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The Open Government Directive is an effort to implement the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration that form the cornerstone of an open government.
- Transparency promotes accountability by providing the public with information about what the government is doing.
- Participation allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise so that their government can make policies with the benefit of a wide range of views and information.
- Collaboration improves the effectiveness of government by encouraging partnerships and cooperation within the federal government, across levels of government, and between the government and private institutions and citizens.
The Corporation for National and Community Service has long embraced these principles. Participation and collaboration are at the heart of our mission, as we work with thousands of organizations to engage millions of Americans in service each year. From seeking input on our strategic plan, regulations, and policies; to sharing program evaluations and agency performance data; to providing grants and training to organizations across the country, open government is a guiding principle of our work. Under the Administration's Open Government Initiative, we are committed to becoming more open.
| Open Government Plan Version 1.1 |
Based on input from agency staff and the public, the Corporation's Open Government Plan contains detailed information on our current activities and future improvements to increase transparency, collaboration and participation. This plan is a living document and we are interested in hearing from you about our plan. Please let us know what you think and share any other ideas on how we can improve transparency, participation and collaboration by sending an email to open@cns.gov.
| Status of our Open Government Plan |
In our Open Government Plan, we committed to giving the public quarterly status updates. The link below leads to our status as of March 31, 2010. This will provide you with the status for a list of completed projects, actively ongoing projects, and projects planned for the next year.
The Corporation for National and Community Service Open Government Gallery highlights a few key initiatives and projects that demonstrate Corporation's commitment to the open government principles of transparency, participation and collaboration.
Under the Open Government Directive, the Corporation has posted three new high-value datasets, the first of many datasets we will be releasing. You can access them below, along with links to more than 20 more feeds to get real-time information on grant competition, news, photos, videos, and more. Come back again as we add more datasets.
- Report on FY 2012 Conference Activities
This report details three major Corporation for National and Community service conference activities in fiscal year 2012. Note: total costs are not exclusive to travel and per diem, but also include programmatic/content development, meeting space and logistical support.
- Results of Grant Competitions
This tool displays information pertaining to the Corporation's grant application review process, including a list of compliant applications submitted to CNCS, executive summaries for compliant applications, and the list of successful applicants.
- September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance 10th Anniversary Challenge Grants (PDF)
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) recognized the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 by issuing a challenge to organizations to bring Americans together in the same spirit of compassion, unity, and service as so many did after the attacks.
- Corporation Sustainability Plan (PDF)
This plan describes how the Corporation will fulfill its commitment to increased energy efficiency and conservation.
- American Recovery Act AmeriCorps VISTA Recipients Report (Microsoft Excel)
This file provides a list of the recipients of grants and VISTA volunteers under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
- American Recovery Act AmeriCorps State and National Grant Recipients Report (Microsoft Excel)
This file provides a list of the recipients of AmeriCorps State and National grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
- American Recovery Act National Service Trust Payments (Microsoft Excel)
This dataset contains data regarding payments made under the recovery act by the National Service Trust.
- All for Good API
This API allows client applications to retrieve and view thousands of volunteer opportunities across the United States.
- Corporation RSS / XML Feeds
We have 20+ feeds that give you real-time information on grant competition, news, photos, videos and more.
- Segal AmeriCorps Education Award Payments by Institution and State since 1994
This dataset shows payments of Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards from the National Service Trust by institution and state since 1994.
In order to provide for as open an environment as possible for all the activities of the Corporation, have gathered links to our statutes, regulations, and policies in one place for your review:
There are many ways for individuals and organizations to learn more and get involved in our programs.
| Freedom of Information Act and Records Retention |
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives Americans the opportunity to gather information about government activities. The FOIA generally provides access to federal agency records or portions of those records except those which are protected from release by specific exemptions. For a reference guide on how to submit a FOIA request and other information, click on the links below.
The Corporation creates many records in a wide variety of forms including paper, video and electronic, among others. This below document specifies the records dispositions and policies associated with these records.
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to write "clear Government communication that the public can understand and use." President Obama also emphasized the importance of establishing "a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration" in his January 21, 2009, Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.
We’re training our employees and have strengthened our internal oversight process. We are committed to use plain writing principles in any document that:
- is necessary for obtaining any federal government benefit or service or filing taxes;
- provides information about any federal government benefit or service; or
- explains to the public how to comply with a requirement that the federal government administers or enforces.
You will find our report on progress and compliance with the Act here:
We need your help to comply with this Act!
The Corporation for National and Community Service is committed to writing new documents in plain language, using the Federal Plain Language Guidelines.
We want to know when we communicate well and when we don’t. Send an e-mail to plain@cns.gov or contact the following staff assigned to oversee our plain writing efforts and let us know what you think:
On April 4, 2012, the President signed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act or STOCK Act, which amended the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. § 101 et seq.) Section 6 of the STOCK Act added subsection 103(l) to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. app. 4, § 101 et seq. (EIGA). Effective July 3, 2012, subsection 103(l) of EIGA requires that not later than 30 days after receiving notification of any transaction required to be reported under subsection 102(a)(5)(B) of EIGA, but in no case later than 45 days after such a transaction, a covered employee must file a report of the transaction.
The periodic transaction reporting requirements cover only transactions occurring on or after July 3, 2012. The law covers any purchase, sale or exchange of stocks, bonds, commodities futures or other forms of securities owned or acquired by the covered employee when the amount of the transaction exceeds $1,000. CNCS is required to make periodic transaction reports publicly available within 30 days of the filing date. View required transaction reports for CNCS employees.
| CNCS Contingency Plan and Information in the Absence of Appropriated Funding |
Below you can find the agency's contingency plan related to operations during a federal government shutdown.
Grant Maintenance
During a shutdown period, grantees that have active, awarded grants may continue to operate. The following systems will remain functional:
The Help Desk will also continue to operate, but support will be limited. You can reach the Help Desk at 1-800-942-2677.
Office of Personnel Management FAQs
President Obama’s first executive action in office was to sign the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government. You can learn more about the Administration’s work to make government more transparent, participatory and collaborative by visiting the sites below.
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