SLA Government Information Division

Australia's Government 2.0 Taskforce

The Australian national government's Government 2.0 Taskforce has posted Towards Government 2.0: An Issues Paper [PDF] for public comment. The taskforce includes members from government, business, academia, and cultural institutions. Its work is focused on exploring possibilities for potential uses of public sector information and online engagement.

The taskforce's 23 July 2009 blog posting Official Issues Paper Released links to the paper in several different formats. See the consultation page for the version open to online commenting. This current version supercedes a "beta" version that had been open for initial comments. That version is now closed. The new version of the paper is open for comments and includes some information from the beta comments.

The Government 2.0 paper covers a variety of policy topics using, as a framework, the June 2008 Recommendation of the OECD Council for Enhanced Access and More Effective Use of Public Sector Information [PDF]. Topics of interest include conditions for re-use of government information, long-term preservation, privacy issues, and international access and use.

Previous DGI blog post: Australia Launches Gov 2.0 Taskforce

New Look for Regulations.gov

The U.S. federal government's Regulations.gov website re-launched this week with a new look. The changes are described in the fact sheet A New Regulations.gov [PDF].

From the fact sheet...

The New Homepage Contains:
•Tasks that users complete most often
•Interactive icons that pre-populate search box filters
•Simple, full-text search with pre-sorting options
•Easy-to-use advanced search
•Dynamic list of regulations that are visited most frequently, closing soon and newly posted
•Quick access to Regulatory Agendas and other agency resources

The New Search Results Page Allows Users to:
•Narrow a search by selecting filters
•Add keywords to search with results
•View results by docket folder
•Filter U.S. government agencies with a new type-ahead feature
•Link to view full docket folders and their contents
•Sign up for email alerts

GovLoop in the News

The Washington Times newspaper covers the GovLoop social networking website in the article Bureaucrats tweet for better government; Online water cooler corrals state, local and federal workers, 28 July 2009.

Although the article does not mention it, GovLoop has a Libraries - Local, State and Federal networking group that includes several DGI members in its ranks so far. Take a look at the site. It's a great place not just to talk to other librarians, but to engage the staff who use and make decisions about the library and information service functions in government. GovLoop also welcomes professionals from around the world. GovLoop invites you to "join today if you are: * gov't employee (fed/state/local/intl) * public policy student/professor * good gov't organization * gov't consultants/contractors."

Great DotGov Sites 2009

The envelope, please...

Government Computer News has unveiled the top ten picks for their Great .Gov Sites 2009 list. Reporter Joab Jackson writes:

This is not a definitive list of the 10 best government sites. The field is way too broad for any such superlatives. But they are sites that embrace the Web's full potential, and they can offer ideas for other agencies seeking to improve their own sites.

See the article for the full list. It includes U.S. government websites of interest to - and some even staffed by - DGI members. Among them:

• Data.gov
• State Department's social media use
• FDsys
• Science.gov
• Webcontent.gov

For each of the top ten, the article links to a description of the site with a list of technologies used.

Tracking Financial Regulatory Reform

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis website has a new feature, Reforming the Nation's Financial System: A Timeline. From the website introduction:

In the aftermath of the financial crisis that hit the global economy in early 2007, changes to the nation's financial system are being proposed and debated. One key proposal came on June 17, 2009, when the Obama administration issued recommendations that would substantially alter how the U.S. financial system is regulated. As that idea and others are raised, discussed and implemented, this web site will track key developments.

Similar to the St. Louis Fed's Financial Crisis Timeline, the site reports news with links to the related press releases, legislation, reports, and other documents. In addition to the timeline, the site links to FinancialStability.gov, the House Committee on Financial Services, and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. 

Orszag blogs about Data.gov

U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag blogged today:

Public participation and collaboration are critical components to the success of Data.gov.  ... Individuals and organizations are not only viewing the data, but are also improving upon our work by analyzing and repurposing the information. The Sunlight Foundation recently launched Apps for America 2: The Data.gov Challenge to elicit from the public the most innovative applications based on the data available on Data.gov. One of the submissions is FlyOnTime.us. This site uses data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, available on Data.gov, to allow consumers to see estimated versus actual arrival times for flights on major commercial carriers. [some links added]

See: Data.gov Surpasses 100,000 Datasets

KM in USG

If you are interested in knowledge management approaches in the US federal government and elsewhere, here are a few resources to get you started:

• KM.gov, of course,
• Knowledge Management in Government group on GovLoop, and
• a new Ask the Knowledge Expert blog on GovLoop.

Government Computer News recently wrote about the topic in Kundra seeks inventory of agencies' knowledge management apps, 21 July 2009.

Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra has asked the Federal Knowledge Management Working Group to conduct an inventory of the applications that agencies use to capture and share the expertise of their employees, Jeanne Holm, co-chair of the working group, said today at the Open Government and Innovations conference in Washington.

The SLA/KM division organized many sessions at SLA 2009, including one on "KM in Washington." This conference presentation might be of special interest to the govvies: Stumbling blocks, magical thinking, and new diplomacy [PDF].

Do you have other KM in GOV news to share?

NARA Draft Plan Open for Comment

The US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 2009 draft strategic plan update is open for public review and comment until 5 August 2009. Changes to the original 2006 document are highlighted in the text. PDF copy: The Strategic Plan of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 2006-2016, draft for comment, 7/17/2009.

From the draft:

Across the entire Federal Government, the transformative use of information and networking technology to carry out Governmental functions is creating both challenges and opportunities for the National Archives and how it conducts its business. This transformation of Government processes has resulted not only in the development and use of new tools to conduct business, and the creation of records in new and varied formats, but also higher expectations about public access to Government records and information. Having the ability to manage, use, find, share, and appropriately dispose of electronic records is vital for the effective functioning of the Federal Government. It is also central to a Government that strives to be transparent, participatory, and collaborative.

The document also states:

With new social media applications (Web 2.0), we have the opportunity to reach the public with tools they already use. These tools allow us to operate more transparently and to interact with our users in new, more informal ways.

Already taking this social media path, NARA has announced (separately) that the agency has begun a Flickr pilot project to share selected images of archival documents and photographs. See: NARA Flickr FAQ | NARA Flickr photostream. NARA also has a National Archives YouTube channel.

[Hat tip to JW!]

The State of State Budgets: NCSL Update

Each day brings a new state budget crisis story. Here is the wrap-up from the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL):

• State Budget Update: July 2009 [PDF]


• State Tax Update: July 2009 [PDF]

NCSL's July 20th press release puts it this way: "FY 2009 can be summed up in one word: dismal. FY 2010 can be characterized by two words: even worse."

Follow OpenGov Meeting Tweets, July 21-22

The Open Government & Innovations conference, sponsored by 1105 Government Information Group, will take place in Washington, DC on 21-22 July 2009. Search Twitter [http://search.twitter.com/] on the #ogi hashtag for updates from attendees. The conference also has a blog at http://www.opengovinnovations.com/blog/. Conference speakers include Gov 2.0 movers and shakers from the U.S. federal government and the private and non profit sectors.

Anyone from SLA/DGI going, tweeting, blogging, reporting?