directive, mentioned above, required agencies both to take immediate steps and to establish long-term goals to achieve greater openness and transparency. Over the next year, the U.S. will:MonitoringMonitor Agency Implementation of Plans._18c7fec0-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a5.1Taking account of the views and perspectives of outside stakeholders, the White House will carefully monitor agency implementation of the plans. As a result, agencies will improve their efforts to disclose information to the public and to make such disclosure useful, identify new opportunities for public participation in agency decision-making, and solicit collaboration with those outside government.Whistleblower ProtectionsStrengthen and Expand Whistleblower Protections for Government Personnel_18c7fff6-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 6Employees with the courage to report wrongdoing are a government’s best defense against waste, fraud, and abuse. Federal law clearly prohibits retaliation against most government employees who blow the whistle, but some employees have diminished protections, and judicially-created loopholes have left others without an adequate remedy. To address these problems, we will:LegislationAdvocate for Legislation to Reform and Expand Whistleblower Protections._18c80136-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a6.1Recently, Congress nearly enacted legislation that would eliminate loopholes in existing protections, provide protections for employees in the intelligence community, and create pilot programs to explore potential structural reforms in the remedial process. The Administration will continue to work with Congress to enact this legislation.Executive Branch AuthorityExplore Utilization of Executive Branch Authority to Implement Reforms if Congress is Unwilling to Act._18c80280-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a6.2Statutory reform is preferable, but if Congress remains deadlocked, the Administration will explore options for utilizing executive branch authority to strengthen and expand whistleblower protections.Disclosure and EnforcementEnhance Enforcement of Regulations Through Further Disclosure of Compliance Information_18c803ca-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 7From highway safety and clean air to workers’ safety and toxic chemicals, smart regulations cannot work without effective enforcement. Disclosure of regulatory compliance information helps to foster fair and consistent enforcement of important regulatory obligations. The President issued a memorandum requiring Federal enforcement agencies to make publicly available compliance information easily accessible, downloadable, and searchable online. In the next year, Federal agencies will:Online DataProvide Enforcement and Compliance Data Online. _18c80532-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a7.1Agencies will continue to develop plans for providing greater transparency about their regulatory compliance and enforcement activities, and look for new ways to make that information accessible to the public.Legal EntitiesIncrease Transparency of Legal Entities Formed in the U.S._18c806a4-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Integrity 8Legal entities can provide access to the international financial system for illicit actors and may frustrate financial investigations. To increase transparency over the next year, we will:Legislation Advocate for Legislation Requiring Meaningful Disclosure. _18c80816-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a8.1As a critical element of a broader strategy to safeguard the international financial system from such abuse of legal entities, the Administration will advocate for legislation that will require the disclosure of meaningful beneficial ownership information for corporations at the time of company formation.Extractive IndustriesImplement Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative_18c80988-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Resources 1The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has developed a voluntary framework under which governments publicly disclose their revenues from oil, gas, and mining assets, and companies make parallel disclosures regarding payments that they are making to obtain access to publicly owned resources. These voluntary disclosures are designed to foster integrity and accountability when it comes to development of the world’s natural resources. This Administration:EITI Implement the EITI._18c80b18-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a1.1Is Hereby Committing to Implement the EITI to Ensure that Taxpayers Are Receiving Every Dollar Due for Extraction of our Natural Resources. The U.S. is a major developer of natural resources. The U.S. collects approximately $10 billion in annual revenues from the development of oil, gas, and minerals on Federal lands and offshore, and disburses the bulk of these revenues to the U.S. Treasury, with smaller portions disbursed to five Federal agencies, 35 States, 41 American Indian tribes, and approximately 30,000 individual Indian mineral owners. By signing onto the global standard that EITI sets, the U.S. Government can help ensure that American taxpayers are receiving every dollar due for the extraction of these valuable public resources.PartnershipWork in Partnership with Industry and Citizens to Build on Recent Progress._18c80ca8-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a1.2Will Work in Partnership with Industry and Citizens to Build on Recent Progress. The Administration has already made important strides in reforming the management of our natural resources to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest between the production and the collection of revenues from these resources. Signing onto the EITI initiative will further these objectives by creating additional “sunshine” for the process of collecting revenues from natural resource extraction. Industry already provides the Federal Government with this data. We should share it with all of our citizens. Toward that end, the Federal Government will work with industry and citizens to develop a sensible plan over the next two years for disclosing relevant information and enhancing the accountability and transparency of our revenue collection efforts.Federal SpendingIncrease Transparency in Spending By Applying Lessons from the Recovery Act to All Federal Spending_18c80e4c-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Resources 2The Administration has provided the public detailed information about stimulus spending (Recovery.gov), Federal procurement and financial assistance spending, down to the sub-award level for grants and contracts (USAspending. gov), the accuracy of payments to non-Federal recipients to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse (Paymentaccuracy.gov), and Federal information-technology spending (it.usaspending.gov). In the coming year, the U.S. will:Strategic DirectionProvide Strategic Direction to Increase Transparency. _18c80ffa-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a2.1On June 13, 2011, the President furthered his commitment to Federal spending transparency in Executive Order 13576, which establishes the new Government Accountability & Transparency Board (GATB). Within six months of its establishment, the GATB will provide a report to the President recommending concrete steps that can be taken to achieve the goals of the Executive Order. The report will focus on integrating systems that collect and display spending data, ensuring the reliability of those data, and broadening the deployment of cutting-edge technologies that can identify and prevent fraud.Foreign AssistanceIncrease Transparency of Foreign Assistance_18c811b2-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Resources 3Greater foreign aid transparency promotes effective development by helping recipient governments manage their aid flows and by empowering citizens to hold governments accountable for the use of assistance. Increased transparency also supports evidence-based, data-driven approaches to foreign aid (assisted, where appropriate and feasible, by the use of randomized controlled experiments). Building on these commitments, the U.S. will:Reporting RequirementsRelease and Implement Governmentwide Reporting Requirements for Foreign Aid._18c8137e-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a3.1These requirements will direct all Federal agencies that administer foreign assistance to provide timely and detailed information on budgets, disbursements, and project implementation. Agencies will be responsible for providing a set of common data fields that are internationally comparable. The information collected through the above initiative will be released in an open format and made available on a central portal – the Foreign Assistance Dashboard (ForeignAssistance.gov) – that will be updated quarterly.Performance.govCreate a More Effective and Responsive Government_18c81554-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Resources 4Responding to the President’s challenge to cut waste, save money, and better serve the American people, Performance.gov provides a window on the Administration’s approach to improving performance and accountability. The site gives the government and the public a view of the progress underway in cutting waste, streamlining government, and improving performance. Over the next year, the U.S. will:Performance and AccountabilityImprove Government Performance and Accountability. _18c8173e-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a4.1We will continue to improve the website, including adding data on other governmentwide management initiatives. In particular, the site will be updated to meet the requirements of the recently enacted Government Performance and Results Modernization Act, which requires regular progress updates on the top agency-specific performance goals.RegulationsExpand Public Participation in the Development of Regulations_18c8195a-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Services 1For two and a half years, the Administration has promoted public participation in rulemaking, which covers such diverse subjects as energy, education, homeland security, agriculture, food safety, environmental protection, health care, and airline and automobile safety. In January 2010, the President issued Executive Order 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” which requires timely consultation with affected stakeholders and the use of Regulations.gov, an online portal to view and comment on pending regulations “in an open format that can be easily searched and downloaded.” In the next year, the U.S. will:Regulations.govOverhaul the Public Participation Interface on Regulations.gov. _18c81b58-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a1.1The U.S. will continue its vital efforts in this area by overhauling the public participation interface on Regulations.gov. We will revamp public commenting mechanisms, search functions, user interfaces, and other major features to help the public find, follow, and participate in Federal rulemakings. In this way, we will ensure what the President has called “an open exchange of information and perspectives.”Data.gov Use Data.gov as a Platform to Spur Innovation_18c81d60-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Services 2The U.S. champions the publication of machine-readable data and the use of challenges, prizes, and competitions to catalyze breakthroughs in national priorities. The Data.gov site supplies the public with large amounts of useful, machine-readable government data that can be used by innovators without intellectual property constraint. To accelerate this movement, the U.S. will:PlatformContribute Data.gov as a Platform. _18c81f72-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a2.1Through the U.S.-India Open Government Dialogue, the two countries have partnered to release “Data.gov-in-a-Box,” an open source version of the United States’ “Data.gov” data portal and India’s “India.gov.in” document portal. It will be available for implementation by countries globally, encouraging governments around the world to stand up open data sites that promote transparency, improve citizen engagement, and engage application developers in continuously improving these efforts.CommunitiesFoster Communities on Data.gov. _18c82198-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a2.2We will work toward expanding the number of Data.gov “communities” that connect data related to particular subject matters with users and producers of that data. With communities focused on health, energy, and law already launched, we will work to launch new communities in education, research and development, and public safety in the next year.CommunicationEncourage Communication between Government Officials and Citizen-Experts_18c823be-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Services 3Government OfficialsCitizen-ExpertsIn many cases, those who work in government turn to those outside for advice and support. But too often, officials know only a subset of relevant experts or need to find experts in a new area. To overcome these hurdles, the U.S. will:ExpertNetLaunch ExpertNet. _18c82648-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a3.1This platform will enable government officials to better communicate with citizens who have expertise on a pertinent topic. It will give members of the public an opportunity to participate in a public consultation relevant to their areas of interest and knowledge, and allow officials to pose questions to and interact with the public in order to receive useful information.WebsitesReform Government Websites_18c82922-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Services 4More citizens seek government information through the internet than any other source. In addition to continuing to be accessible, government websites should be easy to find, use, and navigate. On April 27, 2011, the President issued Executive Order 13571, “Streaming Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service,” to begin sweeping reform of government websites. As part of this ongoing initiative, the U.S. will:National DialogueBegin an Online National Dialogue With the American Public. _18c82b66-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a4.1We will solicit the American public’s input on how best to improve Federal agency use of the internet and online tools.PoliciesUpdate Governmentwide Policies for Websites. _18c82dbe-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a4.2We will reform the seven-year-old policy that governs the management, look and feel, and structure of Federal Government websites to make them more useful and beneficial for the public.Data PublicationPublish Data to Help Consumers and Scientists_18c83016-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Services 5ConsumersScientistsIn many cases, the government has information that can be leveraged to help consumers make better decisions and to aid scientific research. To unlock the potential of this data, the U.S. will:Smart DisclosurePromote Smart Disclosure. _18c83278-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a5.1The government already discloses data to inform decision-making in many areas by, for example, providing access to comprehensive tools to facilitate the search for insurance options best suited to an individual’s specific needs. To build on this work, OMB recently issued guidance to Federal agencies on “smart disclosure.” We have also established a task force dedicated to promoting better disclosure policies. In response to this guidance, agencies and departments will work over the next year to ensure the timely release of complex information in standardized, machine-readable formats that enable consumers to make informed decisions in numerous domains.Scientific DataPublish Guidelines on Scientific Data. _18c834e4-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a5.2We will develop Federal guidelines to promote the preservation, accessibility, and interoperability of scientific digital data produced through unclassified research supported wholly or in part by funding from the Federal science agencies.International CollaborationPromote Innovation Through International Collaboration_18c83764-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2aPublic Services 6The U.S has used prizes and competition to foster a culture of innovation in both the public and private sectors. In this spirit, the United States will:Space AppsLaunch International Space Apps Competition. _18c839b2-e480-11e0-b587-6b1d7a64ea2a6.1National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration and key space agencies around the world will gather with scientists and concerned citizens to use publicly released data (e.g., Earth science and planetary observations) so as to create solutions for global challenges such as weather impacts on the global economy and depletion of ocean resources. An international collaboration website will be created to facilitate citizen participation.2011-09-202011-09-21http://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/www.opengovpartnership.org/files/country_action_plans/US_National_Action_Plan_Final_2.pdfOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net