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 information through the FOIA. Like the FOIA Memorandum, the President's Transparency and Open Government Memorandum called on agencies to disclose useful information to the public. But it also instructed agencies to solicit information from the public, and to give policymakers the benefit of outside experience and expertise through greater public participation and collaboration in agency decision-making. The Transparency and Open Government Memorandum also directed the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue further instructions to agencies for specific actions implementing the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration.

The Open Government Directive

In December 2009, the OMB Director issued a comprehensive "Open Government Directive" to the heads of executive departments and agencies. The Open Government Directive included four sets of instructions, each specified in detail. First, agencies were instructed to "publish government information on line," and in doing so to "respect the presumption of openness." Reiterating the instructions of the President's FOIA Memorandum, the Open Government Directive instructed agencies "to disseminate useful information, rather than waiting for specific requests under FOIA." Second, the Directive instructed agencies to "improve the quality of government information," and specifically the quality and transparency of federal spending information. Third, the Open Government Directive instructed agencies to "create and institutionalize a culture of open government" by developing and sharing best practices among agencies. Finally, the Directive instructed agencies to "create an enabling policy framework for open government" employing new technologies and forms of communication.

The Open Government Directive also required each agency to develop and publish its own Open Government Plan, and to create an Open Government webpage to house information about how each agency will promote transparency and participation. The Directive furthermore prescribed the minimum contents of agency Open Government Plans. For example, it required agencies to describe in detail how their Open Government Plants will: improve transparency, identify and publish "high-value" information, increase opportunities for public participation and feedback, and use new technology platforms to foster collaboration between agency personnel and those outside of government. It also instructed agencies to develop new "flagship" initiatives to advance openness principles, and to specify how such new initiatives could be improved over time.

Agency Open Government Plans

For much of 2010, agencies worked to develop and refine their Open Government Plans. As prescribed by the Open Government Directive, agency plans provided for the publication of high-value data and the development of high-profile agency initiatives to foster increased public participation and collaboration. Agencies established new Open Government web pages highlighting their efforts, and providing a gateway for soliciting public feedback about those efforts. In other words, agencies solicited public participation in the very course of refining their Open Government Plans.

In addition, also as contemplated by the Open Government Directive, the federal Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer created an "Open Government Dashboard,"