Sunlight Foundation

Ellen Miller, co-founder of the prominent transparency watchdog Sunlight Foundation, called the award a "notion foolishly conceived" during an interview with The Hill last week and said the president's stated commitment to transparency is not enough to justify an award. Sunlight has been critical of the Obama administration's follow-through on its transparency pledges in recent months, arguing the data published on sites like Data.gov and trumpeted by the White House is actually of limited usefulness.