Sunlight joined very prestigious company last week by earning the 2013 Professional Freedom & Responsibility Award Winner by the Cultural and Critical Studies Division members of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). We are just thrilled to receive this recognition for our work to make government more transparent and accountable and thank the members of the Cultural and Critical Studies Division!
Announcing the Open Data Policy Guidelines, Version 2.0
As more communities recognize the power and possibilities of sharing public data online, there is an increasing need to articulate what it means to open data -- and how to create policies that can not only support these efforts, but do so in a sustainable and ambitious way.
To this end, we are releasing the second version of Sunlight’s Open Data Policy Guidelines. Originally authored last summer and informed by the great work of our peers and allies, the Guidelines are a living document created to help define the landscape of what open data policies can and should do. For this latest version, we’ve reordered and slightly rephrased the Guidelines’ 32 provisions for clarity. We’ve also grouped them into three categories as a way of demonstrating that open data policies can define What Data Should Be Public, How to Make Data Public and How to Implement Policy.
Transparency Case Study: Public Procurement in the Slovak Republic
Introduction
Transparency and open data policies and initiatives have reached a state of maturity where it is crucial for us to evaluate them to learn what works, what doesn’t and why. Transparency is not likely to be a cure-all, but we think it is a cure-some; so, we need to figure out where and how it should be best applied. As part of that process, we have been conducting a series of in-depth case studies on the impact of technology enabled transparency policies around the world. Our initial case studies look at transparency in public procurement and we have chosen four countries to study. This analysis discusses our findings about public procurement disclosure by the Slovakian government.
For the Slovakian case study, we conducted interviews or sent questionnaires and surveys to members of the following groups: members of transparency NGOs, journalists who have covered procurement, academic researchers, the Slovakian Government Office of Public Procurement and the Slovakian Business Alliance. The experiences of these diverse respondents have allowed us to develop an equally diverse and comprehensive picture of the impact of the public procurement reforms enacted in Slovakia over recent years.
Our major findings: Slovakians' increased access to public data has led to increased oversight and engagement by the civil sector and the public. However, because of a lack of enforcement, corruption in public procurement remains a significant problem.
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 8/12/2013
by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:
- With each passing day, the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) looks less likely to be repealed, but Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is continuing efforts to either repeal or defund the ACA. He is giving speeches during the August recess at various places in Florida against the Affordable Care Act. Whether or not Rubio's plans will go unfulfilled remains to be seen, with many Republicans scoffing at the practicality of defunding the ACA. (Washington Times)
- Former congressman Anthony Weiner has come out with his first ad, for which his campaign has reportedly spent $500,000 in air time. In the ad, Weiner railed against the "powerful voices" who did not want him to run for the office, saying in the ad that he is committed to helping the middle class. (Politico)
- Freshman Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AL), who is running for the Alabama Senate seat, is benefitting from his position on the Financial Services Committee to raise much needed dollars for his Senate campaign. The difference in fundraising is dramatic: for the entire 2011-2012 campaign, Cotton raised $2.2 million. In the first two quarters of this year, Cotton raised $1.1 million already and has over $1 million in cash on hand. (Roll Call)
- Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who is not running for reelection for his Senate seat, is hosting a fundraiser that will go towards the state Democratic party. Baucus's retirement leaves a traditionally red state up for grabs, so Baucus has been busy raising money, having already raised $200,000 for the party this year. (Roll Call)
- Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Iowa to be the keynote speaker of Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry fundraiser. Biden's venture to Iowa, a state well known for setting the tone of many presidential campaigns, marks his interest in running for the presidency, say Democratic officials. (New York Times)
Ad watch: RNC launches attack on Hillary Clinton
It's the dog days of August. It's more than three years till the next presidential election. But the Republican National Committee is attacking like it's 2016 already.
The spot above, which just appeared in Ad Hawk, Sunlight's mobile app that helps voters learn who's putting up the money behind ads, has all the earmarks of a preemptive strike against a Hillary Clinton for president campaign. The ad features Clinton's emotional testimony to Congress on the deaths of U.S. diplomatic personnel in Benghazi, Libya while she was secretary of state.
At 31 seconds, it ...
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 8/9/2013
by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:
- It seems that Sen. Rand Paul and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have quite the interesting relationship. Joe Scarborough, a former member of the House, called the relationship between McConnell and Paul a "marriage of convenience" designed to boost Paul's chances of election come 2016. According to Jesse Benton, who worked for both Rand Paul and Ron Paul, tolerating McConnell is to boost Rand Paul's chances of election. (Washington Times)
- House Democrats who are looking to pass some sort of re-expansion of the Voting Rights Act may receive support from Eric Cantor, the House Minority Leader. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) has stated that he anticipates cooperation from Cantor, though other House Republicans have not expressed much interest in restoring the aspects of the Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court. (The Hill)
- Barack Obama recently called his relationship with John McCain as that of a "classic romantic comedy." McCain responded with a little ribbing by saying that a more fitting comedy would be I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners. In an interview with CNN's John Brennan, McCain pointed to potential areas that both sides of the aisle can work together. (Politico)
- According to Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), around 40-50 GOP House members are in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, meaning the bill would pass the House if brought to the floor for a vote. However, with regards to immigration, House Speaker has promised to only bring votes to the floor that have received support from a majority of support from those in the House Majority. (Washington Post)
- Many Americans are quite disgruntled with Congress and don't think they deserve their August recess. In a poll by Fox News, 82% of those surveyed said that they did not think Congress worked hard enough to merit the break. The same poll found that 48% believed that President Obama deserved his vacation, with 80% of Democrats believing he worked hard enough. (Politico)
OpenGov Voices: FreedomHack: A Hackathon for Good
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the guest blogger and those providing comments are 
theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the Sunlight Foundation or any employee thereof. Sunlight Foundation is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information within the guest blog.
Barrett Holmes Pitner is the Senior Global Editor, Cont3nt.com (one of the organizers of the FreedomHack. You can reach him at barrett@cont3nt.com @barrettpitner
This weekend, August 10-11, coders, hackers, policy experts and journalists will spend 24 hours at a hackathon feverishly working together to develop tools and products that will help those living in the most dangerous parts of the world tell their stories. This is FreedomHack.
We have all been to hackathons and witnessed how the combination of energy, enthusiasm, intelligence, creativity and technical expertise consistently results in products that could take months to conceive in a traditional corporate structure. We understand how removing the monotony of “work” from the equation and replacing it with “fun and passion” can create brilliant results, and this is what we aim to achieve this weekend.
When the organizers of FreedomHack conceived the idea, it was just a handful of us in a room trying to figure out the best way to help these communities. A hackathon clearly rose to the top because of its inventive, spontaneous and fun structure.
From the onset, we have always referred to FreedomHack as “a hack for good.” FreedomHack will allow every participant the opportunity to have fun and work hard over one weekend for the benefit of people who live in embattled communities who desperately need your expertise.
This hackathon will focus on developing secure tools and products for those who live in parts of Mexico that have been overrun by cartel violence and human rights related issues. Citizen reporters and journalists regularly face threats on their lives and at the very least, censorship on the vital topics they are reporting.
Register for the FreedomHack hackathon.
Continue readingAd spotlight: GOP family feud
The rift in the Republican party is turning into an air war.
Usually, video attacks are reserved for election opponents or members of the opposite party but as members of Congress returned home for their August recess, members of the GOP appear to be gleefully violating the late President Ronald Reagan's "11th commandment" -- the one that said you shoul never speak ill of a fellow Republican. What we've spotted so far:
Freedomworks is going after John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican leader in the Senate leadership. The Tea Party-affiliated think tank is accusing the Texas Republican of betraying ...
Continue readingCan Electronic Records Save Money, Increase Efficiency, and Benefit Everyone?
The advantages of using electronic records and providing more searchable, accessible records are sometimes overshadowed by one concern: money.
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 8/8/2013
by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS: Drug giants such as Amgen and Genentech have been lobbying for state legislatures to... View Article
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