In a remarkable sign of how the ground is shifting in government information policy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has invited the public to suggest categories of NRC information that should be published on its web site, and to recommend other measures the Commission might take to improve transparency, public participation and collaboration.
A December 8, 2009 Open Government Directive (pdf) issued by the Obama Administration ordered federal agencies to “identify and publish online in an open format at least three high-value data sets” within 45 days (i.e. by January 22), and to take other steps “toward the goal of creating a more open government.”
In a Federal Register notice published today, the NRC asked for public assistance to meet the requirements of the Open Government Directive.
“To aid the NRC’s efforts to determine what data sets might be appropriate to publish and what transparency, public participation, and collaboration improvements it might include in its Open Government Plan, the NRC is soliciting public comments. Comments regarding publication of data sets are requested as soon as possible in light of the January 22, 2010, target date for publication of data sets,” the NRC notice said.
In fact, anyone can propose high value data sets belonging to any agency for publication online, through a public comment page on the Obama Administration’s data.gov web site.
We have suggested publication of the CIA’s CREST database of declassified historical records, and of a broad selection of Open Source Center products that are not classified or copyrighted. Matt Schroeder of the FAS Arms Sales Project recommended improved online publication of government data on U.S. arms exports.
The bootcamp brought more than two dozen next-generation open-source practitioners from across the United States to Washington DC, where they participated in interactive modules, group discussions, and hands-on sleuthing.
Fourteen teams from ten U.S. states have been selected as the Stage 2 awardees in the Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC), a national competition that helps communities turn emerging research into ready-to-implement solutions.
The Fix Our Forests Act provides an opportunity to speed up the planning and implementation of wildfire risk reduction projects on federal lands while expanding collaborative tools to bring more partners into this vital work.
Public health insurance programs, especially Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), are more likely to cover populations at increased risk from extreme heat, including low-income individuals, people with chronic illnesses, older adults, disabled adults, and children.