The "Open Government Directive" released by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) describes the principles of "transparency, participation, and collaboration" as the "cornerstone of an open government."

It establishes requirements and deadlines for government agencies to meet in order to comply with open government objectives laid down by President Barack Obama at the very outset of his term.

"The president has been clear from day one in office: the federal government must break down the barriers between it and the people it's supposed to serve," OMB Director Peter Orszag said.

"Today's announcement will help to make government more open, transparent, and accountable to bridge the gap between the American people and their government," Orszag added in a statement.

The directive specifically calls for agencies to share information with the public through online, open, accessible, machine-readable formats.

With respect to releasing information, the directive states that the "presumption shall be in favor of openness" -- taking into account privacy, national security and other concerns.

It instructs all agencies to publish at least three "high-value" data sets online within 45 days and to create an "Open Government Webpage" within 60 days outlining their activities stemming from the Open Government Directive.

Within 120 days, agencies are required to publish an "Open Government Plan" that will outline how they will "improve transparency and integrate public participation and collaboration into its activities."

The Open Government Directive was crafted with participation from the public, which was asked earlier this year to submit policy recommendations.

According to the White House, thousands of citizens participated in the online forums and offered ideas on how to transform government.

"The American people know best what their government should do for them," Orszag said. "It's fitting that our open government directive has been significantly shaped by the collective wisdom of the American people."

Earlier this year, the White House launched several websites in a bid to provide more information to the public and to provide unfiltered access to government data.

The sites include Data.gov, which includes raw data on subjects such as earthquakes and the weather, Recovery.gov, which tracks the economic stimulus bill, and Transparency.gov to monitor spending.

Obama relied heavily on the Internet during his presidential campaign for organizing, fundraising and communicating and has created MySpace and Facebook pages and a Twitter feed since entering the White House.

Obama's "New Media" team has also launched a channel on YouTube and the White House is present on photo-sharing site Flickr and video-sharing site Vimeo.

The Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan group whose mission is to make government more transparent and accountable, welcomed the latest White House move.

"The Open Government Directive issued today demonstrates the seriousness of the administration's commitment to data transparency and citizen engagement," said Ellen Miller, executive director and co-founder of the group.

"It is evidence that the administration recognizes that transparency is government's responsibility," Miller said.

"At the same time, it shows the administration is matching aspirational goals with concrete policies and accountability measures."

c/sg

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