OSTP Asks Agencies For 'Bold, Ambitious' Open Government Initiatives

The administration's open government initiative has been quiet after its initial push during the first two years of President Barack Obama's administration. But new guidance from the Office of Science and Technology Policy is trying to reinvigorate agency efforts.

Chief Technology Officer Todd Park released a memo to agency leaders Feb. 24 detailing a series of new steps and updates to existing initiatives, including describing "bold, ambitious new open government initiatives for the coming two years."

"The 2014 Plans will provide an inspiring showcase of open government achievements to add to those achieved by agencies in past plans, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's expansion of Web-streamed meetings so participants across the country can hear about existing and proposed nuclear sites, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's ongoing International Space Apps Challenges, which have encouraged thousands of innovators from around the globe to create tools to improve life on earth and in space," wrote Nick Sinai, the deputy CTO at OSTP, and Corinna Zarek, a policy advisor for open government at OSTP, in a blog post Friday.