I want to share a bit of good news: yesterday the General Services Administration announced the inaugural members of an open government-focused federal advisory committee.

Transparency advocates (like me) have dreamed of a place where the public and government routinely interact to push forward open government. It’s getting close to reality. The first meeting of the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee, or OG FAC, is expected late October.

The committee is composed of sixteen members from civil society, the federal government, and state & local government. I’ll serve as chair.

On its first day, the Obama administration kicked off a series of open government efforts with his memo on transparency and open government. These efforts have had their ups and downs, but some aspects will soon transition into their fourth administration. Now there will be a government-sanctioned institution where this work can continue.

More information about the purpose of the committee is on the OG FAC website. The inaugural term focus is to “provide advice on the development of the 6th U.S. National Action Plan and federal open government policy and public engagement.” Support for the OG FAC will be provided by GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy, Open Government Secretariat.