Opening Doors for Greater Transparency and Engagement at USDA

Today is an exciting day at USDA – and across the government – as we release our Open Gov Plan that formalizes plans to integrate openness, transparency,
participation and collaboration into our every day activities.

The path has been an exciting one, and USDA has met the Open Government Directive deliverables with help from employees and the public. Central to our efforts are core values of accountability and accessibility;
bridging the gap between the American People and government.

On January 29 we launched the USDA’s Open Gov Website, the start of a dynamic conversation with the public to help shape the Open Gov Plan. Nearly 900 individuals contributed to the USDA Open Community with 108 ideas, 512 votes,
and 196 comments. Last week we released the draft plan to show our progress and
solicit additional feedback before issuing the formal plan. Many ideas and
comments were incorporated to our plan.

We hope that the impressive level of civic engagement continues; as the plan evolves and grows we will provide regular feedback and updates on progress. We are
working to transform the culture and processes throughout the Department to
fully embrace open government and apply its principles every day that are
rooted in every agency, at every level.

This is only the beginning as we move forward to translate the principles of open government into lasting and tangible improvements in the way we make decisions, solve problems and address challenges together.

Amanda Eamich,
Director of New Media U.S. Department of Agriculture

*This entry was originally posted on the USDA Blog.