U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra invites civic coders to discuss three topics related to the U.S. National Action Plan on Open Government:  “Doubling Down” on Data.gov Communities Smart Disclosure Government as a Platform. He will be joined by Samir Mitra, advisor to the CTO of India, to discuss their collaboration around "data.gov in a box." Please join us at the Code for America offices... [read more]

U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra invites civic coders to discuss three topics related to the U.S. National Action Plan on Open Government:  “Doubling Down” on Data.gov Communities Smart Disclosure Government as a Platform. He will be joined by Samir Mitra, advisor to the CTO of India, to discuss their collaboration around "data.gov in a box." Please join us at the Code for America offices for an active group discussion on how to further these important initiatives. Note: given space limitations, the event is by-invitation only; if you'd like to invite someone who would add value to the conversation, please let us know at mark@codeforamerica.org. For background on the meeting please read Aneesh's blog post here, also posted below: ***Open Government Action Plan for Innovators On Tuesday, President Obama joined 40 Heads of State on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to unveil the U.S. National Action Plan on Open Government, an ambitious effort to promote accountability, empower people with information they “can readily find and use”, and ensure public officials tap into the expertise and wisdom of the American people when setting policy. Consistent with the goals of harnessing the creativity of the American people, a national plan for the United States has been designed in consultation with a wide range of civil society groups, academics, business leaders, and the general public.  This plan will support our Nation’s job creators, especially in industries investing in productivity-enhancing digital infrastructure.  In the healthcare sector alone, a recently published McKinsey study estimated a possible $1-300 billion annual productivity gain. Here are three highlights on how the national plan can catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship: “Doubling Down” on Data.gov Communities:  Over the past two years, the Administration has published an unprecedented amount of information in “computer-friendly” formats (over 390,000 data sets) freely available for developers without intellectual property constraint. To spur use, we’ve posted over 100 challenges, prizes or contests ranging from the First Lady’s “Apps for Healthy Kids” to the Vice President’s“Apps Against Abuse”