Bright Idea Award: Harvard JFK School Recognizes Federal Register 2.0

Cambridge, MA – September 25, 2012. The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University recognized 111 innovative government initiatives as Bright Ideas. Thirteen of the 111 projects are U.S. Federal Government efforts. We are proud to say that NARA’s Federal Register 2.0 is one of the initiatives honored as an innovative solution.

From the Ash Center announcement:

Federal Register 2.0, developed with free, open-source software, makes federal regulatory information available to the public in a web newspaper format. This new edition of the Federal Register organizes material into six topical sections, offers notifications on virtually any topic or agency, makes it easier for citizens to understand the regulatory process and comment on proposed actions, and facilitates application developers in using the information.

The Ash Center reports that the honorees represent all levels of government—including school districts, county, city, state, and federal agencies as well as public-private partnerships—and demonstrates a creative range of solutions to issues such as urban and rural degradation, environmental problems, and the academic achievement of students. Programs were evaluated and selected by a team of policy experts from academic and public sectors.

“Government innovation does not require endless resources and generous budgets,” said Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in Government Program at the Ash Center. “As exemplified by this year’s Bright Ideas, some of our country’s smartest innovations can in fact reduce government’s size while serving our citizens more efficiently and effectively.”

The Bright Ideas program is an initiative of the broader Innovations in American Government Awards program.  Bright Ideas are showcased on the Ash Center’s Government Innovators Network, an online platform for practitioners and policymakers to share innovative public policy solutions.

The full list of Bright Idea honorees and commendations is posted here in the Ash Center press release.