Tomorrow, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is an amazing document written by bright and determined individuals who wanted to throw off the yoke of servitude from the British crown. It, of course, was signed on July 4, 1776. But five months later, it looked as if the American Revolution wasRead… Read more »
Fostering effective media relations can be a challenging endeavor for anyone, including public sector communicators. This is due, in large part, to a history of adversarial relations between government and the so-called Fourth Estate. Thus it’s essential for government communicators to break down this firewall and build bridges instead. With this in mind, you shouldRead… Read more »
Some state governments are not making it easy for their elected officials or their citizens to see where money is being spent and what results are being achieved. Consider this latest example. The actual name of the state has been omitted, as it would be a terrible embarrassment to its statewide elected leaders, its legislature,Read… Read more »
One of the best things I’ve read recently is Grant Vergottini’s Imagining Government Data in the 21st Century where he lists and then explains seven characteristics of “data transparency”: The data must be available. The data must be provided in such a way that it is accessible and understandable by the widest possible audience. TheRead… Read more »
Understanding how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars is a daunting task. In fiscal year 2013 alone, the federal government spent $3.5 trillion. In May, Congress unanimously passed and the President signed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA), which increases accountability and transparency of federal spending. The act requires several changes that will shedRead… Read more »
Which comes first, open data or open government? This question was posed at the Sunlight Foundation’s recent TransparencyCamp. The two-day event featured various outbreak sessions and thought-provoking messages from industry professionals. You can view additional coverage of the event here, “ICYMI: TransparencyCamp Event” and here, “Improving Data.gov: Insights from Sunlight Foundation’s Transparency Camp“. One ofRead… Read more »
Does greater transparency in government translate into greater citizen legitimacy and trust for government action? It depends, concludes a new study by a Swedish scholar. The Open Government movement has captured the imagination of many around the world as a way of increasing transparency, participation, and accountability. In the US, many of the federal, state,Read… Read more »
The Sunlight Foundation recently hosted TransparencyCamp, a gathering of technology, policy and government thought leaders to discuss open government and open data initiatives. My recent post, “ICYMI: TransparencyCamp Event” gave a general overview of the event, and highlighted a session with former Philadelphia Chief Data Officer Mark Headd. This blog will look at a subsequentRead… Read more »
Am I writing a bunch of leadership gobbledygook in my GovLoop blog? I had to stop and ask myself this question after reading a Harvard Business Review article entitled “The Trouble With Leadership Theories,” by Doug Sundheim. This short, but poignant article draws attention to the ways we toss leadership jargon, or as we sayRead… Read more »
As state governments move toward total financial transparency, there is at least one place to look for information on how the states are doing in providing constituents with data on where money is being spent and what results are being achieved with the investment. Earlier blog posts have elaborated on the current ‘shortcomings’ of stateRead… Read more »