Open Government Directive Arrives

UPDATE: OMB Director Peter Orszag on Tuesday morning posted the 11-page directive on Whitehouse.gov. The document is dated Dec. 8, 2008 - clearly a farsighted initiative.

The White House, at long last, has a release date for the transparency directive that President Obama announced on his first day at work: Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 11:00 a.m.

Keep your eyes on Nextgov for more details.

The administration's top two tech chiefs, Vivek Kundra and Aneesh Chopra, on Tuesday will unveil official guidance that instructs agencies on how to make the federal government more open, how to bring citizens into the policy-making process and how to collaborate inside -- with government employees -- and outside -- with the public and industry.

Under a memo that Obama issued Jan. 21, the Office of Management and Budget was asked to develop a formal directive based on recommendations from the chief technology officer, Chopra. Kundra, the federal chief information officer, works out of OMB. The drafting process got off to a slow start, partly because Chopra wasn't confirmed until the week that the recommendations were due in May. Also, government transparency advocates at first were dissatisfied that the public was not given the chance to collaborate on a policy intended to foster public collaboration.

The administration consulted with the public through the Internet -- with blogs, online voting mechanisms and a so-called wiki page that any user could add language to -- and sought advice from open government activists in person. White House officials said the final document will reflect this public input, as well as the wishes of the federal workforce and the realities of agency rules and regulations.

White House officials told reporters the announcement will be streamed live on the White House Web site and followed by a discussion forum, online, that will be open to the public.