From Social Science Research Network:
“Open government” used to carry a hard political edge: it referred to politically sensitive disclosures of government information. The phrase was first used in the 1950s, in the debates leading up to passage of the Freedom of Information Act. But over the last few years, that traditional meaning has blurred, and has shifted toward technology.
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From National Archives:
OGIS is sponsoring a unique event to mark Sunshine Week (March 9-16, 2012), a celebration of government openness.
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Read More… from Save the Date — OGIS’s Sunshine Week March 9-16
From Politico:
President Barack Obama set a high bar for open government, and he set it quickly. A minute after he took office, the White House website declared his administration would become “the most open and transparent in history.” By the end of his first full day on the job, Obama had issued high-profile orders pledging “a new era” and “an unprecedented level of openness” across the massive federal government.
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A few open government and FOIA news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier:
NFOIC debuts #OpenGovVideos with interviews featuring Ken Bunting and Emily Ramshaw
The National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) announced it has introduced #OpenGovVideos, an online video project that will help tell the story of why open government is important to all citizens.
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From Washington Post:
The latest call for the Obama administration to publicly release its legal justification for a drone strike that killed U.S.-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen last year came Wednesday in the form of a federal lawsuit.
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From BoingBoing:
Want to make a freedom-of-information request to the FBI or other three-letter agencies for any information they might have about you? This post links to a website that lets you enter personal information (or not, if you prefer), and then automatically print form letters to the correct government offices.
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From Sunlight Foundation:
The Advisory Committee on Transparency will host an event on legislative transparency and legislative branch appropriations on Monday, March 12th at 2:00 p.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2203. This event is particular timely as the House and Senate consider how much money to appropriate for important transparency programs.
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Read More… from Legislative Transparency and Legislative Branch Appropriations – March 12th
From NextGov:
A new research paper by Harlan Yu and David Robinson does an excellent job of tracing the history of the open government and open data movements and the way the two have been conflated, especially since the beginning of the Obama administration.
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From The FOIA Project:
When the Obama administration came to office in January 2009, it promised openness and transparency in government. On his first full day in office, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum concerning his administration’s beliefs on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), ordering federal officials to err on the side of openness.
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From NFOIC:
Nominations are still being accepted for a new inductee into the Open Government Hall of Fame.
Heroes of the 50 States: The State Open Government Hall of Fame is a joint venture by the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Freedom of Information Coalition. It was developed by leaders in both organizations as a way to recognize long-term contributions of individuals to open government in their respective states.
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Read More… from Nominations still being accepted for 2012 Open Government Hall of Fame
