Presidential Documents

4685 

Federal Register 

Vol. 74, No. 15 

Monday, January 26, 2009 

Memorandum of January 21, 2009 

Transparency and Open Government 

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies 

My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and 

establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. 

Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government. 

Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability 

and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. 

Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My 

Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, 

to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find 

and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online 

and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies 

should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use 

to the public. 

Government should be participatory. Public engagement enhances the Government’s effectiveness and improves the quality of its decisions. Knowledge 

is widely dispersed in society, and public officials benefit from having 

access to that dispersed knowledge. Executive departments and agencies 

should offer Americans increased opportunities to participate in policymaking and to provide their Government with the benefits of their collective 

expertise and information. Executive departments and agencies should also 

solicit public input on how we can increase and improve opportunities 

for public participation in Government. 

Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies 

should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, 

businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments 

and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their 

level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation. 

I direct the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director 

of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator 

of General Services, to coordinate the development by appropriate executive 

departments and agencies, within 120 days, of recommendations for an 

Open Government Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB, that 

instructs executive departments and agencies to take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in this memorandum. The independent 

agencies should comply with the Open Government Directive. 

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or 

benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a 

party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its 

officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. 

4686 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 15 / Monday, January 26, 2009 / Presidential Documents 

This memorandum shall be published in the Federal Register. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, January 21, 2009 

[FR Doc. E9–1777 

Filed 1–23–09; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3195–W9–P 


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