Obama team launches its interactive 'openness' policy with online access

Open government? There's an app for that. Or so the Obama administration proposes, rolling out a "transparency, participation and collaboration" directive for all federal departments and agencies at 11 a.m. ET today. "We are fundamentally committed to changing the way government works," says Aneesh Chopra, the federal government's chief technology officer. Further "open government" initiatives will follow, showcasing federal data already public and seeking comment starting Thursday on whether all federally funded research, other than what's classified, should be free. The effort means that, for the first time, the public will soon have immediate access to information such as hospital report cards, dangerous workplaces, airport delays, wildfires and even calories in foods. Bush administration secrecy, agency rules and old technology had hindered its release until now, says Gary Bass of OMB Watch, a government-watchdog group. "I couldn't have written it better," Bass says.