Fwd: Upcoming Public Open Gov Events

[Alexander Howard]

Hi all —

Sorry for any crossposting or repetition. The GSA Open Government Secretariat sent the following message to the new listserv, flagging several opportunities for public comment and participation in open government-related fora and policies.

In particular, I want to flag 

1) draft US FOIA Advisory Committee recommendations, which I helped co-create: 

https://foia.blogs.archives.gov/2024/03/11/foia-advisory-committee-recommendations-recap/

2) a White House request for comment on public participation and community engagement, which could use another signal boost: 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/20/2024-05882/methods-and-leading-practices-for-advancing-public-participation-and-community-engagement-with-the

Beth Noveck, who used to lead open government for the Obama White House, noted that the White House Office of Management and Budget’s new guidance on AI missed an opportunity on public engagement:  

https://rebootdemocracy.ai/blog/omb-ai-guidance

She’s right. While OMB has recently done some good work here: 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-regulatory-affairs/broadening-public-engagement-in-the-federal-regulatory-process/

… the White House writ large could do much more to support participation and collaboration than broadening public engagement in the regulatory process.  Voter registration drivers and engagement is obvious in 2024, but that’s table stakes in an election year.

This is a golden opportunity to offer the federal government formal, constructive feedback about the successes and failures of its approaches to public engagement, participation, and collaboration since 2000 — not just in five cycles of National Action Plans for the Open Government Partnership, but over the first two decades of the 20th century. 

I hope you’ll share it with others!

Best,

-Alex 

PS. For transparency’s sake, I’m forwarding a slightly edited version of this email, after running it through spellcheck. (I am a fan of public editors.)

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Open Government Secretariat <opengovernme...@gsa.gov>
Date: Mon, Apr 1, 2024 at 11:24 AM
Subject: Upcoming Public Open Gov Events
To: <OPENG...@listserv.gsa.gov>

Hello Open Government Community,

       There are a few public Open Government events, and opportunities to participate that we wanted to make you aware of:

April 4, 2024 - Public FOIA Advisory Committee Meeting

• You do not need to register to watch the meetings online, but you do need to register by today if you want to speak / make a public comment: https://foia.blogs.archives.gov/2024/03/27/join-ogis-for-april-meetings

April 17, 2024 - Public Chief FOIA Officers Council Meeting

• Note - the GSA Open Government Secretariat has been asked to present at this meeting. 

• Registration link - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chief-foia-officers-council-meeting-april-17-2024-tickets-853888231687

Late April (Date TBD) - Public Civil Society Meet Up in Washington DC

• Hosted by the GSA Open Government Secretariat, the Data Foundation, and the Open Gov Hub. 

• Be on the look out for more information soon!

May 17, 2024 - Responses due to OMB's Request for Information (RFI) on public participation and community engagement (PPCE).

• Federal Registar Link - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/20/2024-05882/methods-and-leading-practices-for-advancing-public-participation-and-community-engagement-with-the

May 17, 2024 - Responses due to DOJ' Request for Information (RFI) on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Federal Integrated Business Framework Standards.

• Federal Registar Link - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/18/2024-05663/request-for-information-regarding-federal-integrated-business-framework-standards

    We will keep the community posted on additional events and opportunities for public involvement as we become aware of them!

Sincerely,

 

GSA Open Government Secretariat

If you have any public Open Government related events you would like our help to advertise, please send the relevant details to opengovernme...@gsa.gov

---

To unsubscribe from the OPENGOV-CIV list, create a new email message, addressed to OPENGOV-CIV-uns...@listserv.gsa.gov. The message content does not matter and the sender's email address will be removed from the list.