2: Open Government Strategic Goals, Objectives, and Measures

Support the Department’s strategic goals to ensure that the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration are tied to the DOT’s core mission priorities.

Other Information:

The DOT’s Open Government Plan supports the Department’s strategic goals to ensure that the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration are tied to the DOT’s core mission priorities. Recognizing this important relationship, Open Government-related strategies are included in the FY 2010-2015 draft DOT strategic plan within the Organizational Excellence goal. The Organizational Excellence goal supports all of the strategic goals. Open Government principles are a part of ensuring Organizational Excellence. This integration is important since the strategic plan guides the budgeting and performance activities of the department. The strategic plan will be available for public comment on www.dot.gov during the late spring/summer of 2010. The DOT used the methodology described in Chapter 1 to develop the goals and objectives for the Open Government initiative. In particular, the DOT considered the technology, policy, and cultural issues that could help or hinder Open Government initiatives. We followed the guidance from the Open Government Directive and the proposed DOT Strategic Plan. We also considered employee and public recommendations, and guidance from Open Government experts. Achieving a more open DOT is a large task. Furthermore, the DOT-specific Open Government objectives are complex and will require a phased implementation. Figure 3 illustrates the DOT’s approach to Open Government over the next five years. The phased objectives referenced in Figure 3 are discussed in more detail in Section 2.1. Open Government objectives will be integrated into the programs of the DOT and adopted at every level within the Department. DOT has several planning and management tools at our disposal to create sustainable change throughout the Department. DOT will evaluate how those tools could best stimulate the change required to encourage openness, as appropriate, into the core functions of the DOT and adopted at every level. These tools include performance reports, mission and function statements, organizational assessments, the annual budget process, and program performance. Section 2.2 describes the integration of these principles at every level within the DOT, from Department to individual employees. Section 2.2 also describes the performance framework that the DOT is considering to track progress in achieving the Open Government goals.

Objective(s):

2.1: Prioritizing Open Government Goals, Outcomes, Strategies, and Initiatives

2.2: Managing the DOT’s Performance in Open Government Practices

Content