White House Seeking Guidance on E-Participation

Back in September, when the United States released its U.S. Open Government National Action Plan (PDF), I listed the initiatives it contains in the area of public participation: Open Government Partnership: Public Participation in the US National Plan

One item I found particularly appealing. Under ”New initiatives”, the plan states that the U.S. will:

• Develop Best Practices and Metrics for Public Participation. We will identify best practices for public participation in government and suggest metrics that will allow agencies to assess progress toward the goal of becoming more participatory. This effort will highlight those agencies that have incorporated the most useful and robust forms of public participation in order to encourage other agencies to learn from their examples.

In a follow-up post today, United States CTO Aneesh Chopra is asking the public for further assistance on this item and to “provide input and ideas on best practices and metrics for public participation”: Seeking Your Input on the U.S. Open Government National Action Plan

All seven questions are great conversation starters, but one specifically deals with online participation:

What are the most effective forms of technology and web tools to encourage public participation, engage with the private sector/non-profit and academic communities, and provide the public with greater and more meaningful opportunities to influence agencies’ plans?

Plenty to discuss! Deadline for submissions is January 3, 2012.

Original post