As you may know, OpenTheGovernment.Org and OMB Watch are circulating a
sign-on letter asking the Administration to open the Open Government
Directive process to formal public participation.  In light of your
important engagement on open government issues, we would appreciate
your support.

Pasted below is the letter to Dr. Beth Noveck.  While we are heartened
by President Obama’s call to make the federal government more
“transparent, collaborative, and participatory,” many people in the
community are concerned that there has been no formal process to
collect public input on the OGD recommendations.  This letter requests
a structured process for the public to participate in creating the
recommendations, for the recommendations to be published in the
Federal Register and be subject to the formal 60-day notice and
comment period, and for all comments and input gathered thus far
(including through the interagency process) to be made publicly
available.

The deadline for recommendations, May 21st, is quickly approaching and
we need your prompt action to request an extension.  For this reason,
we are asking that you sign-on by this Friday, May 15, 2pm.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any question, or
to add you.

You can also read the letter here: http://www.ombwatch.org/files/info/OGDSignOnFinal.pdf

Thanks,

Roger A. Strother, Jr.
Information Policy Analyst
OMB Watch
1742 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.683.4835 (o)
202.683.4863 (f)
www.ombwatch.org
http://twitter.com/rastrother

On behalf of the undersigned organizations concerned with government
transparency, we write to request you announce a formal process for
public input on developing recommendations to make government
transparent, collaborative, and participatory.  Additionally, given
President Obama’s determination to create “an unprecedented level of
openness in Government,” we ask you make publicly available comments
received from agencies, agency employees, or the public related to the
development of an Open Government Directive.

As advocates for government openness, we are heartened by President
Obama’s commitment to make the federal government transparent. We are
especially pleased that on his first day in office, President Obama
issued his “Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.”  We are
deeply concerned, however, that of the 120 days given to develop
recommendations in President Obama’s “Memorandum on Transparency and
Open Government,” almost 90% of the time has passed with no structured
process for public input. We understand that the process for gathering
public input on the Open Government Directive was delayed until
President Obama named a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Now that
Mr. Aneesh Chopra has been named to the position, we believe it is
crucial that you announce a structured process as soon as possible.
We also ask that you consider requesting the President to extend the
deadline, to give the wider stakeholder community time to engage and
allow further public participation.

It has been reported the White House intends to disclose
recommendations on the Open Government Directive to the public for
comment using social media technologies.  While we appreciate and
support the administration’s innovative use of technological venues to
increase participation, we urge you to also undertake a formal 60-day
notice and comment process, as used during both the regulatory review
and scientific integrity processes. The formal 60-day process using
the Federal Register is the typical comment process; publishing the
recommendation in the Federal Register will also increase
participation among members of the public who are not comfortable with
social media technologies.

We understand some agency employees collaborated and shared ideas
about specific issues regarding the Open Government Directive using
the Office of Management and Budget’s MAX system.  Agencies may also
have provided formal input on the development of the Directive.  In
the interest of transparency and collaboration, we urge you to make
the comments from agencies and agency employees public, along with any
other suggestions you have received so far.  We believe the release of
these comments to the public would be helpful in understanding the
positions held within and outside the government, and better identify
problems and solutions in a collaborative fashion.  We also note that
the administration’s new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidance
encourages such records to be affirmatively disclosed on a
discretionary basis.  Such action would demonstrate a commitment to
the principles set forth on open government by the administration.

We appreciate your attention to these issues, and we look forward to
working with you on developing recommendations to make the federal
government transparent, collaborative, and participatory.
Representatives of our organizations would be happy to meet with you
or your staff to discuss our requests in more detail.