Evolving the Open Government Dashboard with You

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Evolving the Open Government Dashboard with You
Posted by Aneesh Chopra on February 09, 2010 at 10:58 AM EST
Countless entrepreneurs have taught us that the key to success is to execute quickly, seek feedback from the market, and iterate. We have taken this lesson to heart and think it especially apt in our work to increase transparency, participation, and collaboration in government. Therefore it is with great pleasure that – after just 60 days - U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra and I unveil what we call Version 1.0 of the Open Government Dashboard and look forward to building it together with all of you. By way of this blog post, we hope to tell you a little bit about what we’ve done so far and what to expect in the weeks ahead.

Version 1.0 of the Dashboard focuses on agency execution of the deliverables explicitly identified in the Open Government Directive. It makes it easy for the American people to visually track progress on the deadlines to date. The Dashboard also links to each agency's Open Government Webpage, where the public can find more details on the steps taken to implement the Directive. Just look for the words "Evaluating our Progress."

The next big step will be to evaluate the agencies' Open Government Plans, due April 7th. Whereas the indicators have been largely binary thus far (e.g. Do you have an Open Government Webpage?), the Plans present a special opportunity for the Dashboard to evolve over time and empower the public while spurring a race to the top amongst agencies. We share your feedback that the agency plans are the most consequential deliverable required by the Directive, as they promise to hardwire greater transparency, participation, and collaboration into the culture of every agency. As such, the Open Government Working Group is preparing a set of "stretch criteria" to help evaluate the plans and celebrate those agencies that exceed the minimal requirements of the Directive to reflect the President's vision of openness and accountability as articulated in the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government. We are eager to seek your input in this process, so keep an eye out for opportunities to weigh in over the next two weeks.

After agencies have successfully delivered on the demanding deadlines set out for the first 120 days, Version 2.0 of the Dashboard can deploy a more holistic set of metrics, informed by agency Plans. Identifying the right set of metrics will help steer agencies toward high-impact efforts in the years to come. Some of you have already shared your thoughts with us and we look forward to hearing from may more of you in the coming months.

Thank you for helping us make this a success.

Aneesh Chopra is U.S. Chief Technology Officer