Our Philosophy
We know that at the heart of the open, transparent government we seek is ‘open’ government data
that is available online and in real-time.
Government information should be as accessible to us as information about
the weather, sports scores or knowing what’s going on in the stock market — and we need it to be this way so we
can both hold government accountable and create new enterprise with what is made available to us.
In order to reach
our vision of an open government – or an online, real-time government – we also know there are a number of “things”
that must occur – and not just occur once, but continue to happen over time and continuously reinforce each other along
the way.
This “Cycle of Transparency” demonstrates, in one image, the specific actions and the variety of actors
that need to work together to create the open, transparent government we seek. We hope this graphic can be a useful tool in
thinking about how to make city, state, federal, and even international governments more transparent.
Each type of
actor and action complements the others in the Cycle to make every other element easier, or even possible at all. Of great
importance is that just about anyone – from hardcore Internet developers to academics to government staff to reporters
to activists – has a place in it.
One of the first places we often start in talking about transparency is in
the crafting of policies that require the release of data from government. While no one piece of this Cycle is “first”
or more important than others, the legislative component is a useful starting point. (Mostly because it’s the first
one we wrote down.)
Lawmakers, lobbyists and think tanks (as well as citizens) all play a role in articulating new
transparency policies and pushing them through the twists and turns of government processes. Those policies must adhere to
core principles of openness, such as making sure government data is “raw,” that it is complete, or that it is
searchable (in total, there are nine of these openness principles that government data should adhere to).
These principles
aren’t things that government is accustomed to just yet, so the advocacy process is pretty difficult, and the subsequent
“gap” between writing new legislation and actually getting legislation passed is more like a “chasm.”
One of the beautiful aspects of open government, however, is that while laws are written (and should be passed) to
require the release of government data, Congress, federal agencies, states and cities can – in most cases – become
more open and transparent without new laws.
Once data is released, government agencies (such as the Department of Energy
or Transportation) and web developers anywhere can build the necessary technology to organize the data and make it usable.
Federal repositories like Data.gov or Sunlight’s National Data Catalog are great examples of this type of public/private
foundation building.
In the way of analogy, one way to think about this entire process is that it turns government
into a type of public data wholesaler through which the public can build retail outlets.
With data being made easily
accessible, journalists and bloggers can begin to dig into it, mix it up, identify relevant information and give the data
context. As that critical context is provided, citizens absorb it and spread the information to others – both online
and face-to-face – and make the data actionable.
Ultimately, informed citizen action creates greater public awareness;
citizens become more effective, responsible advocates; holding government accountable becomes informed by data rather than
inside-the-Beltway pundits, and better decisions can be made for our democracy.
As each element of the Cycle of Transparency
moves forward concurrently, bringing about the changes we need to create a more transparent government, we also identify new
needs.
At the end of the day, the process that the Cycle of Transparency describes is about creating a government more
deserving of our trust, and ultimately, a government that allows its citizens to fully participate and hold government accountable
as our Founders intended.
Dear Janet,