It has been one year since the White House released the Open Government Directive, part of a greater initiative to make the Federal Government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.
Through OPM’s Open Government Plan, we have made the commitment to working with stakeholders to meet their needs and making more information available to and usable by the public. We are engaging OPM employees, along with external stakeholders, in a more collaborative and transparent way to solve complex, agency-wide problems through clearly defining the problem, generating creative ideas, and finally recommending new solutions to the Executive Board.
Here are some of the highlights of what we have accomplished thus far:
- We formed a governance structure with representation from throughout OPM and from external stakeholders. Participants from field offices and the union have played vital roles as members of our six Open Government teams. This structure has allowed us to use an inductive approach and incorporate ideas from other agencies, academia, and non-profit institutions by working together across internal and external boundaries. In this way, we collaborate to make meaningful change at OPM.
- OPM was ranked among the top five agencies in OpenTheGovernment.org's first assessment of Open Government plans throughout the Executive Branch.
- The Agency received a Leading Practices Award from the White House for our Flagship initiative to bring knowledge management and collaborative technologies to OPM.
- We stood up OPM’s searchable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) engine and are about to complete Phase II of this project. Through the FAQs, members of the public can find answers to their questions about Federal HR policies and procedures.
But we’re not done yet – in fact, we’re just getting started. We are moving forward with implementing OPM’s Open Government Plan and focusing on ways in which openness – and transparency in particular – can help us better do our jobs and fulfill our mission to recruit, retain, and honor a world-class workforce to serve the American people. To that end, in February, OPM will host an interagency Open Government summit during which will we not only showcase our successful and unique approach to Open Government, but also engage in yet more collaboration on challenges we face.
I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to the success of our Open Government initiative – those who have dedicated themselves throughout the year to leading and participating in OPM’s efforts, those who have responded to requests for information from the public and from the Open Government Forum, and others who have stepped in as their engagement was needed and demonstrated great flexibility in support of the teams. Openness must become part of the way each of us operates every day, recognizing that, as a result, our jobs will be made easier and our service to our customers better. As we move forward with implementation, I look forward to meeting with the Open Government Team in January to discuss next steps.
I congratulate everyone who has made our Open Government initiative successful, and encourage all of OPM to join our important journey towards more effective and transparent government.
John Berry
Director