DHS Open Government Plan Discussion Site

I’m not sure when it exactly happened as I did not check the site yesterday, but the DHS Open Government Discussion Site has been re-opened to start the discussion process about the Plan that DHS is putting into place to help make the US Government more transparent, increase participation and collaboration, and to make the whole process more innovative. I mentioned in an earlier blog that DHS would be doing this, but they started the process earlier than anticipated. It appears that I have the honor or distinction of being the first person to post a ‘new’ idea to the site. I continue to harp on one of my key complaints about the Department (that as a whole appears to be doing a pretty decent job) and that is their lack of transparency in their regulatory processes. The Idea, Status of Regulations, is now available for voting and comments. It is interesting, and may end up being really confusing, to see that all of the Ideas that were posted to this site to aid the Department in developing their plan are still there. Those ideas are still open for comment and voting. I applaud the Department for keeping those Ideas available to the public, but it would seem to me that they should be on a separate site where their historical integrity can be maintained. Sites like this may end up being an important part of using 21st Century technology work in making government operations more efficient and responsive. I urge everyone to actively participate in this site. If there is no participation, it won’t remain around for very long.