Open Government at the National Archives

Milestones

December 2, 2013 - The White House releases the second Open Government National Action Plan. Read more about this on the White House blog.  

August 29, 2013 - The National Archives issues NARA Bulletin 2013-02: Guidance on a New Approach to Managing Email Records.  Learn more about this new approach called "Capstone" on the Records Express Blog.  

August 16, 2013  - The FOIA Ombudsman Blog discusses NARA's updated FOIA Regulation, published as a proposed rule in the Federal Register on August 5.  The public can submit comments until October 4, 2013.  

August 12, 2013 - The National Declassification Center Releases its seventh status report.  Learn more about the report on the NDC Blog.  

June 26, 2013 - NARA requests comments on a draft of an upcoming NARA bulletin on Managing Social Media Records.  Learn more on the Records Express Blog.  

June 6, 2013 - NARA requests comments on a draft of an upcoming NARA bulletin that creates a new approach to managing email.  Learn more on the Records Express Blog.

March 14, 2013 - Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board, discusses transforming the security classification system at an event at the Brennan Center for Justice.  Learn more about the event on the Transforming Classification blog.

March 12, 2013 - The National Archives announces it will contribute 1.2 million digital images of records to the Digital Public Library of America. Learn more about project on the National Archives Press Release.

March 11, 2013 - Nancy Soderberg, Chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board, commemorates Sunshine Week on the Transforming Classification blog.

March 11, 2013 - The National Archives celebrates Sunshine Week with a display of the original Freedom of Information Act and a demonstration of FOIAonline.  Learn more about these events on the FOIA Ombudsman blog. 

March 7, 2013 - The FOIA Ombudsman blog discusses professionalizing the FOIA profession with the 0306 Government Information Specialist job series.

March 5, 2013 - The National Archives launches a Youtube channel for the National Records Management Training Program.  Learn more on the Records Express blog.

February 12, 2013 - The National Archives launches an online presence for information related to accessioning.  Learn more on the Records Express blog.

January 22, 2013 - The National Declassification Center releases its Sixth Bi-annual status report.  Learn more about the report on the NDC Blog.

January 11, 2013 - NARA's Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch announces they will publish a quarterly list of newly declassified sound and film recordings.  Learn more about these efforts and view the list on the Media Matters blog.

NARA Performance and Accountability ReportDecember 6, 2012 - The Public Interest Declassification Board publicly releases its Report to the President on Transforming the Security Classification System.  Learn more about the report on the Transforming Classification blog.

November 29, 2012 - The National Archives held the first meeting of senior agency officials for the Managing Government Records Directive.  Learn more about this meeting on the Records Express blog.

NARA Performance and Accountability Report November 15, 2012 - The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) releases its Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2012. The report contains information about the agency's accomplishments, management challenges, and complete audited financial statements.

October 1, 2012 - FOIAonline launches to assist FOIA requestors seeking records from five Federal agencies. Requestors can submit FOIA requests, track their progress, communicate with the processing agency, search other requests, and access previously released responsive documents and file appeals with participating agencies. Learn more on the FOIA Ombudsman blog.

October 2012 - Declassified documents from the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) are made available on Archives.gov. Learn more on the NDC Blog.

October 2012 - The National Archives launches a new declassification portal to provide a single point of access for declassification actions at the agency. Users can find information about the National Declassification Center, the Public Interest Declassification Board, the Presidential Libraries, and the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel.

Bright Idea Award Logo September 25, 2012 - Federal Register 2.0 is receives the Bright Idea Award for innovative government initiatives by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Learn more on the OFR Blog.

RACO Logo September 25, 2012 - The annual Records Administration Conference (RACO) is held at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Learn more about this event on the Records Express Blog or watch the video on USTREAM (password RACO2012).

September 11, 2012 - The National Declassification Center releases more than 1,000 pages of records related to the Katyn Forest Massacre. Learn more on the NDC Blog.

August 30, 2012 - The Information Security Oversight Office releases the Fundamental Classification Guidance Review results. Altogether, 3,103 classification guides were reviewed and 869 were either cancelled or consolidated. Learn more on the AOTUS Blog.

August 29, 2012 - The National Declassification Center (NDC) will host its third public forum in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. NDC Director Sheryl Shenberger will update the public on the declassification progress towards meeting the President's goal of eliminating the backlog of unprocessed classified records by December 31, 2013. Learn more about this event on the NDC Blog.

August 24, 2012 - The Records Management Directive is released by the Archivist of the United States and the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Learn more about the Records Management Directive on the Record Express Blog and the AOTUS Blog.

July 20, 2012 - The NDC Releases 237 separate record entries that have completed declassification processing and are now available for researcher request. Learn more on the NDC Blog.

July 20, 2012 - the National Declassification Center (NDC) releases its fifth bi-annual report on the operations of the center, focusing on progress made during the first half of 2012. Learn more on the NDC blog.

Wikimania Logo July 14, 2012 - The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, delivers the closing plenary session of Wikimania 2012. Learn more about Wikimania 2012 on the AOTUS Blog and watch the video of the Archivist's remarks.

June 8, 2012 - The National Archives releases an updated Open Government Plan for 2012-2014. Learn more about the plan on the AOTUS Blog, NARAtions, NDC Blog, the FOIA Ombudsman, and the Office of the Federal Register Blog.

March 27, 2012 - The National Archives holds a public meeting to solicit comments from the public on the Presidential Memorandum on Managing Government Records. Learn more about this meeting on Records Express.

March 15, 2012 - The National Archives and Records Administration receives an "A" on the "Report Card on Federal Government's Efforts to Track and Manage FOIA Requests" from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

White House
Blog March 14, 2012 - The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, blogs about Sunshine Week on the White House Open Government Blog in the post, "Managing Government Records: The Backbone of Open Government."

March 9 -16, 2012 - The National Archives celebrates Sunshine Week by displaying the original Freedom of Information Act, Public Law 89-487, in the East Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives Building. Learn more about this event on The FOIA Ombudsman.

Open Government
Idea Forum February 22, 2012 - The Open Government Idea Forum launches to generate ideas for the revision of the Open Government Plan of the National Archives. The Forum runs through March 21, 2012.

February 16, 2012 - Managing Government Records IdeaScale launches. The public is invited to help the National Archives develop a 21st-century framework for managing government records. The initiative runs through March 27, 2012.

February 16, 2012 - Managing Government Records IdeaScale launches. The public is invited to help the National Archives develop a 21st-century framework for managing government records. The initiative runs through March 27, 2012.

January 26, 2012 - The National Declassification Center releases its Fourth Bi-Annual Report

January 25, 2012 - The National Archives launches the Transcription Pilot Project as part of the Citizen Archivist Dashboard. This project enables public participation in the transcription of historical records.

January 10, 2012 - The Office of the Chief Records Officer at the National Archives posts a template for agencies structuring their response to the "Presidential Memorandum on Managing Government Records." Learn more about this template and access it on Records Express.

GovLoop December 28, 2011 - Archives.gov is picked for " Top 5 US Federal Agency Websites" in 2011 by GovLoop.

Citizen Archivist Dashboard December 23, 2011 - The National Archives launches the Citizen Archivist Dashboard, a portal for public participation in crowdsourcing activities. The public can now contribute tags, transcriptions, images, and collaborate on articles that help make records more accessible.

OGIS December 23, 2011 - The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) announces the launch of a new website and case management system, the OGIS Access System.

December 8, 2011 - The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) selected the National Archives' Office of the Federal Register as the winner of the first annual Walter Gellhorn Innovation Award for developing FederalRegister.gov.  Read more about this award on the OFR Blog.

December 7, 2011 - Frequently Asked Questions about the "Presidential Memorandum on Managing Government Records" are addressed in a Records Express Blog post.

December 6, 2011 - NARA Bulletin 2012-02, "Guidance on Managing Content on Shared Drives" is released. Read more about this bulletin on Records Express.

December 5, 2011 - The Archivist of the United States issues a memorandum designed to assist agencies in fulfilling the reporting requirements of the "Presidential Memorandum on Managing Government Records." Learn more about this memorandum on Records Express.

November 28, 2011 - President Barack Obama signs the "Presidential Memorandum on Managing Government Records." This marks the start of an executive branch-wide effort to reform records management policies and practices.  Learn more about this memorandum on Records Express.

November 8, 2011 - Archives.gov, ranks 7th in the Visible Thread Website Index. The index ranked 30 government websites for clarity of written content, including: readability, passive language, long sentences, and word complexity density. 

Document Your Environment Student Multimedia ContestNovember 1, 2011 - The National Archives launches the "Document Your Environment Student Multimedia Contest" in conjunction with the EPA. Students ages 13 and up can enter graphic art, video, and poetry categories using 1970s Documerica photographs as their inspiration. Judges for the contest include: Michael Philip Manheim, Documerica photographer; Cokie Roberts, author and news analyst for NPR and ABC News; and Sandra Alcosser, the first poet Laureate of Montana. Enter and support the contest on Challenge.gov and read more about the contest on the NARAtions Blog.

The GitHub Octocat LogoOctober 18, 2011 - The National Archives makes two software applications available on GitHub, a social coding platform. The NARA File Analyzer and the NARA Video Frame Analyzer were developed by the National Archives to facilitate digitization workflows and are now available to the public and other institutions. Learn more about the digitization tools on the NARAtions Blog.

U.S. Open Government Action PlanSeptember 20, 2011 - The White House releases the U.S. Open Government National Action Plan. New initiatives related to the National Archives include "Modernize Management of Government Records," involving the work of the Office of the Chief Records Officer, and "Declassify National Security Information," involving the work of the National Declassification Center.

The Obama Administration's Commitment to Open Government: A Status ReportSeptember 16, 2011 - The White House releases "The Obama Administration's Commitment to Open Government: A Status Report."

July 13, 2011Plain Writing at the National Archives introduces our program to provide "clear Government communication that the public can understand and use" by October, 2011. If you have suggestions on ways to improve writing in our documents and/or website, contact us at plainwriting@nara.gov – we'd like to hear from you!

U.S. National Archives on TwitterJune 9, 2011 – The National Archives participates in a worldwide conversation #AskArchivists day on Twitter.

I Found it in the National ArchivesJune 8 – August 9, 2011 – "I Found It in the National Archives!" Contest encourages researchers to share their personal stories and treasures that they’ve found in the records of the National Archives. Learn more about the contest and how you can participate on the NARAtions Blog post.

June 2011The Products and Services Web Portal is made publicly available on Archives.gov. The charts show NARA’s digitization and reformatting options to help NARA units in decision-making. Although intended for internal purposes, they were developed in collaboration with other institutions and may be of use to other peer institutions.

June 2011 – "Tagging" is added as a feature to the Online Public Access Prototype. Learn more about how you can participate on the NARAtions Blog post "Tag, You’re It!" We’re excited to introduce this crowdsourcing feature that will increase your ability to search the records of the National Archives.

May 18, 2011 – The National Archives hosts the program, "Are You In? Citizen Archivists, Crowdsourcing, and Open Government" featuring Darla Adams from Ancestry.com's World Archives Project, Matt Knutzen from the New York Public Library's "Map Warper" project, and Jessica Zelt from the US Geological Survey's North American Bird Phenology Program.

May 2011 – The National Archives welcomes its first Wikipedia in Residence, Dominic McDevitt-Parks. Learn more about Dominic and his work at the National Archives on the NARAtions Blog.

ClearMark Award Winner.April 28, 2011 – Archives.gov wins a 2011 ClearMark Award for public sector website/dynamic Media. Judges commented that Archives.gov is a very simple-to-use-site! Learn more about the Archives.gov redesign.

OPA Home Page.April 26, 2011 – The National Archives releases a updated version of the Online Public Access (OPA) Protype. You can now "Bookmark and Share" as well as magnify or zoom in on images and documents for closer inspection.

April 26, 2011 – On their blog, Transforming Classification, the Public Interest Declassification Board invites public proposals for transforming the classification system.

April 22, 2011 – A new blog post on "The FOIA Ombudsman" discusses the Office of Government Information Services take on Open Government.

Photo MashupApril 12, 2011 – Media Access to Government Information Conference (MAGIC) sponsored by the National Archives and Duke University's Dewitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy.

April 7, 2011 – NARA's One Year Anniversary with Open Government: transparency, participation, collaboration, the year in review!

March 31, 2011 – The National Archives announces the finalists for the History Happens Here! contest. Altogether, more than 80 innovative photos were submitted by 22 contestants. The contest received 165 supporters on Challenge.gov.

March 21-22, 2011 – Open Government Research and Development Summit held at the National Archives in Washington, DC. This event focuses on setting the foundation for a robust research and development agenda that ensures the benefits of open government are widely realized. For more information visit http://www.nitrd.gov/opengov/. Email opengov@nitrd.gov to register for this event by March 16, 2011.

March 18, 2011 – The Archivist of the United States is a panelist at Sunshine Week 2011 Event and Webcast, "The Road Forward on Open Government," at the Center for American Progress, Washington, D.C. For more information visit .http://openthegovernment.org/node/463.

March 17, 2011 – David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States, blogs about Sunshine Week 2011.

March 15, 2011 – Watch the webcast of the Senate Judiciary Committee Full Committee hearing "The Freedom of Information Act: Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in the Digital Age." The hearing included Miriam Nisbit, Director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives.

March 14, 2011 – The Public Interest Declassification Board launches a new blog called, "Transforming Classification" to solicit public opinion on how to fundamentally transform the security classification system.

March 13-19, 2011Sunshine Week. Learn more about this week’s events. On March 16, the 13th Annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference will be held at the Newsuem.

March 11, 2011 – The Office of Government Information Services launches a new blog called, "The FOIA Ombudsman" to provide information and advice as well as build a bridge between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies.

2010 Records Management Self-Assessment Report cover March 3, 2011 - The 2010 Records Management Self-Assessment Report is released. Read more about this report on Records Express.

The First Year: Building Bridges Between FOIA Requesters and Federal Agencies March, 2011 – The Office of Government Information Services releases the report, "The First Year: Building Bridges Between FOIA Requesters and Federal Agencies."

Today's Document Mobile Application January 6, 2011Today's Document mobile app is now available!

Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero January 5, 2011 – Archivist of the United States, publishes his bi-weekly calendar to promote transparency and open government at the National Archives.

Online Public AccessDecember 27, 2010Online Public Access goes live! Give our centralized, streamlined new search a try.

December 13, 2010 – A redesigned Archives.gov is launched. Check out our new and improved look!

Our Archives Wiki on the Innovations Gallery December 10, 2010 – The White House features Our Archives Wiki on the Innovations Gallery.

Photo MashupDecember 9, 2010 - January 21, 2011 – The National Archives hosts an innovative contest called History Happens Here! on Challenge.gov. Contestants were asked to create a photo "mashup" of a NARA archival image and the present day. All photo submissions were posted to the flickr group page.

Federal Register December 1, 2010Technology and New Dimensions of Public Participation:
Cynthia Farnia, Professor of Law, Cornell University. The public event was hosted by the Office of the Federal Register. Professor Farina is a principle researcher in the Cornell e-rulemaking Initiative (CeRI). Professor Farina spoke about the future of technology and e-rulemaking and their impact on public participation in the rulemaking process

October 20, 2010 - NARA Bulletin 2011-02, "Guidance on Managing Records in Web 2.0/Social Media Platforms," is released. Read more about this bulletin on Records Express.

September 8, 2010 – NARA Bulletin 2010-05, "Guidance on Managing Records in Cloud Computing Environments" is released. Read more about this bulletin on Records Express.

July 26, 2010 The Office of the Federal Register launches Federal Register 2.0 at www.federalregister.gov.

July 23, 2010 The National Declassification Center releases their bi-annual report.

July 16, 2010 – The results are in – Design C received the most votes for the Archives.gov Redesign. View the Archives.gov homepage redesign information.

July 12 - July 23, 2010 - The Transformation Idea Forum garnered participation from 350 employees who submitted 200 ideas, 552 comments on those ideas, and 4,500 votes on ideas to transform the structure of the National Archives.

Our Archives WikiJuly 8, 2010 - The National Archives launches Our Archives Wiki, which provides a platform for the public as well as employees to describe records, collections, and provide images.

July 2 - July 12, 2010 The public participated in the Archives.gov Redesign, part of the flagship initiative of the Open Government Plan. Visitors to the National Archives in Washington, DC voted in person and online.

June 28 – July 26, 2010 The National Archives engages employees in an idea forum called Budget Brainstorming. Over 790 (almost a quarter of all staff) participated giving their ideas for possible areas to save money. There was much enthusiasm for the project with 371 ideas submitted, 921 comments, and 22,205 votes.

June 25, 2010 – The National Archives released its Open Government Plan Version 1.1 available in multiple formats, including track changes.

Open Forum VideoJune 23, 2010 The National Declassification Center holds an Open Forum hosted by the Archivist of the United States to discuss the draft prioritization plan. Watch the video. (use RealPlayer)

May 29 – July 2, 2010 The National Declassification Center releases a draft prioritization plan for public comment.

AOTUS BlogApril 7, 2010 – David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, launches his blog, AOTUS: Collector in Chief , focusing on transparency, participation, and collaboration at the National Archives.

April 7, 2010 - The National Archives released its Open Government Plan Version 1.0.

NARA's Open GovernmentFebruary 2010 The National Archives launches a new webpage focused on Open Government at www.archives.gov/open featuring opportunities for the public to participate in the development of the agency’s Open Government Plan.

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