National Campaign for Transparent Government
The Sunlight Foundation recently launched a national campaign to make government more open, transparent, and ultimately: accountable. The campaign has adopted a new logo that can be used by any organization working toward government transparency.
On launching the campaign Sunlight's Engagement Director Jason Brewer explained the new logo and the rational behind the Open Government 'movement':
We hope this emblem is a first step in giving us something we can all own and point to as a symbol for what open government means to us, and what we believe.
[...] We believe that what government does, how it is influenced, or how it spends our money are all things that are public information – and today, “public” means that the government’s data must be accessible by any citizen, at any time, from anywhere: online and in real-time.
Through the campaign we hope to dramatically further the movement for open government that has been building, and give it the infrastructure it needs to be successful at the local, state and federal levels for years to come.
Open Government beliefs
The primary objectives of the campaign - and beliefs at the heart of the Open Government movement - include:
1) An open, transparent Government is something we create when public government data and information about government activity is made easily accessible to us – online and in real-time – and we use it effectively.
2) Government has a responsibility to be open and transparent, but it will not become so on its own.
3) We would rather use positive incentives (the “carrot”) than negative incentives (the “stick”) to make government transparent, but we will use whichever is most effective.
4) Changing the way government thinks and behaves is as important as changing government rules.
5) Technology isn’t part of the open government “pie.” It’s the pan.
6) Changing the way the public thinks about government and how they engage with it, is as important as making government data and information accessible.
7) Effective and responsible engagement with government will make it work better for all Americans.
8) Achieving our vision of a transparent government will require the ongoing commitment of citizens in every district across the United States to make it possible.
9) We will sacrifice “perfect” in order to take action and make progress today.
Open Government Logo
In the video below, Noah Kunin from the Sunlight Foundation walks through the reasoning behind the logo, and explains the campaign to ensure more government is transparent and accountable.
For more on the Campaign for Transparency, and to provide feedback, check out
- Google Group: Citizens for OpenGov
- Wiki: Public=Online
- Sunlight Foundation
(H/T) GovFresh
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