Open Government Directive

EXIM Open Government Plan

U.S. Open Government National Action Plan

The American people have strived for a more inclusive, accountable, transparent, and responsive government since our Nation’s founding. That spirit is embodied in key milestones across U.S. history, including expansions of the right to vote, broadening of basic civil rights protections to ensure dignity and equal treatment, improving protections for press freedoms, and expanding public access to government information.

This spirit is also embodied in the leadership role that the United States has played in promoting open government around the world, including as a founding member of the Open Government Partnership — the international collaboration that coordinates the production and implementation of Open Government National Action Plans among civil society and governments across nearly eighty countries.

This document — the Fifth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan, developed in collaboration between the Federal Government and U.S. civil society — reflects the United States’ longstanding commitment to open government at home and abroad, and includes over 30 commitments from across the Federal Government to: ensure, consistent with law, that the public has access to Federal Government data, research, and information; empower citizens to participate in the work of Federal Government; transform the way Federal agencies interact with the public; fight corruption and support the integrity of Federal Government programs; and ensure that the Federal Government upholds the rule of law fairly for all people. These broad themes, and the commitments included in each theme, reflect contributions from a wide range of individual civil society voices as well as priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration.

While U.S. support for open government has always been crucial, it is especially vital today. The publication of the Fifth U.S. Open Government National Plan comes at a time when the principles of equality and democracy are threatened across the United States and around the world. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, more than half of all global democracies have experienced a decline in at least one aspect of their democracy over the last ten years, including the United States. Just as concerning, people around the world indicate that governments could do more to meet their needs, and voice frustration with not having a say in decision-making. This drives a lack of trust in government institutions — and society.

It is therefore imperative that the United States lead by example: to show that democracies can be inclusive, responsive, transparent, and accountable to all their citizens, including by supporting the basic rights necessary for full participation in social, economic, and civic life. The work of preserving and promoting an inclusive, responsive, accountable, and transparent democracy is never complete, and the Fifth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan includes only a subset of the full range of ambitious efforts underway across the Federal Government to achieve that goal. As the Federal Government implements the National Action Plan and other related efforts, we remain committed to working together with civil society to realize the promise of a truly open, equitable, and inclusive democracy for all.

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