Study Assesses the Success of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act

Web-based technologies have changed the landscape for county officials who are responsible for providing access to government information. As more and more county government data is becoming available online, counties must also confront the challenges of online documents. Besides the traditional staffing and cost issues, counties must address technology infrastructure, document preservation, security and privacy concerns, while managing user expectations.

As reported by Streamlink Software’s blog, a new report reveals the federal government’s issues with regard to agency implementation of transparency policies and the accuracy of online data sharing.

In August 2014, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on government transparency titled, Data Transparency: Oversight Needed to Address Underreporting and Inconsistencies on Federal Award Website. GAO conducted this study—and released the subsequent report—in an effort to assess the success of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (enacted in 2006), which established USASpending.gov. The study set out to determine the extent to which agencies report required award data and the accuracy of the website.

Here are three key findings from the report:

  1. Gaps Exist Between OMB Guidance and Agency Execution.
  2. Reporting is Done in Parts, Not as a Whole.
  3. USASpending.gov Data is Inconsistent.

For more information on federal open government implementation, read the full article from Streamlink, or read the GAO report online.  To join in a discussion on open government practices in Maryland’s counties, attend the Maryland Association of Counties’ upcoming educational session, Living in a Glass House: Transparency and Data Management for County Governments, Thursday, January 8, 2015 at our Winter Conference in Cambridge, Maryland.

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference:

Questions? Contact Meetings & Events Director Virginia White.