Sunlight is launching a new project this morning -- OpenCongress.org -- that we are very excited about. This is is joint effort with the amazing team from the Participatory Politics Foundation -- a group based in Worcester, Mass. that builds open-source software and web tools for civic engagement.
Think of this as a user-friendly Thomas, on steriods. We've brought together critically important information about what is happening in Congress --legislation and issue focused -- and combined that with what bloggers and the mainstream media are most talking about. We've added a component of social wisdom tracking what's hot and what's most-viewed on the site itself, along with what others are writing about. There are lots of links to other Sunlight projects like Congresspedia and Sunlight grantees like OpenSecrets.org. We are aiming to to offer a comprehensive, understandable, user-friendly snapshot of every bill and Member of Congress.
Sunlight’s Catching
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Yesterday New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced "Project Sunlight," New York State's first-ever comprehensive Internet database that will track donors, lobbyists, special interests, state contracts, and elected officials, and the links between them.
Seems like the situation with information about New York politics is not unlike the federal scenario:
While many databases are currently public domain, they are difficult to navigate. Additionally, the current process of accessing public information can be burdensome and time consuming. Project Sunlight goes well beyond the existing systems in making public information accessible. By combining multiple databases into a single, easy-to-use Internet resource, New Yorkers will be able to quickly examine elected officials' voting records and campaign contributors, and find outwhich entities may have benefited from their actions
A long-time public interest advocate -- Blair Horner -- a 25 year veteran of NYPIRG and an authority on government ethics and reform will head the project.
Continue readingFedSpending.org Now Features 2006 Data
FedSpending.org, the go-to site for all government spending information, has now added some 2006 data--the full set isn't available from the Feds just yet--plus some new and improved features for keeping track of how Washington manages our money. Congratulations to all at OMB Watch on the upgrades and updates. I'm appending the press release below, but what I think might be the coolest new feature is the summary data, which provides a really nice snapshot--here's Lockheed Martin, and here's Halliburton. Compare the trend boxes.
Continue readingAre Congressional Web Sites Tools for Transparency? — 5th Update
With tenacity and doggedness, citizen journalists have now completed their investigations of the Web sites for some 334 members of Congress--leaving us with just over 200 to go! The average score has crept up to 31.2679, while the average amount of time taken to complete an investigation holds steady at seven minutes. Thanks to everyone who's participated so far (if I'm reading the handy-dandy internal stats page correctly, there are 93 contributors), and thanks also to Kathy Gill, who gives us a nice plug while offering a very useful criticism.
Continue readingAre Congressional Web Sites Tools for Transparency? — 4th Update
You've passed the half way mark! Only 265 member Web sites left to investigate! Of those finished, the average score has crept up to 31.3755...
Continue readingAre Congressional Web Sites Tools for Transparency? — 3rd Update
Roughly 143 hours after releasing our latest citizen journalism project, we're approaching the half way mark: 265 members have been investigated by citizen journalists, 271 remain to be done. The average score has crept up over to a hair over 31 (the precise figure is 31.0471), while the average time to complete an investigation is remaining steady at seven minutes. Of the various citizen journalism projects we've launched, this one seems to require a little more patience and effort on the part of researchers, and I think I can safely say that I speak for all my colleagues here when I thank everyone who's taken on part of this project. We greatly appreciate your efforts.
Continue readingAre Congressional Web Sites Tools for Transparency? — 2nd Update
We've crossed the 200 barrier--200 member Web sites investigated, and 335 (actually, 336 now that we've added D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton to the list) to go. Some interesting stats--the average time for completion is 7 minutes, the average score remains a hair under 30 (29.9319 for those who prefer precise numbers). Some 65 unique users have taken part so far, and 89 of the 200 completed investigations were submitted anonymously. As of this writing, a citizen journalists have begun (but not yet finished) three investigations, including one of the Web site of Rep. Mary Bono. Just a footnote--when we were developing this project, I spent a little time looking at several members' sites, including hers. And after looking at it, I toyed with the idea of including a section on "unintended transparency."
Continue readingAre Congressional Web Sites Tools for Transparency? — 1st Update
Some 148 congressional Web sites have been researched in the first 28 hours or so since we launched our latest citizen journalism project (which needs a much snappier title than I've given it -- how about "Investigating Congress's Internet," or "How Open is Congress Online," or even, "Mirror mirror on the wall, whose congressional Web site is the most transparent of them all?"). The average score for members' Web sites is just under 30--which is actually a little bit higher than I would have guessed, although lower than some of my colleagues expected (and less, obviously, than a passing grade).
Continue readingSome Member Page Transparency
What are you finding in the search for Member page transparency? Give a spin around and you're bound to find something interesting. We all now know about Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen. Jon Tester posting their daily schedule on the web but we haven’t seen too much from other Members. This post highlights some things Members are doing that you might run across while undertaking our new citizen journalist assignment.
Posting a schedule is an innovative way to provide constituents with more information and provide them with a better feel for what a Member of Congress does. While Gillibrand and Tester are at the forefront of a new kind of schedule transparency they were not the first to post some form of personal schedule online. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) has been posting a schedule on his site for years now, although the schedule does not list more than one thing for each day. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) also posts a schedule on his website that does provide a bit more information than Capuano’s schedule.
Continue readingSome Member Page Transparency; What Have You Found?
What are you finding in the search for Member page transparency? Give a spin around and you're bound to find something interesting. We all now know about Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen. Jon Tester posting their daily schedule on the web but we haven’t seen too much from other Members. This post highlights some things Members are doing that you might run across while undertaking our new citizen journalist assignment.
Posting a schedule is an innovative way to provide constituents with more information and provide them with a better feel for what a Member of Congress does. While Gillibrand and Tester are at the forefront of a new kind of schedule transparency they were not the first to post some form of personal schedule online. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) has been posting a schedule on his site for years now, although the schedule does not list more than one thing for each day. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) also posts a schedule on his website that does provide a bit more information than Capuano’s schedule.
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