Earlier I wrote about how the Environmental Protection Agency was asking for the public’s help in making the agency more open and transparent. It turns out that EPA isn’t alone.
Twenty-five agencies have launched special websites through which people can submit and vote on ideas for how those agencies can expand and improve online access to information, better solicit feedback from the public and better engage with groups both inside and outside goverment.
Twenty-three of the agencies are using a web platform developed by the General Services Administration to engage the public. By offering a single solution, GSA made it easier for those agencies to solicit feedback from the public, said David McClure, associate administrator for GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Communications, in a news release.
Public comments at all agencies will be accepted until March 19. Agencies then will use the suggestions to help them write their first-ever Open Government Plans. All agencies have until April 7 to publish these plans, which are roadmaps for how agencies will comply with the open government principles President Obama laid out in a December memorandum.
