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security line wait times. MyTSA also provides a tool to permit people to find whether an item is allowed in carry-on or checked baggage, information on ID requirements and liquids rules, tips for packing and dressing to speed through security, and real-time operating status for U.S. airports from the FAA.
Other agencies have solicited public participation to focus on long-term issues as well. For instance, earlier this year the Social Security Administration (SSA) hosted a webinar entitled "Social Security 101: What's in it for me?" designed to reach college students and young workers around the country. SSA's webinar aimed to educate future workers and young workers about the financing principles of Social Security, along with issues like disability and survivors insurance, how workers and their families qualify for coverage, and how to plan and save for their financial future. It included a live question-and-answer session for participants.
Still other agencies have provided increased transparency designed to serve the President's Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government and the Open Government Directive's explicit purpose of promoting greater government accountability. For example, the General Services Administration (GSA) in April 2011 launched a new website providing easier and more accessible information about the composition of Federal Advisory Committees. Federal Advisory Committees play an important role in the development of policy throughout the government, and agencies commonly create Federal Advisory Committees to enlist policy advice from experts outside of government. Yet, information about the types of interests represented on Advisory Committees can be difficult to find. To address that problem, GSA's new FACA website makes information about who serves on Federal Advisory Committees, and what interests they might therefore represent, more accessible to the public.
These examples are far from exhaustive. But they illustrate how the development of agency Open Government Plans has already promoted government accountability and, in palpable ways, has improved the lives of ordinary citizens.[1] Before the end of 2010, federal agencies had developed comprehensive, long-term Open Government Plans as prescribed by the Open Government Directive. By May 2011, agencies had taken substantial steps towards implementing those plans.
IV. DATA.GOV AND TECH-DRIVEN INNOVATION
The Open Government Directive contemplates many forms of increased agency transparency. One unprecedented and powerful vehicle for achieving greater disclosure of agency information is Data.gov. Launched in May 2009, Data.gov provides a central platform for agency data sets—a warehouse of original government information. The President has called information maintained by the federal government a "national asset," and Data.gov makes such information available to anyone. Data accessible through this new platform can also be downloaded and used to create useful tools and programs. Many outside of government have used information available through Data.gov to create applications useful to citizens in their everyday lives.
- ↑ More examples can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/highlights.
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