The U.S. Web Design System team is joined by the Federal Website Standards team to share more about the standards, their origin, the research backing them, and what standards are coming next.
Open government
Deliver transparent, accountable, and trustworthy federal services
An open government is built on the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration. Open government initiatives help agencies to be more accountable and responsive to the public.
Related Policy
M-10-06, Open Government Directive (PDF, 213 KB, 11 pages)
Open government: Essential knowledge
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U.S. public participation playbook
Explore a resource for government managers to effectively evaluate and build better services through public participation
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Data.gov
Visit the U.S. government’s open data site and explore datasets, tools, and other resources.
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Challenge.gov
Learn about Challenge.gov, the official hub for prize competitions across the U.S. federal government.
Open government events
The U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) team will share their vision for the design system as a product, including USWDS Web Components and other new things the team expects to deliver in 2025.
2024
The U.S. Web Design System team will share the product and engineering principles they’re using to guide the development of the design system. event_organizer: Digital.gov
Watch Video
2024
Open government news
Data.gov launches metrics tools
New Data.gov metrics dashboard provides information on most visited datasets, most downloaded files, most clicked outbound links, top search terms, and more.
FEMA National Summit on Risk Communications, Crisis Communications, and Community Engagement
The Federal Emergency Management Agency Office of External Affairs is convening risk and crisis communicators and community leaders who are on the front-line of the climate and emerging hazard crises. Attend the free, June 10, 2024, summit virtually, or in Washington, DC. The agenda includes: the sharing invaluable tools and insights, how to implement culturally competent and accessible communications, how to integrate behavior change strategies, and more. An ASL interpreter will be provided.— via Federal Emergency Management Agency
Celebrating the work of public servants
Performance.gov invites you to participate in their #GovPossible campaign to celebrate Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW)! Recognize the invaluable efforts of government employees who ensure that the everyday needs of Americans are met. Access a range of tools and resources to help you join the #GovPossible campaign and show your support. The #GovPossible toolkit makes it easy for you to participate in this important (and fun!) campaign.— via Performance.gov
Justice department to publish final rule to strengthen web and mobile app access for people with disabilities
On April 8, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications for people with disabilities. This final rule clarifies the obligations of state and local governments to make their websites and mobile applications accessible. Learn more about this rule and why the Attorney General believes it will “break down barriers that have kept people with disabilities from fully participating in American Life.”— via Department of Justice
Calling All Americans! The federal government is seeking your input
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) wants your thoughts on how federal agencies can more broadly and meaningfully engage with you and your communities. Share your ideas by May 17, 2024 to help build a more inclusive, responsive, transparent, and accountable government.— via Performance.gov
Resources on Open government
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Freedom of Information Act Memo 2009
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the law that gives anyone the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. This 2009 FOIA memo covers the following: An agency should not withhold information simply because it may do so legally. Whenever an
More News and Events on Open government
49 posts
The U.S. Web Design System team is joined by the Federal Website Standards team to share more about the standards, their origin, the research backing them, and what standards are coming next.
The U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) team will share their vision for the design system as a product, including USWDS Web Components and other new things the team expects to deliver in 2025.
2024
The U.S. Web Design System team will share the product and engineering principles they’re using to guide the development of the design system. event_organizer: Digital.gov
Watch Video
2024
Data.gov launches metrics tools
New Data.gov metrics dashboard provides information on most visited datasets, most downloaded files, most clicked outbound links, top search terms, and more.
FEMA National Summit on Risk Communications, Crisis Communications, and Community Engagement
The Federal Emergency Management Agency Office of External Affairs is convening risk and crisis communicators and community leaders who are on the front-line of the climate and emerging hazard crises. Attend the free, June 10, 2024, summit virtually, or in Washington, DC. The agenda includes: the sharing invaluable tools and insights, how to implement culturally competent and accessible communications, how to integrate behavior change strategies, and more. An ASL interpreter will be provided.— via Federal Emergency Management Agency
Celebrating the work of public servants
Performance.gov invites you to participate in their #GovPossible campaign to celebrate Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW)! Recognize the invaluable efforts of government employees who ensure that the everyday needs of Americans are met. Access a range of tools and resources to help you join the #GovPossible campaign and show your support. The #GovPossible toolkit makes it easy for you to participate in this important (and fun!) campaign.— via Performance.gov
Justice department to publish final rule to strengthen web and mobile app access for people with disabilities
On April 8, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications for people with disabilities. This final rule clarifies the obligations of state and local governments to make their websites and mobile applications accessible. Learn more about this rule and why the Attorney General believes it will “break down barriers that have kept people with disabilities from fully participating in American Life.”— via Department of Justice
Calling All Americans! The federal government is seeking your input
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) wants your thoughts on how federal agencies can more broadly and meaningfully engage with you and your communities. Share your ideas by May 17, 2024 to help build a more inclusive, responsive, transparent, and accountable government.— via Performance.gov
Measuring and Justifying the Government Experience
Measuring and Justifying the Government Experience—Private sector organizations use revenue as the primary measurement to justify improving experiences. Many government services don’t have revenue as a lever, so how can we justify work to improve experience? The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) leveraged a few metrics on their team that fall into three categories: laws and regulations, improving the experience for users, and saving time for employees.— via Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration
Sunshine Week: How GSA Supports Open Government Principles
Sunshine Week (March 13-19, 2022) celebrates the Government in the Sunshine Act, which promotes greater transparency in government activities. Our mission at GSA is to deliver effective and efficient government services for the American people. To do so, we have to be transparent and accessible—by opening meetings to the public, ensuring that federal buildings and facilities are fully accessible to all people, and making information on documents or pages (web pages, PDFs, newsletters, etc.) open and accessible. Learn about some of our initiatives that best display these principles.
FOIA Best Practices Workshop Continues This Summer
The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce two new topics and dates for our Best Practices Workshop series as we continue this initiative this summer.
OIP Seeks Your Participation in the Development of the National FOIA Portal
The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce its collaboration with GSA’s 18F team on the development of a National FOIA Portal. This is the next step in a long line of OIP initiatives working towards a National FOIA Portal going back to 2010 with the launch of FOIA.gov. Most recently, the FOIA
Federally Funded Research Results Are Becoming More Open and Accessible
Summary: Significant strides in improving public access to scholarly publications and digital data help usher in an era of open science. This week marks the 8th annual Open Access Week, when individuals and organizations around the world celebrate the value of opening up online access to the results of scholarly research. It is an opportune
NASA: Open Gov Plan 2016 Outline
Here is the outline for our 2016 Open Government Plan. Let us know what you think.
Updated FOIA Regulation Template and Guidance Now Available
On September 7th, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) released an updated version of its Guidance for Agency Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Regulations, along with an updated FOIA Regulation Template. These resources were first issued in March 2016. OIP has updated them to take into account changes made to the FOIA by the FOIA Improvement
DARPA: A Case Study in Open Innovation
You may not know it, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has changed your life. There’s the Internet, for starters. And if that isn’t enough, the agency also has played a pivotal role in shaping GPS, stealth aircraft and drone technology. In fact, ever since its creation under President Eisenhower, DARPA has
NASA Space Apps Challenge: 2016 Global Winners!
We’re thrilled to announce the Space Apps 2016 Global Award Winners!! These projects well represent the best of the best innovative thinking this year. Congratulations to all the teams. We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming NASA launch in Florida.
Data: the Key to a More Transparent, Open Government
The work of the federal government is incredibly diverse, and affects almost every aspect of American life, whether it is keeping planes in the air or ensuring that our food is safe. Every public service the government provides requires many different skill sets, but the one thing that unites them all is a consistent requirement
Open Data Democratizes Innovation
Americans Use Public Data to Improve the Lives of Fellow Citizens Data is one of our most important national assets. It informs our policy and our national priorities. But as we have seen time and time again, the most effective way to govern is to engage with the public directly. Thanks to the President’s Executive Order requiring
The Data Briefing: Three Significant Events in Federal Open Data This Past Week
Three recent stories demonstrate how opening up federal government data and using agile methods to create federal government software can spur innovation while saving tax money and helping the American public.
