This article is adapted from a blog post on CIO.gov, the website of the U.S. chief information officer and the Federal CIO Councils. Nitin Pradhan is CIO of the Department of Transportation.
President Obama unveiled the National Open Government Action Plan today to highlight the Administration’s commitment to open government. The Status Report is currently available on the White House Open Government Initiative blog and reports on the progress made towards transparency, participation, and collaboration with the public over the past two-and-a-half years.
(As part of) the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Chief Information Officer’s continuing (commitment) to making government information and processes more open and accessible to the public, we held a public meeting Sept. 16, for the Digital Transportation Exchange (DTE), a Web 2.0 community that will catalyze the future of digital transportation solutions.
The DTE would connect citizens, businesses, state and local governments, industry, entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors through a safe and secure online platform via a low or no-cost collaborative private partnership to identify and address transportation issues.
The meeting revealed some pressing needs that DTE may be able to solve.
For example, connectivity through a safe and secure space like the DTE could stimulate transportation innovation online, allowing government to be more responsive to citizen’s needs. DTE could create a one-stop shop environment for matchmaking services for providers and seekers, cutting down on the many silos that currently exist between stakeholders in the transportation industry.
Many participants explored opportunities for providing case study information on best-practices as well as regional opportunities to launch this initiative.
The U.S. Department of Transportation OCIO will promote economic growth and effective, efficient government by creating a nationwide, virtual platform where private stakeholders can easily form partnerships with federal, state, and local DOT agencies, universities, investors, and each other to create new technology-based solutions. We want to find sustainable ways to enable rapid innovation in America’s transportation community that engage the public in new ways.
To view more information on DTE, I encourage you to explore the concept online and add your comments to our discussion forum before it closes on Friday, September 23. Your feedback will help shape how the DTE will work.
Open Government means the OCIO is creating an optimal space for a dynamic online community that identifies problems and creates solutions to issues citizens face in the transportation sector every day. We will continue to dedicate our office to the unprecedented communication between stakeholders, government agencies and business interests as a way to improve the quality and efficiency of our services.