Open Government Plan Self Evaluation

Name of Agency: United States Department of Agriculture

Name of Evaluator:Francisco Salguero, Deputy Associate Chief Information Officer for Technology Planning, Architecture, and E-Government

Directions

The enclosed list of 30 criteria is drawn directly from the text of the Open Government Directive.  Please return this form to the White House Open Government team at opengov@ostp.gov by 5 pm on Friday, April 23^rd. To complete the self-evaluation form, please indicate a response to each of the criteria as follows:

• Red (R) – plan does not satisfy the requirement
• Yellow (Y) – plan partially satisfies the requirement
• Green (G) – plan fully satisfies the requirement
• N/A - not applicable because agency does not engage in that activity or area

Please include any explanatory comments on the last page.

Optional: If you wish, please provide the page range for the relevant section of the plan that is the basis for your answer to each question.

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Formulating the Plan in the Open

1. Was multidisciplinary collaboration involved in formulating the plan?	Green	Page 4-5, 7
2. Was public consultation involved in crafting the plan?	Green	1, 5-6
3. Was the plan published in an open format, online, on time and on the open government page and with raw data?	Green	5
4. Is there a plan for continued public engagement as part of the review and modification of the open government plan?	Green	5

Transparency Strategic Action Plan

5. Does the plan contain a strategic action plan that inventories agency high-value information currently available for download?	Green	6-7, 43-44
6. Is there a plan to foster the public's use of this information to increase public knowledge and promote public scrutiny of agency services?	Yellow	5-6
7. Does the action plan identify high value information not yet available and establish a reasonable timeline for publication online in open formats with specific target dates?	Green	7, 43-44
8. For agencies providing public information in electronic format: Is there a plan for timely publication of underlying data for public information maintained in electronic format?	Yellow	43-44
9. Does the plan identify key audiences for information and their needs, and the agency endeavors to publish high-value information for each of those audiences in the most accessible forms and formats?	Red	N/A
10. Is there a plan to demarcate educational material as free for re-use?	Yellow	7
11. Does the plan detail compliance with transparency initiative guidance, and where gaps exist, detailed steps the agency is taking and the timing to meet the requirements for each initiative:
a. Data.gov	Yellow	6-7, 11-12
b. eRulemaking	Green	12
c. IT Dashboard	Green	10-11
d. Recovery.gov	Green	11-12
e. USAspending.gov	Green	11-12
12. Are there details of proposed actions (with clear milestones) to inform the public of significant actions and business of the agency (e.g. agency public meetings, briefings, press conferences, town halls)?	Yellow	6, 11, 15, 25
13. Does the plan address existing record management requirements by providing:
a. Website link	Green	23
b. Identifying and scheduling all electronic records	Green	23
c. Timely transfer of all permanently valuable records to the National Archives	Green	23
14. Does the plan address FOIA by providing:
a. Website link?	Green	22
b. Staffing, organizational structure, and process for responding to FOIA requests?	Yellow	22-23
c. Assessment of capacity to analyze, coordinate and respond to requests in a timely manner?	Yellow	22-23
d. If there is a significant FOIA backlog, details on how the agency will reduce the backlog by 10% each year?	Yellow	22-23
15. Does the plan address congressional requests by providing a:
a. Website link?	Red	N/A
b. Staffing, organizational structure, and process for responding to Congressional requests?	Red	N/A
16. Does the plan address declassification, if applicable by providing a:
a. Website link?	Red	N/A
b. Where the public can learn about declassification programs, accessing declassified materials, and provide input about what types of information should be prioritized for declassification?	Red	N/A

Participation

17. Does the plan explain how the agency will improve participation, including steps the agency will take to revise its current practices to increase opportunities for public participation in and feedback on the agency's core mission activities (including proposed changes to internal management and administrative policies to improve participation)?	Yellow	14-17
18. Does the plan describe and provide links to websites for the public to engage in existing participatory processes?	Green	14-17
19. Are there proposals for new feedback mechanisms (including innovative tools and practices for public engagement)?	Green	14-17

Collaboration

Does the plan list steps the agency will take to revise its current practices to further collaboration:	Green	18-21
20. With other Federal and non-Federal government agencies? Including the use of technology platforms to this end?	Yellow	18-21
21. With the public? Including the use of technology platforms?	Yellow	18-21
22. With non-profit and private entities? Including technology platforms?	Yellow	18-21
23. Are there links to websites that describe existing collaboration efforts of the agency?	Green	18-21
24. Does the plan describe the Innovative methods (e.g. prizes and collaborations) to increase collaboration with the private sector, non-profit, and academic communities?	Green	18-21

Flagship Initiative

25. Does the plan include at least one specific flagship engagement?	Green	24-35
26. Does the description provide an overview of the initiative: how it addresses one or more of the three openness principles and how it aims to improve agency operations?	Green	27, 29-30
27. Does it identify external partners for collaboration (if appropriate)?	Green	26, 30-31
28. Is there a plan for public participation in contributing innovative ideas to the flagship?	Green	25-26, 31
29. Does the description explain how the improvements to transparency, participation and/or collaboration will be measured?	Yellow	27-28, 31
30. Does the flagship include a description of sustainability and room for improvement?	Green	24-27, 29-31

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Comments:

The focus of the USDA Open Government Plan was to provide a foundational program plan that will drive towards the development of individual project plans for specific tasks and initiatives. Based on the Governance section of the plan, pages 36 – 37, USDA is committed to the development of a more detailed project plan that would include a schedule. The effort to develop a project plan has also helped identify gaps within the Open Plan that USDA is working on addressing in a subsequent version update. Key initial updates that will be incorporated into the plan include:

• Update Information Sharing section to address organizations and processes for responding to Congressional requests.
• Provide details on declassification of information.
• Publish a schedule for the release of future high-value data sets. That plan, and any resultant underlying raw data, will be made available as part of USDA's first update to the Open Government plan.
• Include additional details on improve opportunities for public scrutiny and feedback.
• Better identify gaps with transparency.

USDA is targeting its first update to the Open Government plan at the end of Q3 FY2010.  Some additional comments and points based on specific questions are provided below:

6. Is there a plan to foster the public's use of this information to increase public knowledge and promote public scrutiny of agency services?

This is addressed at a high level, further details will be provided as part of the updated version.

8. For agencies providing public information in electronic format: Is there a plan for timely publication of underlying data for public information maintained in electronic format?

The development of a detailed schedule is underway and an initial release date was provided within the plan.

9. Does the plan identify key audiences for information and their needs, and the agency endeavors to publish high-value information for each of those audiences in the most accessible forms and formats?

The target and specific audiences will be better addressed in an updated version of the plan, this will go along with the schedule.

10. Is there a plan to demarcate educational material as free for re-use?

The Apps for Healthy Kids, for example, infers that educational materials will be produced and available. This will be further clarified.

11. Does the plan detail compliance with transparency initiative guidance, and where gaps exist, detailed steps the agency is taking and the timing to meet the requirements for each initiative

No gaps currently exist further clarifying statements will be provided to further explain n the compliance.

12. Are there details of proposed actions (with clear milestones) to inform the public of significant actions and business of the agency (e.g. agency public meetings, briefings, press conferences, town halls)?

The opportunities that currently exist are provided and there is a reference that a project plan is forthcoming, as well as public meetings and forums.

13. Does the plan address existing record management requirements by providing:

a. Website link

b. Identifying and scheduling all electronic records

c. Timely transfer of all permanently valuable records to the National Archives

Information does exist on the Records Management link provided which is referenced; but the details were not included as part of the plan since the report itself addressed the issues. This can be further detailed in the plan based on existing documentation.

14. Does the plan address FOIA by providing:

Information does exist in the FOIA Act report and the links provided, which is referenced in the plan; but the details were not included as part of the plan since the report itself addressed the issues. This can be further detailed in the plan based on existing documentation

15. Does the plan address congressional requests by providing a:

This will be part of the updated plan.

16. Does the plan address declassification, if applicable by providing a:

This will be part of the updated plan.

17. Does the plan explain how the agency will improve participation, including steps the agency will take to revise its current practices to increase opportunities for public participation in and feedback on the agency's core mission activities (including proposed changes to internal management and administrative policies to improve participation)?

Updates will be included to better address the details of the management and policies that could be improved.

Does the plan list steps the agency will take to revise its current practices to further collaboration:

20. With other Federal and non-Federal government agencies? Including the use of technology platforms to this end?

The high level process is addressed along with a discussion of technology platform opportunities (new media and social technologies, non-IT means).  Further details can be provided.

21.  With the public? Including the use of technology platforms?

Same as 20.

22. With non-profit and private entities? Including technology platforms?

Same as 20.

29. Does the description explain how the improvements to transparency, participation and/or collaboration will be measured?

This will be improved with further details of actual measures in the updated version of the plan and detailed in the project plan.

On December 8, 2009 the White House released the Open Government Directive, instructing every government agency to open its doors and data to the American people. The Directive calls on the Federal CTO and CIO to create an Open Government Dashboard (“Dashboard”) within 60 days to measure progress and impact. The Dashboard will be updated regularly as our progress continues towards achieving the goals of the Directive.

Deliverable	Score	Rationale
High-Value Datasets	Meets Expectations	U.S. Department of Agriculture has three datasets available on Data.gov, released on January 20, 2010, to meet the first milestone of the Obama Administration's Open.gov initiative. These datasets are currently available for download. The Datasets include: Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference - The database features more than 7,500 food items with an information profile that provides data for up to 140 food components, such as vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. Economic Research Service (ERS) Feed Grains Dataset - Contains data points on four feed grains (corn, grain sorghum, barley, and oats), foreign coarse grains (feed grains plus rye, millet, and mixed grains), hay, and related items. This will provide information that will make more transparent issues on grain consumption, pricing, and trade data National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 2007 Census of Agriculture - Provides summary data file provides county-level demographic profiles of U.S. farm and ranch operators from the 2007 Census of Agriculture. In addition to race, ethnicity and gender information, the profiles include county-level counts of farms and farm operators, as well as economic data such as total value of sales and government payments. USDA chose these datasets to kick off the initiative in order to comply with the requirements that were to be fulfilled Encourage accountability Encourages responsiveness Advances the mission of the agencies Makes a difference in people's lives. To comment on our datasets, visit our Open site.
Data Integrity	Meets Expectations	On January 21, 2010, USDA designated Jon Holladay, Deputy Chief Finanical Officer, to be accountable for the quality and objectivity of, and internal controls over the Federal spending information publicly disseminated through such public venues as USDAspending.gov or other similar websites. You can see the full list of Senior Accountable Officers here.
Open Government Webpage	Meets Expectations	On January 29, 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture launched its Open Government Webpage. In line with the Directive, the USDA Open Government Webpage serves as a portal to our activities related to transparency, participation, collaboration, innovation and datasets. On our Open Page, the public can learn about and comment on USDA information such as available and proposed datasets, records, reports & other resources. You can also rank topics based on what you feel is most important to help us prioritize future actions. The public can also of post their ideas about transparency, participation, collaboration and innovation. Here, they can also submit comments or vote on other ideas. This participation will help us create USDA’s Open Gov Plan and be more innovative & efficient. To help us create the Open plan, join the discussion to help create the plan. Our FOIA report will also be available here shortly.
Public Consultation	Meets Expectations	We are seeking input from the public for ideas and help us create the USDA Open Gov Plan – our plan for how we’ll move forward to ensure we are delivering the most open and responsive government possible. We’ve divided this space into a number of areas to focus on Transparency, Participation, Collaboration, Innovation & Datasets. To do this, we are utilizing an idea generation and collaborative tool that will allow participants to suggest new ideas and vote and comment on others. We will have active participation and moderation within USDA's Open Gov Plan and Communications Working Groups to ensure we capture ideas, leverage what information and insights we can, and stimulate deeper conversation as ideas begin to flow.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at open@usda.gov.