Open Government at the National Archives

Updates on Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration

September 26, 2023 - NARA publishes Lessons Learned from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee. One of eight initiatives in the National Archives and Records Administration’s Fifth National Action Plan for Open Government calls on the agency to provide “lessons learned” from the creation and administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee. This document contains those learned lessons and provides ideas for consideration as NARA continues working with civil society partners to lead the U.S. on open government issues.

August 16, 2023 - The National Archives presents progress updates on commitments to expand access to the National Archives, including for underserved communities, by improving the Catalog, updating Archives.gov, and engaging underserved communities at an Open Government public engagement session on "Improving Access to Government Data, Research, and Information" with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the General Services Administration.

July 27, 2023 - The National Archives posts progress updates on the agency's commitment to Expand Online Access to the National Archives on the Fifth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan Commitment Tracker.

December 7, 2022 - The National Archives releases its Open Government Plan for 2022-2024and provides these initiatives as recommendations for the Biden administration’s 5th Open Government U.S. National Action Plan (NAP). We will continue to follow the Administration's lead for Open Government work over the 2022-2024 timeline for this plan. The public may provide feedback to webprogram@nara.gov.

November 16, 2022 - Pamela Wright, Chief Innovation Officer, received a Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award (PRA). Learn more in the NARA press release.

September 6, 2016 - The National Archives releases its Open Government Plan for 2016-2018. This plan is made available for the first time on Github so the public can add issues or submit edits. The public can also send their feedback to webprogram@nara.gov . Learn more about the plan on the AOTUS Blog.

Open Government Plan 2016-18

March 29, 2016 -  The National Archives will host a webinar on Open Government from 2 - 3 p.m. to seek suggestions from the public on what to include in the agency's fourth Open Government Plan.  Register for the webinar.

March 15, 2016 - The National Archives kicks off the development of its fourth Open Government Plan. Check out the NARAtions Blog post, " Share your ideas for our next Open Government Plan." And share your ideas on the Open Government Space on History Hub or email webprogram@nara.gov.

March 15, 2016 -  The National Archives kicks off the development of its fourth Open Government Plan. Check out the NARAtions Blog post, " Share your ideas for our next Open Government Plan." And share your ideas on the  Open Government Space on History Hub or email webprogram@nara.gov.

March 15, 2016 -  The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at NARA hosts an event celebrating Sunshine Week.  Learn more about the event on the  FOIA Ombudsman blog and watch the video of the event.

January 13, 2016 -  NARA launches a new pilot project from the Office of Innovation called the History Hub. This collaboration network explores new ways of connecting with and serving customers who are interested in historical topics related to the holdings of the National Archives. Visit the  AOTUS Blog to learn more and the  History Hub to participate.

December 2015 - Sheryl J. Shenberger, Director of the National Declassification Center, is named as a Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award recipient. Learn more on the  AOTUS blog.

October 29, 2015 - The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero blogs about the third Open Government National Action Plan and describes NARA's commitments to strengthen open government. Learn more on the  AOTUS Blog.

NARA Open Government Plan 2015 October 27, 2015 - The United States releases the third Open Government National Action Plan.  Access the plan in  PDF and learn more about the plan on the  White House blog.

Wikiconference USA October 9-11, 2015 - NARA is a co-organizer and hose site of WikiConference USA, the annual national conference of Wikimedia enthusiasts and volunteers in the U.S. Learn more on the AOTUS blog.

July 21, 2015 - NARA announces participation in a FOIA pilot to test the feasibility of posting online FOIA responses so that they are not just available to the individual requester, but to the general public as well. Learn more on the NARAtions Blog.

NARA Open Government Plan for 2014-2016 May 30, 2014 - NARA publishes its third Open Government Plan for 2014-2016. Access the plan in PDF and Word versions and view NARA's previous Open Government Plans.

April 2014 - NARA publishes its Plain Writing Compliance Report for 2013. Learn more about NARA's plain writing efforts and previous reports on Archives.gov/open/plain-writing.

April 2, 2014 - The NDC Blog seeks public suggestions for what should be included in the National Archives and Records Administration's third open government plan, with an emphasis on declassification topics.  Read more on the  NDC blog.

April 2, 2014 - The National Archives seeks public feedback into the development of the agency's third Open Government Plan.  Read about this and comment on the NARAtions blog post, " Have Your Say: Open Government at the Archives!" or send your suggestions to  webprogram@nara.gov .

February 12, 2014 - The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) seeks public feedback on proposed changes to the grants program.  Read more about it on the  Annotations Blog.

March 10, 2014 - The National Declassification Center celebrates the completion of a quality assurance review of over 351 million pages of historically valuable classified records.  Learn more about this effort on the NDC blog.

March 10, 2014 - The National Declassification Center celebrates the completion of a quality assurance review of over 351 million pages of historically valuable classified records.  Learn more about this effort on the NDC blog.

March 6, 2014 - The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) discusses Sunshine Week events in the blog post, " A Sunny Forecast."

View more Open Government milestones

Top