Open Government Momentum Continues

Agencies continue to innovate in response to the Obama administration's open government initiatives, said panelists at a Wednesday event sponsored by Government Executive.

Animated officials and an interested audience highlighted "pockets of excellence" in agencies' rollout of open government Web sites, along with a push to expand employee blogging, the potential for expanded social media use and well-attended online public forums. Running an effective dialogue is about two-way conversation, said Dave McClure, associate administrator at the General Service Administration's Office of Citizen Services, adding that there are about 500 moderators running the public forums on agencies' open pages. Strong discussions are happening at Health and Human Services, Education and Interior, among others, he said. But the open government directive isn't just about soliciting feedback from the public. HHS has created a cross-agency team to weave the principles of openness and transparency into day-to-day operations, and officials are tapping the workforce for ideas. After all, said HHS Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, it's "not something you can outsource to one dude."