Open Government Plan

STATUS REPORT

March 31, 2011
Corporation for National and Community Service

Open Government Plan Status Report

Page 2

I. Executive Summary and Background....................................................................................................................................... 3

II. Governance Structure and Performance Measures............................................................................................................... 4

III. The Policy Committee ................................................................................................................................................................. 5

IV. Transparency Plan (including Flagship Initiatives) ................................................................................................................. 5

V. Participation Plan ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

VI. Collaboration Plan...................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Corporation for National and Community Service

Open Government Plan Status Report

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I. Summary and Background

Background

On December 8, 2009, the White House issued the Open Government Directive which required federal agencies to take immediate, specific steps to achieve key milestones in 

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 policies can be made 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 all levels of government, and between government and private institutions. 

One of the steps the directive requires of us is to establish and publish an Open Government Plan. The plan is a public roadmap that describes how the Corporation for National and 

Community Service (the Corporation) will incorporate the principles of the President’s January 21, 2009, Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government into our core 

mission.

The Corporation published its Open Government Plan on April 7, 2010 and revised it and republished it on June 25, 2010. The plan called for the Corporation to begin publishing a 

Status Report on a quarterly basis beginning September 30, 2010.
Corporation for National and Community Service

Open Government Plan Status Report

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II. Governance Structure and Performance Measures

The directive and follow-on guidance has expressed that agencies must consider the governance issues associated with open government in order to assure that it becomes an inherent 

part of our culture and processes. Initially, the Corporation’s plan establishes an Open Government Council to coordinate the many activities associated with the Open Government 

Directive.

The Open Government Council held their initial meeting on May 10, 2010. The Council established three committees to pursue different aspects of Open Government: a Transparency 

Committee, a Participation and Collaboration Committee, and a Policy Committee.

Task

Planned 

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead

Current

Status Comments

Governance Structure and Performance Measures

Establish Open Government Council 1/22/2010 4/7/2010 4/10/2010 Bill Anderson Complete

Establish targets for publishing high-value data 4/7/2010 9/30/2010 8/17/2010 Transparency Committee Complete 

Establish annual performance measures for 

transparency 4/7/2010 9/30/2010 9/23/2010 Transparency Committee Complete 

Establish annual performance measures for 

collaboration 4/7/2010 9/30/2010 9/29/2010 Participation & Collaboration Committee Complete 

Establish annual performance measures for 

participation 4/72/2010 9/30/2010 9/29/2010 Participation & Collaboration Committee Complete 

Prepare and publish a periodic implementation 

status Report 9/30/2010 Quarterly N/A Open Government Council Ongoing
Corporation for National and Community Service

Open Government Plan Status Report

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III. The Policy Committee

The Policy Committee met over the summer of 2010 and concluded a review of the Corporation’s policies to determine if any presented challenges to Open Government. The Committee 

felt that none of the policies was inconsistent with the goals and strategies of Open Government.

The Policy Committee considered posting all 51 policies on the Internet, but felt that they were in nature not policies but statements of procedure for internal processing and of little value 

for public posting.

The Policy Committee recognized that the policies that guide the Corporation’s actions are embodied in our governing laws and regulations. These can be found on our Open 

Government webpage in the Policies section (http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/open/index.asp).

IV. Transparency Plan (including Flagship Initiatives)

The goal of the transparency plan is to publish data about our ongoing operations and projects to help the public understand the Corporation and our activities. The transparency plan 

has four parts. The first is to enhance and publicize the Open Government Webpage, the second is to create a comprehensive policy of publishing data as it becomes available, the 

third is to revitalize and merge the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process into the Open Government Plan, and the fourth is to launch four high-value transparency projects.

The Transparency Committee met for the first time on June 11, 2010. The membership was cross-Corporation and included the individuals who were most familiar with our data and 

able to lead change. Over the course of the summer, the committee met several more times and established the additional goals for data publishing which are listed below.

The Transparency Committee also discussed and agreed upon a performance measure for transparency. This measure will be used to assess the Corporation’s level of accomplishment 

in achieving transparency through publishing high quality data. The measure will be the percentage of data sets identified in our 2011 plan that are actually published in that year. 

Because the Corporation has set a very ambitious goal for publication, CNCS has determined that the acceptable level for 2011 is 80%.
Corporation for National and Community Service

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Task

Planned 

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead Current Status Comments

Transparency Plan from the Open 

Government Plan

Initial Open Government Webpage 1/2/2010 1/31/2010 1/31/2010 Sandy Scott Complete

Revise Open Government Webpage 4/7/2010 Ongoing N/A Sandy Scott Ongoing

Issue Comprehensive Data Publishing 

Policy

1. Initial Inventory information 

created/owned by the 

Corporation

3/31/2010 6/30/2010 6/30/2010 Kim 

Mansaray Completed 

2. Prioritize information to publish 6/30/2010 10/29/2010 10/29/2010 Kim 

Mansaray Completed 

3. Organize, Document, and Publish 

the information 10/29/2010 Ongoing N/A Alan Friend Ongoing

4. Create a community for continual 

evaluation and feedback 4/7/2010 Ongoing N/A Sandy Scott Ongoing

Reevaluate and Revise the FOIA process. 4/7/2010 7/31/2011

John 

Greenhaugh In progress

Initial Transparency Projects:

1. Flagship Initiative – AmeriCorps 

Member Feedback on Service 6/1/2010 11/23/2011 Nathan Dietz In progress

2. Flagship Initiative – National 

Service Activity by State 5/3/2010 4/28/2011 3/2/2011 John Kim Complete

Data regarding National Service Activity by state is published 

at: 

www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/state_profile

s.asp

3. Publish AmeriCorps Member 

Statistics by State of Origin 7/1/2010 3/17/2011 3/2/2011 Bill Schmitt Complete

Data regarding Member Statistics by state is published at: 

www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/state_profile

s.asp

4. Publish Information on 

AmeriCorps Grantee 

Performance

4/1/2010 7/15/2011 Bill Schmitt

In progress. Due Date has been revised to allow time for 

review and publication of National Measures Data for 2010 

grants that will come available in May of 2011
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Task

Planned 

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead Current Status Comments

Additional Publication Goals identified by 

Transparency Committee

Social Innovation Fund Transparency 7/1/2010 Ongoing N/A Paul 

Cartter

We have taken several steps to make the Social 

Innovation Fund more transparent in ways that both 

honor our commitments to applicants and reviewers and 

go far beyond our past practices, including: 

Posted on our website the full applications for each of 

the 11 successful applicants including answers to 

clarification questions, budgets, and three sets of 

reviewer comments 

Provided a detailed description of the grantee selection 

process, including the ratings of the 11 awardees at each 

stage of the process, and the recusal of Corporation 

officials from that process to avoid potential conflicts of 

interest 

Released the names of 43 applicant organizations, all of 

whom consented, who were considered in at least one 

phase of the review process by external expert reviewers 

and were not awarded a Social Innovation Fund grant. 

Released the names of the 63 expert reviewers, all of 

whom consented, and information about the reviewer 

selection process 

For the 2011 Social Innovation Fund competition, we plan 

to take the following steps to build even greater openness 

into next year’s competition:

When we release our grant availability notice, we will also 

publish the details of the review process we will use to 

select grantees 

We will post the full applications and review comments for 

all successful applicants (except for any information clearly 

protected by law) 

We will identify all applicants and provide a summary of 

their applications 

We will release the names of all outside grant reviewers 

upon completion of the competition 

Establish Corporation Policy on 

Transparency in the Grant Application 

Process

11/15/2010 3/30/2011 2/07/2011 Vielka 

Garibaldi

Complete A policy was adopted calling for publication of information 

regarding grant applications within 90 days. The first such 

publication is on our Open Government page at Results of 

Competitions.

(http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/open/grants.asp)

Post CNCS Grant Application Review 

Process Information for Grant Competitions

10/1/2010 Ongoing N/A Program 

Offices

On Target The first such publication is on our Open Government page 

at Results of Competitions.

(http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/open/grants.asp)
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Task

Planned 

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead Current Status Comments

Recovery Act Website 4/1/2010 9/29/2010 9/29/2010 Bill 

Anderson

Complete The Corporation launched a new Recovery Act website 

at www.nationalservice.gov/recovery that details 

AmeriCorps funding, programs, and members 

supported by the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act broken down by state and city.

Grantee FFRs 3/15/2011 6/30/2011 Melissa 

Merens

On Target

Grantee Progress Reports 12/30/2010 5/15/2011 Bill Schmitt On Target Initially, data gleaned from progress reports received through 

12/31/2010 will be published. We will continue to work on 

publishing the full progress reports received from grantees.

Historical Grants Reports 1/15/2011 5/15/2011 Melissa 

Merens

On Target Historical grant information is currently published on the 

USASPENDING.gov website. In order to make this data 

more accessible, we will publish it on 

www.NationalService.GOV/Open

FOIA Responses 12/15/2010 7/1/2011 John 

Greenhaugh

On Target Grants competition results (our most frequently requested 

FOIA data) are now published. Deadline extended so that 

additional FOIA results can be added.

Learn and Serve Survey Data 11/15/2010 1/15/2011 1/15/2011 Meredith 

Hatch

Complete The data for 2010 and previous years is displayed at 

http://old.lsareports.org/publicreports.aspx Additional 

years will be added when available.

Data from Honor Roll Program 2/30/2011 9/30/2011 Meredith 

Hatch

Deadline postponed from May to September 30 to allow for 

announcement of the President’s Community Service 

Higher Education Honor Roll awards before releasing data 

on this competition.

Data related to Presidential Scholarships 

Awards

3/15/2011 5/15/2011 Meredith 

Hatch

On Target

Program Performance Data Measures 4/30/2011 9/30/2011 John Kim On Target Deadline extended so that we can incorporate elements 

identified in recently completed Strategic Plan as part of the 

performance measures to be reported.

Corporation Financial Information 1/15/2011 3/30/2011 3/30/2011 Alan Friend Complete

Financial Data for Trust Award Usage is found at our Open 

Government page

(http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/open/index.asp)

OMB Data Collection Information 12/1/2010 5/15/2011 Amy

Borgstrom On Target

Congressional Budget Justification and 

Annual Financial Report On-going On-going Sean French On Target
Corporation for National and Community Service

Open Government Plan Status Report

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V. Participation Plan

The Corporation actively seeks input and ideas from the public for all aspects of our operations, from policymaking and grant guidance to training and strategic plans. We highly 

value the ideas and expertise from our partners and the public. Knowledge is widely dispersed in society, and our policies and programs benefit from having access to that dispersed 

knowledge. By engaging the public and seeking out their ideas, we improve the quality of our decisions and ultimately the value of our programs and services.

The Corporation’s Participation Plan highlights many current practices for public engagement and input and outlines upcoming initiatives and strategies for increasing the voice of the 

public in our work. To oversee the action steps for the Participation Plan, the Open Government Council created a Collaboration and Participation Working Group consisting of staff 

from across the agency. The Working Group held its first meeting on August 5 and reviewed the progress on the action steps outlined in both the Collaboration and Participation Plans 

and developed additional ideas for increasing participation and collaboration. Given the ongoing and recurring nature of most of the action steps in both the Participation and 

Collaboration plans, the annual performance measure for these plans will be based on whether substantial progress has been made in 75% of each of the individual action areas. 

Unlike some aspects of the Transparency Plan, which have a distinct completion date, most of the collaboration and participation steps are of an ongoing nature and therefore progress 

will continue to be assessed at each quarter through the duration of the plan. 

Task

Planned 

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead

Current

Status Comment

Public Input on 2011-2015 Strategic 

Plan

6/01/2010 12/31/2010 3/1/2011 Heather 

Peeler

Significant, multi-tiered input process currently taking 

place that has already resulted in more than 1,500 

individuals providing feedback on the Corporation’s 

strategic direction. The public has submitted comments 

through 16 community dialogues with the Corporation 

CEO or Board members, 6 webinars, 3 conference 

calls, session at the National Conference on 

Volunteering and Service, and an online dialogue tool. 

The Corporation has reviewed all the feedback to date, 

and has provided a detailed summary of the feedback 

on its Strategic Plan website. The Corporation’s Board 

of Directors reviewed the feedback at its September 

Board meeting and praised the high degree of public 

participation in the Strategic Plan process which has 

greatly enriched the agency’s thinking about its strategic 

direction. 

The Corporation will continue to solicit public input on its 

Strategic Plan through the fall and will review the feedback 

as it works on the final version of its Strategic Plan. 
Corporation for National and Community Service

Open Government Plan Status Report

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Task

Planned

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead

Current

Status Comment

Virtual Participation in Board Meetings 6/30/2010 Ongoing N/A Emily Samose For first time ever, May 2010 Public Board meeting 

allowed public to listen to proceedings by phone, and 

this practice continued at the September 2010 Public 

Board Meeting

The Corporation is exploring other technology 

solutions to increase the public’s participation 

in Board Meetings.

Virtual National Conference on Volunteering 

and Service

5/1/2010 6/30/2011 6/30/2011 Sandy Scott The 2010 National Conference included a number of 

virtual elements including webcast of plenaries, 

National Service Town Hall, and other major 

sessions. The 2010 Conference also featured the 

most robust use of and participation in social media 

in the history of the conference

The planning team for the 2011 National 

Conference, taking place June 6-8 in New 

Orleans, is working towards having a more 

robust virtual conference, including more 

content and interactivity available to the public 

who cant attend the conference in person. 

Social Media and Online Participation Tools 5/1/2010 Ongoing N/A Sandy Scott Conducting the 4th annual AmeriCorps Video and Photo 

contest, with record participation (55 videos and 275 

photos, 4,000 votes) 

Securing Facebook donation of 15 million impressions 

valued at $100,000 in conjunction with National 

Conference; Hired a new Director of Social Media and 

recruiting for additional social media positions

Fill social media staff positions, and designate staff 

to maintain social media accounts

Finalize social media policies

Execute new PR agency contract to get additional 

expertise on social media

Better coordinate contractors doing social media 

on CNCS behalf

Building a Learning Enterprise 4/01/2010 Ongoing N/A Sandy Scott CNCS website redesign now underway is making tools, 

resources, and effective practices more prominent 

especially for 6 SAA focus areas

Complete and launch new CNCS website with 

increased focus on making learning tools and 

resources more prominent

Develop and implement plan to put more 

Training and Technical resources onto 

redesigned CNCS website after launch

Strengthen Corporation Culture of 

Participation

3/19/2010 Ongoing N/A Human 

Capital, 

Information 

Technology 

and Strategy 

Office

Cross agency Serve America Act implementation 

Working Group has been meeting for more than a year 

with extensive project plan and milestones achieved 

including awarding grants through existing programs and 

launching new programs including Social Innovation fund,

Nonprofit Capacity Building Program, Summer of Service, 

Volunteer Generation Fund and Youth Engagement 

Zones

Strategic Plan input sessions held with CNCS staff

Work with Office of Human Capital to enhance 

learning and collaboration systems

Work with Social Media Working Group develop 

online tools

Strengthen Intranet as vehicle for collaboration and 

learning 

Continue Serve America Act Implementation 

work on new programs that are funded 

through FY 2011 budget
Corporation for National and Community Service

Open Government Plan Status Report

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VI. Collaboration Plan

Nearly everything the Corporation does is accomplished by working with and through others – including government at all levels, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, schools and 

higher education institutions, businesses – and ultimately individual citizens. The philosophy and practice of collaboration underlies all our programs and initiatives, and that focus 

will intensify as national service expands under the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The plan highlights current practices and new areas for collaboration. 

As with the Participation Plan, the Collaboration Plan is overseen by the Collaboration and Participation Working Group, a cross-agency team. The Working Group held its first 

meeting on August 5 and reviewed the progress on the action steps outlined in both the Collaboration and Participation Plans and developed additional ideas for increasing 

participation and collaboration. Given the ongoing and recurring nature of most of the action steps in both the Participation and Collaboration plans, the annual performance measure 

for these plans will be based on whether substantial progress has been made in 75% of each of the individual action areas. 

Task

Planned 

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead Current Status Comment

Ambassadors of Service 4/1/2010 Ongoing N/A Sandy Scott Produced new United We Serve television Public 

Service Announcements for the “My Ameircan Story” 

campaign. These PSAs feature the stories of real 

volunteers and national service participants filmed at 

iconic locations including the Statue of Liberty, St. 

Louis Arch, Yosemite, and Seattle Space Needle. 

Will be distributed in October 

June: 

In conjunction with National Conference, held MTV 

Youth Forum at MTV studio webcast on MTV.com to 

reach youth audience with message of service.

Secured partnership with Outdoor Advertising 

Association of America for United We Serve 

billboards.

Secured TV celebrities for 9/11 Day of Service PSAs 

that aired in August and September 2010.

Distribute United We Serve TV/Radio PSA in fall 2010

Execute OAAA partnership in fall 2010

Secure Ambassadors for 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. 

National Day of Service 
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Open Government Plan Status Report

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Task

Planned 

Start

Planned 

Completion

Actual

Completion

Team

Lead Current Status Comment

Improving Data Sharing to Enhance 

Collaboration

5/3/2010 Ongoing N/A Kim Mansaray Data Working Group, through Data Warehouse, 

working on enhanced State Profiles.

The Corporation released the first-ever federal report 

on Civic Life in America, including a new website with 

detailed data on civic indicators for the nation, all 50 

states, and 51 major metropolitan areas. 

Collaborated with the National Conference on 

Citizenship on the report and event.

Scoping and building of enhanced State Profiles

Strengthening Social Media and Websites 4/1/2010 Ongoing N/A Sandy Scott Major website redesign project is underway. User 

surveys, wireframes, initial designs completed, 

content development underway

Ongoing discussions with All for Good on 

improvements to search engine and creation of ; 

several customized search algorithms (oil spill, 9/11)

Website consolidation and relaunch expected mid 2011

Fill social media staff positions, and designate staff to maintain 

social media accounts

Finalize social media policies

Execute new contract to get additional expertise on social media

Better coordinate contractors doing social media on CNCS 

behalf

Social Innovation Fund Initial Awards 2/16/2010 7/30/2010 7/30/2010 Paul Carttar Complete: Announced $50 million for 11 Social 

Innovation Fund intermediary grantees and $74 

million in additional private and foundation support.

SIF subgrantee announcements began in December 2010 and 

will be completed in March 2011.

Volunteer Generation Fund Initial Awards 3/25/2010 8/30/2010 8/24/2010 Mal Coles Complete On August 24, announced $4 million in 

grants to 19 State Service Commissions

Nonprofit Capacity Building Initial Awards 3/25/2010 8/30/2010 8/9/2010 Gretchen Van 

der Veer

Complete –– $1 million in awards for 5 grantees 

announced on August 9, 2010