Top 10 Open Government Websites
Federal agencies face White House orders to become more transparent. These websites expose new data sets, support public petitions, and reveal where taxpayer money goes.
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Dozens of websites have been created under the White House's Open Government Directive, announced in December 2009, with the goals of increasing transparency and fostering greater public participation and collaboration in government processes and policy.
Some sites, such as Data.gov, are far-reaching. Data.gov (pictured above) is an online repository of government data that's available to the public in a variety of formats. As of the middle of January, more than 390,000 data sets from 172 agencies and sub-agencies were available there. Among the most popular are U.S. Geological Survey statistics on earthquakes and the U.S. Agency for International Development's data on economic aid and military assistance to foreign governments.
Data.gov, more than a big database, serves as a platform for communities of interest, where researchers, application developers, and others brainstorm about public data. One recent example is the National Ocean Council's Ocean portal, with information on offshore seabirds and critical habitats for endangered species, among other data sets. There are also discussion forums and interactive maps.
Some specialty sites focus on a particular area of government activity. The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a cache of data on greenhouse gas emissions, along with an interactive map and tools for analysis.
Other sites built around narrow data sets are AirNow (focused on air quality), the Department of Energy's Green Energy site, the National Archives and Records Administration's virtual community for educators, and the National Library of Medicine's Pillbox site, for identifying tablet and capsule medications.
The White House has established a Web page where the public can track the progress of open government. A dashboard shows how agencies are faring in 10 areas, such as releasing data and publishing their plans.
InformationWeek has selected 10 federal websites that are the best examples of open government in all of its forms. (State and metropolitan open government sites aren't included in this overview.) Some put an emphasis on data transparency, while others encourage public participation or collaboration. Even so, there's room for improvement. The data on these sites isn't always timely or accurate, and public participation sometimes wanes, underscoring that open government needs constant attention to be effective.
Launched in June 2009 by (then) federal CIO Vivek Kundra, the IT Dashboard provides general information on more than 7,000 federal IT investments and detailed data on 800 of the government's largest IT projects. Users can compare federal agencies' IT spending over time and search for specific investments. The color-coded Dashboard provides a status report on key projects: yellow means "needs attention," red signals "significant concerns." One drawback is that these are self-evaluations, provided by the agency CIO.
USAspending.gov provides information on federal spending, including contracts, grants, and loans. Users can select from several variables--federal agency, state or congressional district involved, product category, and fiscal year, for example. Search results can be viewed as a list or chart. However, the site's data quality has been called into question. The Sunlight Foundation determined that $1.3 trillion in federal spending in 2010 was misreported.
The Federal Register is the daily record of U.S. government activity, including rulemakings and other actions of the executive branch. FederalRegister.gov organizes information about thousands of rules and regulations into six categories--money; environment; world; science and technology; business and industry; and health and public welfare. An API lets developers tap into that data for reuse.
Of the nearly 600,000 Freedom Of Information Act requests submitted to federal agencies in fiscal 2010, approximately 377,000 were released in full or in part, and some 30,000 others were denied. That comes from FOIA.gov, a hub of information on FOIA requests coming into all federal agencies. The public must still submit written requests (on paper, email, Web form, or fax) directly to the agency in question, but this site provides the big picture on what people are asking for and what they're getting.
Last September, the White House introduced a new way for the public to petition federal government in the form of "We The People," an online platform that walks citizens through the process of filing a petition in three easy steps. Site visitors can create or sign a petition, and petition creators are responsible for building support and gathering signatures for their petitions. When first launched, the site required that 5,000 signatures be submitted within 30 days to get an official response. As a sign of its popularity, the threshold has been raised to 25,000 signatures.
"The public and government can solve problems together." That's the promise of Challenge.gov, a collaborative approach to solving the nation's challenges and driving innovation. At last count, 143 challenges were listed, in areas such as science and technology, health, energy, and education. The kicker: Cash prizes of up to $20,000 are offered.
In federal government, NASA is what you would call an extrovert. The space agency engages the private sector more than many other federal agencies, and it releases research findings and images almost daily. NASA's open government website is regularly updated with new content and opportunities for public participation, such as a recent Tweetup with Space Station astronaut Ron Garan. And the agency launched a new section on Open.NASA.gov devoted to its open source software projects.
Journalists, government watchdogs, and a curious public can track who's been visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. now that the White House visitor logs are available. More than 1.9 million visitor records have been released over the past two years. They can be viewed from a browser or downloaded as raw data for analysis. The records include name of visitor, date and time of visit, meeting location, and person visited. Only meetings with national security implications or those that are "necessarily confidential" are omitted from the listing.
Some $840 billion will be spent under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Recovery.gov provides taxpayers with tools to track where those funds are going, by agency, recipient, and geography. The site does more than provide information and resources; it can also be used to report fraud, waste, and abuse.
Some $840 billion will be spent under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Recovery.gov provides taxpayers with tools to track where those funds are going, by agency, recipient, and geography. The site does more than provide information and resources; it can also be used to report fraud, waste, and abuse.
Dozens of websites have been created under the White House's Open Government Directive, announced in December 2009, with the goals of increasing transparency and fostering greater public participation and collaboration in government processes and policy.
Some sites, such as Data.gov, are far-reaching. Data.gov (pictured above) is an online repository of government data that's available to the public in a variety of formats. As of the middle of January, more than 390,000 data sets from 172 agencies and sub-agencies were available there. Among the most popular are U.S. Geological Survey statistics on earthquakes and the U.S. Agency for International Development's data on economic aid and military assistance to foreign governments.
Data.gov, more than a big database, serves as a platform for communities of interest, where researchers, application developers, and others brainstorm about public data. One recent example is the National Ocean Council's Ocean portal, with information on offshore seabirds and critical habitats for endangered species, among other data sets. There are also discussion forums and interactive maps.
Some specialty sites focus on a particular area of government activity. The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a cache of data on greenhouse gas emissions, along with an interactive map and tools for analysis.
Other sites built around narrow data sets are AirNow (focused on air quality), the Department of Energy's Green Energy site, the National Archives and Records Administration's virtual community for educators, and the National Library of Medicine's Pillbox site, for identifying tablet and capsule medications.
The White House has established a Web page where the public can track the progress of open government. A dashboard shows how agencies are faring in 10 areas, such as releasing data and publishing their plans.
InformationWeek has selected 10 federal websites that are the best examples of open government in all of its forms. (State and metropolitan open government sites aren't included in this overview.) Some put an emphasis on data transparency, while others encourage public participation or collaboration. Even so, there's room for improvement. The data on these sites isn't always timely or accurate, and public participation sometimes wanes, underscoring that open government needs constant attention to be effective.
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