3.5: Public Information

Inform the public about the business of our agency

Other Information:

How HHS Will Inform the Public About the Business of Our Agency - The Department of Health and Human Services is deeply committed to the principles of Open Government and sees all of our communications efforts as ways to encourage and promote the goals of Open Government. Even prior to the Open Government Directive, HHS was using all of our Public Affairs assets to engage the public and our employees. From the web videos, webcast forums and weekly reports on healthreform.gov to the flu symptom tool and the flu vaccine finder on flu.gov, to the helpful safe food tips on foodsafety.gov to the fraud finder map on stopmedicarefraud.gov, our goal has been to centralize and focus our communications efforts across HHS into easy one-step consumer campaigns. We learned many important lessons during the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak that we will be applying to our Open Government efforts. As part of our communications efforts around this pandemic, we developed new tools and protocols for the web, for our studio and for our advertising and media efforts that are not only helping us in Open Government efforts, but are also helping to change the way we have done business in the past. We will be building upon those principles, policies and practices as part of HHS’s commitment to Open Government. Our senior leadership will play a critical role in our efforts to communicate to the public about the transparency, collaboration and participation improvements we are making here at HHS. Secretary Sebelius is a strong supporter of New Media and from her first day in office has recorded web videos, done Facebook chats and led our webcasts. 3.5.1 - Accessibility Open Government starts with ensuring that every American has access to the life saving health and human services materials and programs that HHS provides. HHS believes that “open” means open to all; we will do our utmost to remove barriers to participation by persons with disabilities. HHS is acknowledged as a leader in providing access, and freely shares its 508 standards, training, testing facilities, knowledge and experience and will continue to work at making its website information accessible to all. 3.5.2 - Assets Broadcast HHS and our operating divisions have several full-service television studios with experienced staff that can create and produce public service announcements, public webcasts, full-scale TV shows, daily press tours and press conferences. We are also investing in mobile video technology that can be used for web videos, interviews and press events. Wherever possible, we use our strong web and broadcast assets to promote training, research and collaboration. Web The department’s websites, totaling more than 100 million pages, contain vast amounts of information. For legacy reasons, web content is largely organized by originating office or program. It’s like a library whose bookshelves are organized by publisher. Utilizing content syndication and other emerging technologies, as now practiced on www.flu.gov, HHS is working to overlay a topically organized web experience to satisfy consumers’ need for one-stop access to primary information. Our work in food safety, AIDS, and flu tell us that the public wants to see our information organized in a way that presents clear, easy access. Later this year we will create new tobacco prevention and vaccine sites that will be modeled on the one-stop principle for presenting information. We use usability testing and site visitor feedback to design our web pages and communications materials so that people can find what they want, when they want it. We strive to present consumer information using plain language. New Media Center The department has established a New Media Center to promote and coordinate the growing use of New or Social Media across the department. Social Media fosters direct interaction between the public and the department; enlists the public in the viral dissemination of important information; makes departmental health information available on countless other websites and applications; facilitates the use of open-source data sets and engages new demographic audiences in the public discourse. Social Media has already been used to convey critical health safety information addressing concerns ranging from the H1N1 flu pandemic to food safety recalls. 3.5.3 - Our Plan Over the past year, HHS has adopted a specific set of policies and continues to develop others to increase our Open Government communications efforts. We have also initiated a series of activities to further improve Open Government at HHS. They are detailed below. Some of these are quick fixes and others will require work across the department. Increased Access to HHS Events & Information Beginning in April, HHS will publish a schedule of key events occurring across the Department each week, including events featuring key Departmental officials. Whenever possible, we are working to webcast and tweet HHS press conferences, media events and informational briefings. Secretarial and Deputy Secretarial public/press events are taped and transcripts are made available on the web. We are working to add audio and video transcripts to our library on the website. To bring transparency to one of our primary forums for public participation, starting in April, the Open Government website will link to all of the Department’s Federal Advisory Committees. Webcasts & Videos HHS frequently uses webcasts and on-line videos to highlight the department’s priorities, and we will be working to expand this capacity throughout the coming year. We are working to create a library of on-line videos/tutorials to help consumers find critical data and information. Videos will show viewers how to use the tools on www.hhs.gov/open and our other one-stop websites and find the resources they need across the department. One idea we are pursuing is to work with our Operating Divisions to create a series of day-inthe- life Web vignettes about individuals across the department, in which they describe how their jobs help Americans get critical health and human services. In late spring, we are planning to unveil a weekly “Ask the Secretary” video feature on www.hhs.gov/open where the Secretary will answer a few questions each week that exemplify the range and types of questions that we are receiving from the public via the mail, the phones and on our websites. Starting in May, the Department plans to schedule monthly webcasts on departmental priorities (a 30 minute show during the lunch hour broadcast live on hhs.gov). The webcasts will be hosted by the Secretary, Deputy Secretary and departmental leadership to discuss the program priority and the leaders behind it. News announcements and a featured 10 minute question and answer period from your emails and phone calls will often be featured on the webcasts. Training We will hold twice yearly Open Government trainings department-wide for communications staff. Training will also be provided for FOIA officers and coordinators. HHS Open Government Website The HHS Open Government website (www.hhs.gov/open) is first and foremost is a place where people come to work. It is designed to foster and model transparency. Content will value actions over words. Evaluation of and reaction to public input will be a hallmark of this site. The website fulfills three fundamental purposes: • To facilitate the public’s ability to access, interface and interact with the department’s policies, goals and business processes. • To make the department’s informational holdings accessible in open and logical formats that permits their fullest utilization. • To present the department’s consolidated Open Government Plan in a transparent, userfriendly venue that invites broad public engagement. Beginning with the release of our Open Government Plan Outline, each plan iteration will be presented on the Open Government website for public comment and discussion. The public is also asked to recommend data sets, tools, participation opportunities and other information that could be made openly available. In addition, HHS Chief Technology Officer Todd Park blogs weekly on key Open Government Plan elements, suggests areas for discussion, and responds to plan comments and recommendations. To further the dialogue, his blog also invites general comment and discussion. The Department’s senior leadership will also post updates each on the Open Government Blog related to who we are and what we do. Information and Data Sharing HHS is committed to presenting its massive collections of data in accessible formats that allow and encourage the fullest use of this data. These open-format data collections will be made available on the Open Government website via a searchable contextual database. The site will likewise provide contextual database access to the department’s many tools that facilitate transparency. HHS is committed to building on all of these collections and to listening to you regarding not only what is there, but also the best way to present our vast holdings. The Open Government website will present the department’s Annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) report in multiple accessible formats. As we discuss in detail later in the plan, HHS is committed to improved implementation of FOIA as we proceed with our Open Government plans. By significantly increasing web-based access to information and documents of interest, the Department is committed to reducing the need for people to submit FOIA requests. HHS is making increasing use of new or social media to interact and interface with the public. The Open Government website provides direct one-stop access to the Department’s new media engagement opportunities, including those on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Privacy Page – Spring 2010 The companion of Open Government is a government that protects and advocates privacy – especially the privacy of people’s personal medical information. To facilitate this, we plan to create a “privacy home page” that helps the public easily access information about the array of privacy protection programs that exist, the new regulations that are being created and the key privacy personnel who work every day behalf of the American people. Trusting that your privacy will be protected as part of the on-line experience across the department is critical. It is important that HHS be an IT model of how electronic medical records and other new innovations are protective of privacy information while achieving the benefits of making information easily accessible on-line.

Stakeholder(s):

• Members of the Public

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

Content