Open Government

Open Government

Raphael Bostic, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research We have all heard complaints about how government works – that it is inefficient, lacks transparency, and is hard to engage. Many have personal experiences to draw upon. Personally, I remember spending hours at the Division of Motor Vehicles to get my first driver’s license. Perhaps you have a similar story – or stories – to tell.

It is important to acknowledge that good reasons exist for some of the process. For example, it is critical that purposeful steps are taken to protect personal privacy. Similarly, accountability is enhanced when actions taken are documented, and this can require that extra steps be introduced to the process. However, there are many areas where government can do better.

This recognition was a key motivation behind President Obama’s 2009 Open Government Directive. Implemented in 2010, this initiative requires federal agencies to take immediate, specific steps to achieve key milestones in transparency, participation, and collaboration. The White House actively monitors each agency’s progress and maintains a performance dashboard so you can check on our success in providing better transparency and customer service.

At HUD, we began our response to the Directive by developing an award-winning Open Government Plan. This plan that lays out a detailed strategy for making the Department more transparent and easier to work with. We have since made important strides in embracing the goals and objectives of Open Government.

One of the most recent achievements was HUD’s creation and release of a new database – the 5 percent sample of households who receive rental assistance. The 5 percent database is modeled after the Census Bureau’s 5 percent sample, which provides researchers with a way to do people-based analysis without compromising the identities of any individuals or families. Spanning the voucher, public housing, and Section 108 and 202 programs, this household level database should allow us to better understand how housing matters for our tenant population. It is a valuable complement to the existing Picture of Subsidized Households, which provides information on rental assistance based on geographic boundaries.

This new database represents only one database that HUD has made available through the web in response to the Open Government Directive. The Administration has established a website from which many databases can be accessed: data.gov. HUD has posted many databases on the data.gov site, including data on fair market rents and program income limits, multifamily physical inspection scores, and a neighborhood mapping tool, among others.

HUD is also working to create new opportunities from its grant-making programs by lifting the veil on those who did not receive grant awards. Previously, HUD tucked the applications of the runners-up for grants in a file, where their proposals were never to be seen again. This was unfortunate, since some of those not selected were strong applicants who we would have liked to fund if we had more resources to allocate.

Through partner.hud.gov, this situation is beginning to change. Using our Choice Neighborhoods grant program as an initial pilot, the partner.hud.gov website reports on all the award winners as well as runner-up applications that came close to receiving an award. Through this site, foundations and others interested in supporting Choice Neighborhoods now has a portal through which they can identify those with strong approaches and reach out to them. Our hope is that they establish supplemental relationships that will enhance program performance and expand the set of areas pursuing the Choice Neighborhoods model. Our goal is to expand partner.hud.gov to include more of HUD’s grant programs, so that the potential for expanded participation across all of our programs is enhanced.

And finally, my last article discussed the Research Roadmap and all the ways we are engaging our partners to develop a long-term research agenda. These collaborative efforts should strengthen the ties between PD&R and the many people and organizations with which we work.

A key point to make is that the goal of the Open Government Directive is to change the way government does business and make it work better. Evidence suggests this is very possible. I started this note by talking about my difficult experience at the DMV. Well, if you have had to work with the DMV recently, you know that it is a radically different place. Many transactions can now be done online, and you can make appointments for a set time if you need to do something in person. The days of waiting in very long lines is thankfully behind us. With the Open Government Directive, along with other related efforts, I am hopeful that we will be saying the same thing about HUD and many other federal agencies before too long.

Final note: I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out for Harvard’s participation in this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, my alma mater’s first appearance since the 1940s. Though they didn’t win against Vanderbilt in what some called the “brain bowl,” the accomplishment was major. Go Crimson!!

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