The government has adopted a new philosophy (and one we’ve long rooted for): Transparency. In response to President Obama’s mission to make government more transparent, the Open Government Directive was established in December 2009.  Here are some of the sweeping goals, direct from a White House memo:

The three principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration form the cornerstone of an open government.  Transparency promotes accountability by providing the public with information about what the Government is doing.  Participation allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise so that their government can make policies with the benefit of information that is widely dispersed in society.

The Open Government Directive has four broad goals:

1) Publish government info online.

2) Improve the quality of government information.

3) Create and institutionalize a culture of open government.

4) Create an enabling policy framework for open government.

Pretty cool. So I know you’re probably thinking, “how does this affect me? Why should I care?”

Besides being an informed citizen, this Directive has multiple benefits for your business.  Read all about them at Business.gov, however, the most important benefit is the availability of raw government data.

This data can be manipulated to create meaningful new tools for small business owners. Already some tools have been created such as the Loans and Grants search on Business.gov, which gives businesses information on federal, state, and local financing programs for which they may qualify. The tool which makes this powerful resource possible is the underlying data provided with the new initiatives. Powerful stuff. Image thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/35034352455@N01/7486278/