Give us your ideas on how we can create our Open Government Plan!
This plan will help OSTP:
Please provide your responses within these categories. This conversation will conclude on Tuesday, March 19, 2010.
2 votes
I disagreeRather than post each of my "OpenGov" Ideas at 27 different websites, I have posted them at the GSA's website (since they are in the forefront of the OpenGov initiative). So, by this notice, the members of the OpenGov Team for your agency have been informed of those ideas. (At least, now, you can't say you were unaware of them.) http://opengsa.ideascale.com/a/pmd/29640-6960 ALSO -- Your OpenGov Team members, ...more »
Rather than post each of my "OpenGov" Ideas at 27 different websites, I have posted them at the GSA's website (since they are in the forefront of the OpenGov initiative). So, by this notice, the members of the OpenGov Team for your agency have been informed of those ideas. (At least, now, you can't say you were unaware of them.)
http://opengsa.ideascale.com/a/pmd/29640-6960
ALSO -- Your OpenGov Team members, and others tasked or involved in those matters, are also notified that news and information about implementation of the Open Government Directive in the various federal agencies will continue to be available through the following sources (see links below).
Therefore, it is YOUR choice about whether (or not) to be "in the loop" about the Open Government Directive.
Email-group --> http://groups.google.com/group/OpenGovernmentDirective
Wiki --> http://www.OpenGovPlaybook.org
Radio --> http://www.OpenGovRadio.com
Blog --> http://www.UStransparency.com
vr,
Stephen Buckley
moderator, OpenGovernmentDirective google-group
.
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0 votes
I disagreeI'm so happy to see this crowdsourcing of ideas carried out in such a public fashion! But the particular idea I want to share is for cases when talking to the government requires a more delicate balance between transparency and privacy. So I'll describe a tool that strikes that balance, which I happen to have already written for you and want to give to you right now. :) The tool is a completely free and open source ...more »
I'm so happy to see this crowdsourcing of ideas carried out in such a public fashion! But the particular idea I want to share is for cases when talking to the government requires a more delicate balance between transparency and privacy. So I'll describe a tool that strikes that balance, which I happen to have already written for you and want to give to you right now. :)
The tool is a completely free and open source system called "BlackHighlighter". It uses browser-based redaction (all Ajax, no Flash) to trade off the benefits of writing an open letter against the benefits of a private email. It also uses cryptographic methods to add accountability to the communication process:
http://hostilefork.com/blackhighlighter/
Using something like this, correspondence with the government could be carried out through *mostly* open letters that are *partially protected* while they are being written. The intended recipients get a certificate that can be verified and plugged in to show the full text. That certificate is shared on a need-to-know basis... while the rest of the world is still able to read the public portions and get the gist. Citizens and organizations can keep tabs on topics that interest them with searches, and make sure important issues are not getting swept under the rug.
There's a single trackable URL for each letter, which is used regardless of whether someone has access to the certificate or not. And because the certificate generation and verification is done on the client side in JavaScript, your protected information never goes over the network in unencrypted form. This means whoever is running the BlackHighlighter server has no special access to the secret part. (Unlike how Google has the ability to read any of your Gmail if they ever felt like it. :P)
I'd be really excited to see this applied to correspondence between people and their congressional representatives or federal agencies. There's often a need for some confidentiality in that kind of dialogue (imagine sensitive subjects like welfare or disabilities). Yet there would be tremendous value unlocked if *most* of the letter was in the public sphere. Watchdogs who notice patterns could even solicit the anonymous authors of letters to share their certificates with them, in order to mobilize independent action on the issues raised.
You'll find more information through the link above, as well as the source code and a little sandbox installation. I'd be thrilled to speak with people from any government agency, but private sector applications would be great too. You can leave a comment on any of the pages on my website, and I will follow up with you A.S.A.P.
Sincerely,
***** *******
(***) ***-****
***********@*****.com
[ So just as an example with the asterisks above, if this were a message on a BlackHighlighter system, I'd have "protected" that contact information while writing the post. Whether you would be seeing the actual data right now while reading the letter would depend on if you had the certificate, which I would have sent to OSTP. It would not be feasible to fake a certificate that would pass as a match unless it provided the actual information I had entered. ]
[ Also: If you're curious, the ability to obscure or fluctuate the visual length of a redaction is in the works to make guessing harder. But I do want there to be a reasonably honest sense of how much information is actually missing, so it's a feature that will require some thought! ]
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2 votes
I disagreeIn an old StarTrek episode the robot Nomad sailed the universe seeking life, and upon finding it, implemented the fatal PrimeDirective. It is imperative that our organizational mission statements comply with a negative PrimeDirective, which may be stated: "It is our mission to improve the conditions for life, to grow in the ability to nurture life, and to explore all realms possibly related to life, universally seeking ...more »
In an old StarTrek episode the robot Nomad sailed the universe seeking life, and upon finding it, implemented the fatal PrimeDirective. It is imperative that our organizational mission statements comply with a negative PrimeDirective, which may be stated: "It is our mission to improve the conditions for life, to grow in the ability to nurture life, and to explore all realms possibly related to life, universally seeking to sustain biological diversity, to increase individual personal fulfillment, and to create a more stable, peaceful, and just society.
Already-proven engineering and ethical principals need to a greater degree be incorporated into the decision-making process. In particular, given its promise of finding optimal solutions, it is key that Nash Equilibrium models are used to form the daily decisions that determine how limited resources are spent, thus optimizing scientific research and economic prosperity. Great care must be made in structuring and reviewing the decision-making and implementation processes so that they, to borrow from perl philosophy, "do the right thing", quantifying and transparently reporting each step along the way, and flexibly accepting feedback without losing sight of the overall goal. It is a challenge and responsibility to build such a system, and we are fortunate that John Nash has already blazed the trail.
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2 votes
I disagreeWHAT Urge governments to publish granular permalinks for all documents on their websites. WHY * Enable citizens to reliably cite government websites on their personal blogs, on public sites like Wikipedia, or elsewhere. * Provide unique identifiers that enable aggregation of citations. * Make the civic discourse surrounding government websites more discoverable. HOW * An easy-to-deploy archival ...more »
WHAT
Urge governments to publish granular permalinks for all documents on their websites.
WHY
* Enable citizens to reliably cite government websites on their personal blogs, on public sites like Wikipedia, or elsewhere.
* Provide unique identifiers that enable aggregation of citations.
* Make the civic discourse surrounding government websites more discoverable.
HOW
* An easy-to-deploy archival server that can take page snapshots
o Hosts all permalinks
o Could be hosted by the agency or a third party
o Uses a software version-control tool as the primary database
o Allows other parties to replicate the data
o Likely an easy install of a Linux server distribution with the archival tools included
* Quick and easy integration solution
o Include Javascript on each page that ensures the archival server takes snapshots as each page changes
o The Javascript also walks through the HTML DOM to add permalinks to each paragraph
o The "easy integration" method works with even static HTML
* Long-term integration solution
o Option one
+ CMS pushes changes directly to the archival server
+ CMS integrates the archival server's permalinks directly into HTML
+ Most streamlined option
o Option two
+ A proxy server (base on Squid/Varnish?) that pushes changed content to the archival server
+ The proxy server modifies the content passing through it to add permalinks to the HTML
+ Works with any CMS and even static HTML
o More accessible
o No Javascript required
o Broadly applicable integration model (text filtering/formatting plugin) that works with even basic blog and CMS tools
* Mark up documents using paragraph/sectional anchor tags to create nice anchors that go directly to the correct paragraph
* Permalinks are human-readable URLs with timestamps, document ID, and an an anchor to the section/paragraph
o Example: Http://archive.house.gov/HR1586IH/20030318233035#S1b1Bii
o The example would point to section 1, subsection b, chapter 1, paragraph B, clause ii in SB 1234 on May 2, 2009 at 8:26:16 am UTC
WHEN
* We are fund-raising to both hire programmers to write the tools and to have codeathons where programmers donate their time to write Open Source tools they believe in.
* We are recruiting different levels of government implementation one agency at a time. Your support on http://citability.org will illustrate the demand.
* We are asking various proprietary software vendors to implement this standard in their software products.
WHERE
* Http://citability.org - sign up and show your support
* http://citability.pbworks.com - to help promote or to feedback on the internal standards we are suggesting. We are talking various implementations in different software to backups and server failover settings.
Demos at DCcodeathon.eventbrite.com
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0 votes
I disagreehttp://downtownfarm.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/chickens-lasers-the-avatar-feeling/ downtownfarm combines three passions of mine into one operation and uses cutting edge military-grade light-scanning technology (popularized by Radiohead’s innovative “House of Cards” video—see below) to broadcast our activities to ipods, ipads, iphones, and facebooks around the globe: * enable children to make informed decisions by ...more »
http://downtownfarm.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/chickens-lasers-the-avatar-feeling/
downtownfarm combines three passions of mine into one operation and uses cutting edge military-grade light-scanning technology (popularized by Radiohead’s innovative “House of Cards” video—see below) to broadcast our activities to ipods, ipads, iphones, and facebooks around the globe:
* enable children to make informed decisions by teaching them about factory food production and by exposing them to the joys of urban farming
* develop & implement cutting-edge remote sensing laser technology (e.g. LIDAR, multi-camera systems, infrared, RADAR, …)
* familiarize children with today’s multimedia, networking & GIS technologies
Urban farming puts that little “Na-vi” in our live that we are all yearning for since we saw Avatar. downtownfarm shows how a trip to your local farm store and your neighborhood nursery can create a slice of Pandora in your frontyard.
The resulting “happy feed” will motivate brilliant and creative minds across the globe to drive cutting-edge laser technology forward and showcase it at downtownfarm. Geeks (like me @ livermorelasso) will work incredibly hard to enable 3 – 16 year old children to pick up their favorite “Pumpkin” or “Omelet”, hold it towards the LIDAR “laser camera”, and present it to the world in streaming real-time 3D. Constantly pushing for higher-resolution, fuller color, higher frame-rate, we will put in all-nighters to make kids hearts glow (and not just for meeting a deadline or fulfilling some contract). This will drive the technology forward and every field (e.g. intelligence, land planning, surveying, security, education …) will benefit as a nice “side-effect”.
And farmville will look so last century. Some folks spend 3 hours/day working on their "digital farm". With us you work on your own real farm and play with your own real chickens. But hey … I don’t want to alienate the farmville and iphone app developpers. Help me create the downtownfarm app. I need your brilliance and foresight. You & Cafe Fanny & James Cameron & Ocracoke Coffee & Michelle Obama & Weaver Street Market & Michael Pollan & Caffee Driade & Upton Sinclair & Great Harvest Bread & Eric Schlosser & Berkeley Bowl & Michael Krasny & Cafe Gratitude & Barbara Ehrenreich & Mama Dip’s & the people that I have met and continue to meet … you are my heroes. You paved the way for downtownfarm. These are all your ideas … all I did was to combine them in the most obvious way and to find a good location for them: The only old farm house in the very core of downtown Livermore. And now I really need your help.
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1 vote
I disagreeDisruptive Technologies: A Holistic, Pragmatic Approach New technologies are emerging at a faster pace than Agencies can swallow. The rate of obsolescence outpaces the rate of change. Despite the new technology flood, Agencies lack a strategy to on-board these disruptions. As a result, they often react, flounder, or simply ignore them. We can solve these problems in four major areas of practice: Leadership ...more »
Disruptive Technologies: A Holistic, Pragmatic Approach
New technologies are emerging at a faster pace than Agencies can swallow. The rate of obsolescence outpaces the rate of change.
Despite the new technology flood, Agencies lack a strategy to on-board these disruptions. As a result, they often react, flounder, or simply ignore them.
We can solve these problems in four major areas of practice:
Leadership and Management: How must leaders change with new technologies? How will this transform Agencies from the inside out?
Customer Strategy: How is the public behaving differently online? How can I reach them where they are?
Enterprise Strategy: Internal systems are connecting with external - How will I keep up with the dizzying pace? Employees are adopting collaboration and social tools without my control - How should I manage?
Innovation and Design: Experimenting on the general public is a bad idea, so how can I learn in a safe place? What vendors and providers should I lean on?
Here is a great slideshare webinar to get you started:
http://www.slideshare.net/charleneli/developing-a-social-strategy-webinar
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5 votes
I disagreeOne of the Strategic Goals and Objectives defined on the OSTP website is to "Energize and nurture the processes by which government programs in science and technology are resourced, evaluated, and coordinated." I have yet to see adequate evaluation of IT projects in the government. I suggest a more robust process for evaluating technology programs (particularly related to software development). Anyone with experience ...more »
One of the Strategic Goals and Objectives defined on the OSTP website is to "Energize and nurture the processes by which government programs in science and technology are resourced, evaluated, and coordinated." I have yet to see adequate evaluation of IT projects in the government. I suggest a more robust process for evaluating technology programs (particularly related to software development). Anyone with experience developing software for the government has heard of government programs that cost millions of dollars resulting in a software product that is not used. There are many reasons for such failures:
- the end product doesn't satisfy the user's needs (e.g., due to poor requirements or lack of communication with end users)
- the users needs changed during the development of the product (e.g., due to changes in command)
- the product was developed to spend money that was allocated without a need ever existing
- the end product is of poor quality
Regardless of the reason, millions of tax payer dollars are being spent on programs that result in failure. The government should have a more robust system for evaluating software development programs to identify the following:
- is the end product actually being used
- does the end product satisfy the user's needs
- if there was a failure, what was the cause
- was the money allocated wisely
- is the quality of the product satisfactory
These evaluations will help prevent failures from occurring in the future.
To expand on the software quality aspect of the proposed evaluation, I suggest the government impose software quality standards that all government IT initiatives must conform to. In particular, software testing is one of the only areas of IT where the industry is behind academia. Formal methods of evaluating the quality of software exist now, but are only being used for a small portion of software projects. The government should define acceptable testing approaches, guidance for testing software, and the minimum criteria required for software products to be accepted (e.g., level of detail for model-based approaches and specific coverage criteria). This will provide a basis for ensuring the quality of software and help prevent waste.
The government has a responsibility to ensure our tax dollars are spent responsibly. These suggestions will provide a first step to ensure the government is accountable for the money they spend.
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0 votes
I disagreeAmerica's excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) -related research, development and business is a major underpinning of our country's global competitive advantage. On November 23, 2009, the President announced his "Educate to Innovate" Campaign for Excellence in STEM Education. The goal of this broad-based public-private investment is to move American students to the top of the pack in science ...more »
America's excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) -related research, development and business is a major underpinning of our country's global competitive advantage. On November 23, 2009, the President announced his "Educate to Innovate" Campaign for Excellence in STEM Education. The goal of this broad-based public-private investment is to move American students to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade.
There is no shortage of brilliant students in our country. Many of them will go on to change the world as they excel in STEM careers.
There is also no shortage of brilliant students with disabilities in our country. These students include young people who have low-vision or are blind; are hearing-impaired or deaf; have a mobility disability or simply learn differently.
Assistive technology (AT) software, designed to accommodate the technology access needs of these students is expensive. There are very few commercial companies developing AT software. The cost for commercial AT software has, basically, remained the same over the past 15 years. Mainstream software has gone down in price.
The AT software industry is government subsidized. Given the state of our economy, there are significant lacks of funding for AT software. Millions of students whose educational success depends upon their use of AT software never receive it because their schools and families simply do not have the money to purchase it.
Injecting funding to purchase commercial AT software will not solve the underlying problem of high prices and lack of competition.
Innovation certainly can.
The White House Office on Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is in an excellent position to help correct this imbalance by working with the Department's of Education, Commerce and Labor to support and encourage the use of high-quality, open source, AT software in schools, colleges and in the workplace.
Educational institutions should be encouraged to evaluate and test portable, high-quality open source AT software before investing our tax dollars in expensive commercial AT applications. In many instances, there is little difference between the two. Unfortunately, there is no incentive to change the nature of this business.
If open source applications are effective, they should be used, and the developers should receive government dollars as an innovation "incentive" to continue enhancing their applications. If open source applications do not meet a student's needs, commercial applications should be purchased.
The benefits of employing the use of free, portable, high-quality, AT software are significant... especially if woven into the fabric of America's broadband software delivery architecture.
We know first hand, through scientific research that employing the use of open source AT software in schools and in the workplace can deliver the following benefits:
1. Improves transition outcomes from school to school, high school to college, high school to employment and in adult life in general;
2. Significantly reduces cost;
3. Enables students attending any school/university to use their AT software on practically any PC they desire/need to use;
4. Reduces incompatibility/interoperability issues with applications installed on the PC being used because the AT software is not installed on the PC being used... it is delivered virtually.
5. Eliminates innocent corruptions of PC-based AT software since virtually delivered AT applications are not installed on the PC being used. Students simply carry their AT software, personal files, and configuration files with them on a flash drive or invoke it from the Cloud;
6. Minimizes the licensing limitations that preclude students/employees from using their AT software on any PC students/employees desire/need to use;
7. Minimizes the problem of too few AT software-equipped computers in schools, colleges, libraries, community centers, places of employment etc.;
8. Minimizes financial losses resulting from AT software abandonment;
9. Minimizes acquisition time and red tape;
10. Minimizes problems associated with installing software because it is not installed on the PC being used;
11. Enables students and employees to become class/workplace ready more quickly; and,
12. Eliminates the “stigma” of having to use a "special."
Most important, I believe that exploring the technology opportunities and strategies described above makes good business sense from a science and technology policy standpoint.
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0 votes
I disagreeI would suggest a collaboration between NASA, DARPA, DOE, Laurence Livermore Labs, The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, and STAR Group regarding fusion propulsion utilizing C60 as a container for Deuterium and Tritium. This could possibly provide a 1G acceleration propulsion system with a high ISP. Rick Smalley and I discussed this prior to his Nobel Prize. The benefit of any system ...more »
I would suggest a collaboration between NASA, DARPA, DOE, Laurence Livermore Labs, The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, and STAR Group regarding fusion propulsion utilizing C60 as a container for Deuterium and Tritium. This could possibly provide a 1G acceleration propulsion system with a high ISP. Rick Smalley and I discussed this prior to his Nobel Prize.
The benefit of any system providing 1G acceleration is that it opens the entire Solar System up to timely exploration. Hours instead of days, weeks instead of years.
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1 vote
I disagreeGood morning I write from Italy I would like to introduce you my invention pollution, this invention, I propose to governments, I would like you watch my blog, so 'you know what it is. Producing this system will create tens of thousands of jobs indefinitely, as it requires labor also not qualified. Then this system has a continuous cycle, having to replace filters. to continue to work well. The government will ...more »
Good morning
I write from Italy I would like to introduce you
my invention pollution, this
invention, I propose to governments, I would like
you watch my blog, so 'you know
what it is. Producing this system
will create tens of thousands of jobs
indefinitely, as it requires labor
also not qualified. Then this system
has a continuous cycle, having to replace
filters. to continue to work well.
The government will make 'take this
system will have 'the great political support from
its citizens, from car manufacturers
saving money. Then, the public
aprezzera 'the government that approves of this system
not only give 'a great example of global technology
Advanced seriously and working really. To view
system. Just look at google .. "marmittenosmg" and
vedra 'everything. Hoping to hear you, I wish
good day .. best regards .. severino saramin
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1 vote
I disagreeI once wrote a paper to Congressman Volkmer's office which allowed a vote on space station when it's funding had been cancelled. It saved the Manned Space Program. I also got the Rules Committee to allow the vote. I was a favorite son for a few days. I would present the following observation. The world we live in today is not that world, America is not the same America, and Space is nolonger the same. We talk about the ...more »
I once wrote a paper to Congressman Volkmer's office which allowed a vote on space station when it's funding had been cancelled. It saved the Manned Space Program. I also got the Rules Committee to allow the vote. I was a favorite son for a few days. I would present the following observation. The world we live in today is not that world, America is not the same America, and Space is nolonger the same. We talk about the need for transparency, NASA and the Government should be more open to the people of this great Country. The realities are these. You know them. We have become a nation of soundbites. Presidents are nolonger great orators. People would tune them out if they were. We want simple instant knowledge. We want to be told what to think. We want to go to the Moon in the comfort of a movie theatre. In the past there was no talk about transparency because the media employed reporters, not pundits. They were our eyes and ears. The U.S. Government has allowed the pundits their position. Do this, create the new reporters, give thoughtful, educated, impartial reporters access to everything they need. Elevate them, ask for their ear. Inspire their creative energy. With this new transparency we will have realtime reporting and not be waiting for pundits to tell us what they want and what they think. Take the news out of the hands of the media corporations and put it back in the hands of the people. Kris Ketz of KMBC would be a good start. He's a good example. No ego.
Educate them and they will educate the people. Be transparent to them and they will be our eyes and ears again. The other problem is that media corporations can decide what to broadcast and when, it's according to profits. Find out from these news reporters how to build the excitement level. Give the space program and knowledge of other government initiatives, scientific, technical, etc. back to the people.
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0 votes
I disagreePart of transparency, is helping people realize what they are looking at. If it weren't for NASA and the Manned Space Programs Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab. If it weren't for the competition with the Soviets, the world we know today wouldn't exist. NASA Spin-offs that we take for granted exist everywhere in our lives. Many of us owe our lives and the lives of our loved ones to advances directly associated with ...more »
Part of transparency, is helping people realize what they are looking at. If it weren't for NASA and the Manned Space Programs Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab. If it weren't for the competition with the Soviets, the world we know today wouldn't exist. NASA Spin-offs that we take for granted exist everywhere in our lives. Many of us owe our lives and the lives of our loved ones to advances directly associated with NASA. Communications, energy, entertainment, healthcare, environment, transportation, science, security,education etc. etc. etc. More areas than we realize have NASA stamped on them. We should have a program showing statistically how we have been effected. Like in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life." We might be surprised to find the impact NASA has had on our lives. Had we never gone to the Moon we might consider this age to be another stoneage. Perhaps one of the greatest contributions to transparency and promotion of Manned Space Exploration might be to somehow give them a taste of the alternative. Educate the public with an in your face presentation.Put the name NASA on every product and service born from NASA technology.
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1 vote
I disagreeThe narrative of sustainability should be overarching guiding paradigm of all human activities. Sustainability narrative covers all issues: global climate change, biodiversity, ecological services needs, economic and human activities, etc. More importantly the narrative of sustainability means not only human needs, but needs of all other species. The time frame is not 30 or even 50 years, but it is indefinite. It cannot ...more »
The narrative of sustainability should be overarching guiding paradigm of all human activities. Sustainability narrative covers all issues: global climate change, biodiversity, ecological services needs, economic and human activities, etc. More importantly the narrative of sustainability means not only human needs, but needs of all other species. The time frame is not 30 or even 50 years, but it is indefinite. It cannot be addressed by present “business as usual approach”. Rather it must be addressed by coupling of natural, economic and social systems.
Collapse of the global financial system, ecological degradation, resource depletion all are rooted in unsustainable practices in all spheres and it is a matter of time when next calamity can happen that may lead us even to regional or World Wars.
Federal government should lead to development of Sustainability Science Centers where natural, economic and social scientists can work together to produce tools and incentives for sustainable future for many generations to come.
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-2 votes
I disagreeCongress does not understand the REAL importance of NASA. All they can do is discuss how much they want man to go to Mars, national leadership in space, etc. But every space-oriented scientist knows that the REAL importance of NASA is the unmanned scientific missions they launch. Science and mankind have been IMMENSELY enriched by these, MUCH more so than any results from manned missions. Scientists understand that ...more »
Congress does not understand the REAL importance of NASA. All they can do is discuss how much they want man to go to Mars, national leadership in space, etc. But every space-oriented scientist knows that the REAL importance of NASA is the unmanned scientific missions they launch. Science and mankind have been IMMENSELY enriched by these, MUCH more so than any results from manned missions. Scientists understand that manned missions are a huge drain on the economy and learn little. I hope the OSTP will take this lesson to heart and champion unmanned missions over manned.
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3 votes
I disagreeI've been looking through the OSTP web site, and there is a fair amount of information there. However, I do not get any impression that you need anything from the people. Instead, it clearly states that OSTP is attempting to further the President's agenda. If there is a genuine desire for public participation, perhaps some of the site should be reworded to questions, as opposed to statements. As a citizen, I have no ...more »
I've been looking through the OSTP web site, and there is a fair amount of information there. However, I do not get any impression that you need anything from the people. Instead, it clearly states that OSTP is attempting to further the President's agenda.
If there is a genuine desire for public participation, perhaps some of the site should be reworded to questions, as opposed to statements. As a citizen, I have no idea where I can hope to contribute, primarily because my impression is that all major issues have already been decided upon.
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3 votes
I disagreeBuilding on several of the top-rated ideas on the OpenOSTP IdeaScale site(I wish your links worked!): http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/22713-7129 http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/24839-7129 http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/29420-7129 http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/27467-7129 Some of our greatest challenges simply have to do with how we communicate, and how we engage our citizens, and how difficult ...more »
Building on several of the top-rated ideas on the OpenOSTP IdeaScale site(I wish your links worked!):
http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/22713-7129
http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/24839-7129
http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/29420-7129
http://openostp.ideascale.com/a/dtd/27467-7129
Some of our greatest challenges simply have to do with how we communicate, and how we engage our citizens, and how difficult it is for the average end-user to navigate through the maze of sites and information on each of the Federal, State and Local gov't ".gov" networks.
NASA has hundreds and perhaps thousands of public-facing websites, both on and off of our .gov networks that we maintain to a greater and lesser degree, many of which are registered in a system called "STRAW": System for Tracking and Registering Applications and Web sites. I suspect that other Agencies have a similar database. Many of these apps and sites were developed using outdated/obsolete technology and processes.
I propose that we make the data set from each of the Federal Agencies available via data.gov. It would be extremely interesting to see what the greater web dev community would/could do with all of these mismatched sites...new apps, new gadgets and widgets, new views into the data, reports on the redundancy of information, new models for categorizing the sites, etc.
This community of "citizen developers" would necessarily include students at the college and high school levels (and perhaps even some grade school prodigies!) studying disciplines such as computer science, digital media, and web design.
Note: the release of this data set should be coordinated with each of the Agency's Public Affairs.
In order to make this a well-publicized release with clearly measurable metrics and useful end results, each Agency should concurrently sponsor an "Apps for Air, Apps for Space, Apps for Earth, Apps for Humanity, Apps for Life" contest per the guidelines below:
http://www.appsfordemocracy.org/guide-to-creating-your-own-apps-for-democracy/
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28 votes
I disagreeThe Office of Science and Technology policy should host a conference on space solar power which brings together NASA, the Department of Energy, The Department of Commerce, University researchers as well as corporations such as Solaren, PowerSat, Space energy, Space Island Group, Boeing etc. Also inviting the Japanese, European, Russians and Canadians who are who are working on Space Solar power. The conference would develop ...more »
The Office of Science and Technology policy should host a conference on space solar power which brings together NASA, the Department of Energy, The Department of Commerce, University researchers as well as corporations such as Solaren, PowerSat, Space energy, Space Island Group, Boeing etc. Also inviting the Japanese, European, Russians and Canadians who are who are working on Space Solar power. The conference would develop ideas on how best to bring this technology to reality. Space solar power offers unlimited, green, base load power. It is now time to turn this futuristic concept into reality with the US in the lead.
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12 votes
I disagreeThe 1,600 members of Open Source for America are dedicated to supporting and guiding federal efforts to make the US government more open through the use of open source software. We have established recommendations for all agencies to consider in their Open Government Plans, with these recommendations especially highlighting the need to remove barriers to the successful leveraging of open source software and open IT more ...more »
The 1,600 members of Open Source for America are dedicated to supporting and guiding federal efforts to make the US government more open through the use of open source software. We have established recommendations for all agencies to consider in their Open Government Plans, with these recommendations especially highlighting the need to remove barriers to the successful leveraging of open source software and open IT more generally. Open source software would seem to us to be the most concrete form of participation and collaboration available to the government's constituents and its employees. These recommendations -- and the ability to comment further on them -- are at http://opensourceforamerica.org/guidelines.
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-5 votes
I disagreeNIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Mr.Dr Michael R Mowatt Building 6610 - 6610 Rockledge Dr, 2831 6610 Rockledge Dr Bethesda, MD "THE PROTEIN OF THE COCKROACHES " THE SOLUTION OF THE VACCINE. Enquiry VIH/Aids Vaccine+Cokroaches To International Community VIH/Aids Vaccine To all Members of the Coordinating Committee: M. K. Bhan (Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India), S. Berkley (International ...more »
NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Mr.Dr Michael R Mowatt
Building 6610 - 6610 Rockledge Dr, 2831
6610 Rockledge Dr
Bethesda, MD
"THE PROTEIN OF THE COCKROACHES " THE SOLUTION OF THE VACCINE.
Enquiry VIH/Aids Vaccine+Cokroaches
To International Community VIH/Aids Vaccine
To all Members of the Coordinating Committee: M. K. Bhan (Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India), S. Berkley (International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, New York, United States of America), M. DeWilde (Aventis Pasteur, Swiftwater, United States of America), J. Esparza * (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, United States of America; Interim Secretariat), A. S. Fauci (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States of America), H. Gayle (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, United States of America), M. I. Johnston (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States of America), P. Kaleebu (Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda), M. D. Kazatchkine (Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA, Paris, France), R. D. Klausner (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, United States of America), E. S. Lander (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States of America), M. W. Makgoba (University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa), P. Mocumbi (European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, the Hague, the Netherlands), P. Piot (United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Geneva, Switzerland), O. Quintana-Trias (European Commission, Brussels, Belgium), W. Snow (AIDS Vaccines Advocacy Coalition, New York, United States of America), M. J. Walport (The Wellcome Trust, London, United Kingdom), and H. Wigzell (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden).
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-3 votes
I disagreeAnd Claude Bernard says: "A man who discovered the simplest fact served more to humanity than the greatest philosopher in the world." Einstein: "I do not believe in education. You yourself must be your only model, although this model is frightening. " The real big discoveries have been provided with simple means. Any discovery of the level of the essential structures is both positive and negative. But some day they ...more »
And Claude Bernard says:
"A man who discovered the simplest fact served more to humanity than the greatest philosopher in the world."
Einstein: "I do not believe in education. You yourself must be your only model, although this model is frightening. "
The real big discoveries have been provided with simple means.
Any discovery of the level of the essential structures is both positive and negative.
But some day they will join the knowledge and the will, and then the world will progress.
Everything is unique in nature: "There is a soul equal to yours ..." For the alchemist, in the same way that no two equal souls, two equals, two plants alike (Pauli would say, two electrons equal) , so no two identical experiments. If it is repeated thousands of times an experiment eventually produced something extraordinary. But the alchemist of today, like yesterday, works in secret, poorly, and is expected by virtue.
The policy is only the outward manifestation, the practical application of a momentary vision of the religious laws of life on Earth and the Cosmos. There are, for Humanity, a fate that could not conceive of ordinary men and whose vision could not bear. This is reserved to a few initiates.
Madame Blavatsky, who claimed to have had access to the Book of Dzyan, which would be the oldest text of mankind, and contain the history of human origins, also ensured that a giant first human race had appeared in the secondary period. "Man is discovered side one day, and with it, their civilizations extinct long ago."
At the time the man touches the celestial mechanics and introduces a new engine in it, there are big changes down here. Everything affects everything. In interplanetary space, where it manifests human intelligence now, chain reactions occur, which have their impact on the Globe, whose temperature is unchanged. At the moment the man wins, not just the sky, but "what is beyond the sky 'at the time that operates a major revolution in the material and spiritual universe, at the time when civilization makes human being to become cosmic, Earth receives a kind of immediate reward.
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9 votes
I disagreeThe U.S. funds a number of scholars and experts through NSF, NIH, and numerous agency scholarships, fellowships, labs, post-docs, and mores. OSTP should create collaboration networks between these experts and allow agencies opportunities to post problems they want these already U.S.-funded experts to solve. Additionally, we should make sure to offer these individuals opportunities to enter the federal workforce. As ...more »
The U.S. funds a number of scholars and experts through NSF, NIH, and numerous agency scholarships, fellowships, labs, post-docs, and mores.
OSTP should create collaboration networks between these experts and allow agencies opportunities to post problems they want these already U.S.-funded experts to solve.
Additionally, we should make sure to offer these individuals opportunities to enter the federal workforce. As a former DHS-funded graduate student, taxpayers spent nearly $100k to educate me but made it difficult to go work for them.
-Steve Ressler
Founder, GovLoop.com
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8 votes
I disagreeAfter agencies develop their open government plans, I recommend making the focus of open government more ambitious. Releasing some data sets and finding new ways to receive public comments is great, but so much more is possible. Transparency, participation, and collaboration bring new capabilities. New capabilities should open our minds to thinking bigger. Rather than just solving old problems in new ways, we ...more »
After agencies develop their open government plans, I recommend making the focus of open government more ambitious. Releasing some data sets and finding new ways to receive public comments is great, but so much more is possible.
Transparency, participation, and collaboration bring new capabilities. New capabilities should open our minds to thinking bigger. Rather than just solving old problems in new ways, we can solve new problems.
One year into it, open government is not yet mainstream; we are not coming close to tapping the collective wisdom of the American people because too few people across the country know about the Open Government Initiative. My recommendation is that OSTP raises the profile of open government by attempting to tackle a very ambitious problem using transparency, participation, and collaboration. The more ambitious the problem is, the more agencies and citizens will come to your aid.
OSTP has already demonstrated some willingness to learn in public (an essential and very rare quality here in DC); it's time to take it to the next level. For inspiration, see the OSTP blog post about grand challenges: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/04/grand-challenges-21st-century
As mentioned in the article, it's great that you're working with Expert Labs to explore new ways of harnessing the intellectual capital of our nation, but with the multitude of nearly existential threats to our country's financial and physical security it seems clear that more urgency is needed.
Believe in open government, believe in what you started, and go for it.
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10 votes
I disagreeSome government departments producing technology do not have RSS/Atom feeds to notify interested parties of new technology being available. It would be easier for everyone (including your department) to keep up to date on what new technology was available for use from government departments by being able to aggregate data in an RSS/Atom feed reader instead of having to enter queries on individual websites. Example: ...more »
Some government departments producing technology do not have RSS/Atom feeds to notify interested parties of new technology being available.
It would be easier for everyone (including your department) to keep up to date on what new technology was available for use from government departments by being able to aggregate data in an RSS/Atom feed reader instead of having to enter queries on individual websites.
Example:
http://techtransfer.gsfc.nasa.gov/HHT/
Hilbert-Huang Transform Technology
"Analyze nonlinear, nonstationary signals with Hilbert-Huang Transform
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has developed a new signal processing technology called the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT). GSFC seeks to license its HHT technology to private industry for use in commercial applications."
Possible use:
"Business/Finance: Providing new insight into economic and market data
Economic data analysis
Market data and trend analysis
Nonstationary financial time series analysis"
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3 votes
I disagreeCreate (or tap into an existing) social network/database of experts in various fields. In order to fulfill the mission of OSTP (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about), OSTP needs immediate access to experts in scientific fields. While expert opinion can be accessed through many means, a social network/database that self-selected experts could register for could provide the OSTP with greater access to ...more »
Create (or tap into an existing) social network/database of experts in various fields. In order to fulfill the mission of OSTP (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about), OSTP needs immediate access to experts in scientific fields. While expert opinion can be accessed through many means, a social network/database that self-selected experts could register for could provide the OSTP with greater access to a wider range of opinion. The database should incorporate a verified-credentials system requiring experts to document their credentials (PhDs, industry positions, etc.). A peer-rating system should allow experts to identify their peers and OSTP should have an internal rating system allowing them to identify those experts most often providing useful commentary. The system should allow OSTP to submit questions on policy or "requests for comment" to the social network/database rather than individuals.
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15 votes
I disagreeThese sites should include a brief description of what the agency does. I think I know quite a bit about the structure of US government, but I really don't know the scope of the Office of Science and Technology Policy's responsibilities, much less it's sphere of influence. Something short and simple, and a web link if more is needed, would be great.
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