Default to open

Overview overview link

Openness is a mindset and culture. It creates opportunities for exponential civic innovation. By embracing the values of collaboration, participation, and transparency, we instill trust while fostering better and faster solutions to problems both small and large.

Problem problem link

When we isolate our processes and decision-making from the public, we limit the opportunity to truly create government with, for, and by the people. Opaqueness leads to ambivalence and mistrust. Taking an insular approach to service prevents us from leveraging the collective wisdom and energy of the people we serve.

Solution solution link

Adopt an “open by default” culture that publicly shares information and processes — internally and externally — and actively solicits participation. By creating mechanisms that encourage government and the public to engage early and often, we create opportunities for increased participation and collaboration. This builds trust and a sense of betterment for the entire community.

Context context link

An ethos of openness empowers organizations — public and private — to be more adaptive and responsive to the people they serve.

The policy of open the policy of open link

The Obama administration began using the term “open government” in January 2009, when President signed the “Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government,” which called for increased public sector transparency, participation, and collaboration:

Transparency promotes accountability by providing the public with information about what the Government is doing. Participation allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise so that their government can make policies with the benefit of information that is widely dispersed in society. Collaboration improves the effectiveness of Government by encouraging partnerships and cooperation within the Federal Government, across levels of government, and between the Government and private institutions.

President Obama’s Open Government Initiative ushered in an era of modernization in technology and operations, including open source software, open data, and innovative engagement methods, such as public challenges.

Technologists and designers have been early adopters to a culture of openness in government. This mindset is emphasized in play 13 — “Default to open” — of the U.S. Digital Services Playbook:

When we collaborate in the open and publish our data publicly, we can improve Government together. By building services more openly and publishing open data, we simplify the public’s access to government services and information, allow the public to contribute easily, and enable reuse by entrepreneurs, nonprofits, other agencies, and the public.

The United Kingdom (UK) government GOV.UK team is another example of government actively embracing openness, including a public roadmap that shows “what we’re working on and planning to do.”

From its official design principles:

We should share what we’re doing whenever we can. With colleagues, with users, with the world. Share code, share designs, share ideas, share intentions, share failures. The more eyes there are on a service the better it gets — howlers are spotted, better alternatives are pointed out, the bar is raised.

The open organization the open organization link

The Open Organization Maturity Model, a companion piece to the book “Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance,” offers a framework organizations can use to become more inclusive. The five concepts that constitute this framework are central to the values and mission of public service:

• Transparency
• Inclusivity
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Community

“An ‘open organization’ — which I define as an organization that engages participative communities both inside and out — responds to opportunities more quickly, has access to resources and talent outside the organization, and inspires, motivates, and empowers people at all levels to act with accountability,” writes former Red Hat CEO and IBM President Jim Whitehurst in “Open Organization.”

“The beauty of an open organization is that it’s not about pedaling harder, but about tapping into new sources of power both inside and outside to keep pace with all the fast-moving changes in your environment.”

Open makes it better open makes it better link

Generally speaking, open by default is just the right thing to do. As the GOV.UK team mantra says, “Make things open: it makes things better.”

Mantras mantras link

• Default to open
• Open by default

Checklist checklist link

• Publish an “Open government” page and statement to your website.
• Establish standing mechanisms for public input.
• Ensure there are multiple ways to engage with events, issues, projects.
• Share processes and progress publicly, early, and often.
• Publish timelines and roadmaps for initiatives and projects.
• Provide as much information as possible in publicly-accessible formats.

Questions to ask questions to ask link

• How are we collecting public feedback on meetings, issues, and projects?
• What information do we make available to the public?
• Is this information easy to find and access at any time?
• How are we documenting what government information is available?
• What government-produced work can we make available to the public for reuse?

Learn more learn more link

• Open civic organizations, GovFresh2
• Default to open, U.S. Digital Services Playbook3
• The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance, Jim Whitehurst4
• Open Government Directive, The White House5
• Make things open: it makes things better, GOV.UK6
• The Open Organization Maturity Model, Opensource.com7