The new second draft of the U.S. Public Participation Playbook incorporates changes that were proposed from nearly 100 suggestions submitted after the first week of public comment, with more improvements to come. We still need your contributions for this groundbreaking new collaborative resource to measurably improve our participatory public services across government, and would like to take this opportunity to share what we have learned so far.
To start, let’s map out what the U.S. Public Participation Playbook is, how we’re building it to improve public participation with not just its content but the very process behind its design, and answer some common questions we received.
What is the scope of the U.S. Public Participation Playbook?
Many commentors requested a “working definition” of public participation, to better understand the context of the playbook. The White House National Action Plan on Open Government calls for the development of a resource that combines both best practices and suggested performance metrics for improving public participation in the federal government.
In reviewing the comments received, which are viewable in the first draft on Madison, we believe the definition provided by one commentor works well for this resource: “Public participation includes all the activities by which people’s concerns, needs, interests, and values are incorporated into decisions and actions on public issues.”
The new introduction to the playbook is designed to capture this broad scope, but like all sections of the playbook, we still have work to do.
What is a Playbook?
We looked to the example set by the U.S. Digital Services Playbook, and determined the format was useful for this new public participation resource. Our goal remains to develop resource that agencies can use to design and evaluate the effectiveness of their public participation efforts, including:
- High-level steps (called “plays”) that any public participation effort should consider
- Checklists for each play, outlining what to consider and activities that would ensure successful execution of the play
- Diverse case studies and resources managers can use to research the practical application of the checklists
- Suggested metrics that can be customized and used to evaluate their performance
What are the next steps for the Playbook comment period?
We are very excited about the energy around this resource, and are thrilled that we have received nearly 100 constructive comments via Madison, email and in-person dialogues. We will continue collecting initial recommendations and comments using the Madison platform through Dec. 17, 2014. After this initial period, we will produce the first “official” version of the playbook for distribution in early January.
In this draft of the Playbook, we have done our best to consider each of the comments we received to date. Some required discussion, while many were spot-on and just received a nod via “thumbs up.” Whether your ideas are visibly incorporated yet or not, rest assured, we’ve read each one of them and are working with them.
What is an “effective comment” on the Playbook?
Effective comments are “actionable,” meaning easy to place in context and evaluate for implementation. In the same way we look to refine data for better decision-making, the better you can shape your input for practical application, the easier it is for us to process and respond to.
More than just effective comments, we’re working to improve our standard for effective responses.
For example, private-sector mobile expert Sean McDonald of FrontlineSMS contributed nine suggestions addressing mobile development in public participation. In response, Jacob Parcell, MobileGov Community lead, responded to his comment on Madison, then incorporated the feedback into the most current draft. Eventually, we will want all collaborations in the resource that transparent as we improve the process, as illustrated:
We’re kicking the tires on how we can better report direct correlations between each comment and the actions they result in, and look forward to improving this capability.
What does the playbook need most for contributions right now?
As comments on Madison point out, before Dec. 17 we’d like to focus more on the case studies and resources used to illustrate the practical application of the play. Ideally, we aim for six diverse resources each—currently some have many more, which we need to pare down to the most effective.
Also, this week we’ve begun developing introductions to plays. Please take a look and help develop them into fuller representations.
What’s next for the draft playbook development process?
Dozens of federal managers, civil societies and other partners will continue to process suggestions as they are provided, as well as contribute their own insights and expertise. Today we release a new draft, and will release another one the following week that incorporates new feedback: three responsive public drafts before even the initial “formal” release.
After the formal release of the playbook in January, it doesn’t mean the end—this collaborative resource will be introduced for widespread evaluation, implementation, and more contribution based on lessons learned during this initial process. While the playbook is designed to fulfill the need outlined in the White House National Action Plan on Open Government, we already see the opportunity to build and share more, and look forward to discussing with you how we will move forward.
Who are the collaborators behind the U.S. Public Participation Playbook?
Part of designing collaboration into the DNA of the playbook is not just creating a resource you can see the value in, it’s creating a resource you can see yourself in. For example, in the federal government we now almost doubled the size of the working group to more than 60 innovators from across diverse mission areas and job fields. This week we’d like to recognize them—and next week with the release of the latest draft, we’d like to recognize the civil society organizations whose contributions and voices have helped make this process so productive.
U.S. Public Participation Playbook Working Group Members
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Women’s Health
Alison Lemon
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Alla Goldman
General Services Administration, DigitalGov Search
Ammie Farraj Feijoo
General Services Administration, Office of DigitalGov
Ashley Wichman
First Responder Network Authority
Bernetta Reese
Federal Communications Commission
Brittany Stevenson
Environmental Protection Agency
Bryant Crowe
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Charles Worthington
International Trade Administration
Chris Higginbotham
U.S. Coast Guard
Christopher Lagan
General Services Administration, sites.USA.gov
Coqui Aspiazu
Department of State, Consular Affairs
Corina Dubois
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Corinna Zarek
Navy Army Community Credit Union
Crystal Deleon
Department of Transportation
Daniel Morgan
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Danielle Brigida
National Library of Medicine
David Hale
Federal Communications Commission
Deanna Stephens
General Services Administration, Emerging Leaders Program
Daniel Kenny
Federal Communications Commission
Dr. David A. Bray
U.S. Peace Corps
Emily Dulcan
U.S. Global Change Research Program
Emily Therese Cloyd
General Services Administration, 18F
Eric Mill
General Services Administration, 18F
Gray Brooks
General Services Administration, Office of DigitalGov
Gwynne Kostin
U.S. Small Business Administration
Jack Bienko
General Services Administration, Office of DigitalGov
Jacob Parcell
Department of Commerce
Jacque Mason
Library of Congress
Jamie Stevenson
Environmental Protection Agency
Jay Davis
NASA
Jeanne Holm
General Services Administration, USA.gov
Jessica Milcetich
Department of State, Information Assurance Branch
Jody Bennett
General Services Administration, Office of DigitalGov
Justin Herman
Department of State, Office of Emergency Management
Kate E. Bitely
National Park Service
Kathleen Camarda (former employee)
Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy
Katia Albanese
Defense Commissary Agency
Kirsten O’Nell
National Parks Service
Laura Cohen
General Services Administration, GobiernoUSA.gov
Laura Godfrey
Department of Homeland Security
Lindsey Backhaus
U.S. Census Bureau
Logan Powell
U.S. Army, Conflict Resolution & Public Participation Center of Expertise
Maria Lantz
Defense Logistics Agency
Mason Lowery
Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy
Michael Reardon
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Michael Thomas
Smithsonian Institution
Miranda Gale
General Services Administration
Monica Fitzgerald
White House Office of Management and Budget
Nicholas Fraser
Department of Education
Nicole Callahan
Department of State, Consular Affairs
Nicole Stillwell
General Services Administration, 18F
Noah Kunin
Federal Aviation Administration
Paul Cianciolo
Federal Communications Commission
Priscilla Silva (former employee)
General Services Administration, Office of DigitalGov
Rachel Flagg
Department of State, Educational and Cultural Affairs
Rebecca Ramspott
General Services Administration, Data.gov
Rebecca Williams
Environmental Protection Agency
Robert Burchard
Department of Labor
Robin Ackerman
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Ryan Panchadsaram
Department of State, Consular Affairs
Sara Stealy
U.S. Geological Survey
Scott Horvath
National Institutes of Health
Scott Prince
National Defense University
Veronica Wendt
Justin Herman is the SocialGov Program lead for the General Services Administration and is managing the U.S. Public Participation Playbook project. For more information on this project and to learn how you can participate, please contact him via email.
