Stimulus data needs context so public can understand spending effects

The government should place the spending results of the economic stimulus package in better context so the public can more easily comprehend the effects of the program, according to a recently released report on pressures the U.S. grants system faces under the $787 spending package.

"People need to be able to understand what they are seeing," stated a study by the CGI Initiative for Collaborative Government, a research program led by the information technology firm CGI and academic institutions. The government should provide "accessible analyses that make sense out of thousands of individual stimulus projects in a way that is meaningful to generalists, not just specialists," it recommended. CGI circulated the November 2009 report the first week of January. Last summer, the government awarded CGI a nearly $20 million contract to build FederalReporting.gov, a secure site that funding recipients use to update the government on the status of projects, job creation and money spent.

Stimulus fund recipients have until Jan. 15 to report through the site on second quarter spending activities. On Jan. 30, the government will publish statistics on the public stimulus-tracking site Recovery.gov.