Is the U.S. living up to open government commitments?

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(Photo credit: Tim Evanson/Flickr)

Many of the federal government’s commitments on open government and civil society are not being met, according to a new progress report on the Obama administration’s second Open Government Partnership National Action Plan (NAP).

The report, compiled by OpenTheGovernment.org, argues that “this Administration is not poised to fulfill many of its open government commitments,” although it does highlight some areas of meaningful change.

The report looks at commitments made in the White House’s second NAP for open government. The first was released in December 2013 as part of the U.S.’ participation in the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

The report argues that “certain areas of secrecy cast a dark shadow over the entire U.S. OGP process,” specifically highlighting the continued opaqueness around many areas of national security.

The Obama administration is slated to release its final NAP in the coming months. Despite shortcomings in the second NAP, civil society representatives are hopeful for the upcoming commitments. “The Administration has laid the groundwork for some significant reform, and civil society still holds hope for consequential achievement in the next (third) National Action Plan,” according to Patrice McDermott, executive director of OpenTheGovernment.org

Sunlight provided feedback on certain areas of the report and has a representative on the OpenTheGovernment.org steering committee.

You can view the full report here.