The White House Releases Its Fifth Open Government National Action Plan

The White House released its Fifth Open Government National Action Plan on December 28. 2022. The first such report was released during the Obama administration in 2011, citing government initiatives that would improve government accountability. These reports are an effort to improve the government’s relationship with the public and elevate their voices.

In the most recent report, the Biden Administration has developed various initiatives dedicated to advancing equity through improving access to government information, increasing public engagement, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs, combatting corruption, and promoting social justice. Many of the initiatives are already well underway, including the development of the Subcommittee on Equitable Data under the National Science and Technology Council (previous COSSA coverage), the in-progress formal review of standards on race and ethnicity data collection by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (previous COSSA coverage), and the newly announced Public Access requirement on publicly funded research by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) (previous COSSA coverage).

The Biden Administration notes that it is committed to expanding these initiatives and furthering their goal to improve government accountability. The first three reports from the Obama administration can be found here, and the fourth from the Trump administration here.