The concepts of sunshine laws and open government have grown in prominence around the US in recent years. However, governments often have difficulty keeping up with changes and determining what works in terms of transparency and accountability. One of the oldest nonprofits focused on helping communities make sense of these shifts is the Sunlight Foundation. If you’re not familiar with Sunlight, it is a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make government more accountable to all. The GovEx team also works closely with Sunlight on our What Works Cities engagements focused on open data.
This week I had the chance to talk with Alex Howard from Sunlight to discuss how governments and communities can effectively and productively focus on transparency. At Sunlight, Alex is Senior Analyst focusing on advancing openness and accountability at all levels of government. Alex has also had an extensive career in data journalism and has a unique perspective on how government and communities can engage around data to build public trust.
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