National News
- Dark money isn't just for conservative groups, according to new documents filed with the IRS. The left-leaning nonprofit League of Conservation Voters spent $36 million in 2012, with $15 million going towards political activities. (Public Integrity)
- The press isn't particularly happy with the White House over their level of access to to the President and the let it be known at a contentious briefing last week. The White House Correspondents Association is upset that the White House has broken with tradition by keeping press out of some events, while releasing official photos and videos. (POLITICO)
- President Obama is heading to the West Coast to drum up some money for the DNC, but he might be in for a tough trip as donors vent their frustrations with the bungled Affordable Care Act roll-out. Despite the potential for anger, Obama is still expected to rake in plenty of money for the party. (Washington Post)
- The Ukrainian Government has suspended preparations for signing an EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, a move that upset many of its citizens. Protests have sprung up around the country and are being tracked in an interactive map. (Global Voices)
- Developing countries lose between $20 and $40 billion every year to graft, according to a new report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The high levels of corruption are considered the greatest obstacle to economic and social development in these nations. (The FCPA Blog)
- Despite lots of talk about transparency and open government, the authors of this piece see it as mostly rhetoric so far, with minimal real world results in states around the US. Meanwhile, elected officials and high ranking bureaucrats are walling themselves off from the press. (Governing)
- Tech companies are supporting open data legislation under consideration in San Francisco that would push forward a number of initiatives. (San Francisco Examiner)
The Week on Politwoops: Macklemore, the Worst Autocorrect Ever and Self-Funding
Time again to look at the past week through the lens of deleted tweets from U.S. politicians caught by Politwoops.
Continue readingNavigating the new landscape of transparency and journalism
The intersecting worlds of big data, transparency and journalism are changing rapidly.
Need a roadmap to the new terrain? Fortunately, the University of Oxford has teamed up with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism to produce a new volume: Transparency in Politics and the Media: Accountability and Open Government. The volume brings forth a star-studded line-up of journalists and academics to give the latest and greatest lay-of-the-land for those who want to get up to speed on what’s what.
Though there’s no substitute for reading all the contributions, I’ve tried to distill some of the highlights and big picture “here’s where things are heading” insights into the three big areas the book covers: big data, transparency and journalism
Civil Society Groups Urge Trade Transparency
Today, the Sunlight Foundation joined with more than 30 Civil Society organizations from around the world and urged leaders to conduct the Trans-Pacific Partnership and any future trade negotiations in "a manner consistent with the democratic principles and openness and accountability."
The Global Open Data Initiative Needs Your Input
Open Data has enormous unfulfilled promise to change how governments work and to empower citizenship. As more governments and issue... View Article
Continue readingToday in #OpenGov 11/20/2013
National News
- The deputy CIO at the CFPB sat down with FedScoop to talk about how the innovative agency has leveraged open source technologies to get their job done. (FedScoop)
- President Obama has had a tough time of it lately. But, his struggles governing haven't hindered what sometimes seems to be his favorite job, raising huge amounts of money for the Democratic party. (NPR)
- The Australian State of New South Wales released its first open data policy, embracing the philosophy of "open by default" in the process. (Future Gov)
- Several U.S. groups are celebrating 30 years of working to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions around the world. The National Democratic Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, and International Republican Institute have been at it for three decades. (NDI)
- Ever wonder if your city is "smart?" Like ranked lists and pretty pictures? This article, which ranks the 10 "smartest cities" in North America may be for you! (Fast Co.Exist)
- New York City's department of education announced several applications built on open data that hope to help parents and students navigate the high-school selection process. (Education Week)
OpenGov Conversations: Tiago Peixoto on Open Data and Citizen Engagement – Disentangling the Relationship
This post is part of our series, OpenGov Conversations, an ongoing discourse featuring contributions from transparency and accountability researchers and practitioners around the world.
This post responds to the following question: What is the role of citizen engagement in the ability of transparency policies and initiatives to hold governments accountable?
As asserted by Jeremy Bentham nearly two centuries ago, “[I]n the same proportion as it is desirable for the governed to know the conduct of their governors, is it also important for the governors to know the real wishes of the governed.” Although Bentham’s historical call may come across as obvious to some, it highlights one of the major shortcomings of the current open government movement: while a strong focus is given to mechanisms to let the governed know the conduct of their governors (i.e. transparency), less attention is given to the means by which the governed can express their wishes (i.e. citizen engagement).
Continue readingOpenGov Conversations: Aaron Azelton on Citizen Engagement
This post is part of our series, OpenGov Conversations, an ongoing discourse featuring contributions from transparency and accountability researchers and practitioners around the world.
This post responds to the following question: What is the role of citizen engagement in the ability of transparency policies and initiatives to hold governments accountable?
As much as I would like to offer a simple definitive answer to the question, I have to say instead that it depends; particularly when democratic institutions and processes are being established and corresponding norms, values and practices are evolving. This view is based on 20 years working at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to increase organized citizen engagement, as a means of deepening democracy so that governments deliver a better quality of life for citizens. This work has provided a number of lessons regarding the relationship between citizen engagement, transparency and government accountability.
Continue readingHow Congress Commemorates President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Sunlight Foundation Files its First Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit
Today the Sunlight Foundation filed its very first Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. In May 2013, we sent a FOIA request to the General Services Administration (GSA) requesting a copy of all contract notices that had been posted on Fedbizopps.gov since 2000. These notices would allow members of the press, researchers, and our developers to analyze government spending patterns, to look for inaccuracies, corruption, and waste.
Despite our repeated inquiries and reminders, Sunlight never heard back from the GSA about our FOIA request in the more than five months since then. So we decided to take action.
Continue reading
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