U. professor seeks to incorporate public perspectives into national plan after federal committee acceptance

Suzanne Piotrowski, a professor at Rutgers—Newark's School of Public Affairs and Administration and director of the Transparency and Governance Center, was recently sworn into the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee, according to a press release. 

Piotrowski spoke with The Daily Targum about her appointment and the goals of the group. The 15-member committee is dedicated to bringing together a group of people who have expertise in open government practices and are intended to be representative of communities across the country, she said.

For example, she said some of the committee's members are from Arkansas, California and Maryland. The variety of their professional backgrounds is also advantageous to the committee's work.

"It's a mix of people who work for the federal government, people who work for private industry, academics, people who work for public interest groups, local governments (and) journalists," Piotrowski said.

While the committee convened for the first time in Washington, D.C., in October, members endured a lengthy application process and swearing-in that took place over approximately four months, she said.

"There was a formal application process, and it was a competitive pool to be chosen (from)," Piotrowski said. "I'm really quite honored to serve in the role."

Over the next three months, she said that the committee will meet virtually to begin working on the next U.S. Open Government National Action Plan.

She said members of the general public are encouraged to join these meetings, where they have the opportunity to ask questions about the ongoing action plan and provide feedback to revise it. Though she has spent her career researching transparency as it relates to the government at the local, state and federal levels, Piotrowski said there is still a substantial disconnect between the involvement of the government and the public.

"One of the key components of the Open Government Partnership is that these action plans are supposed to be co-created between the government and civil society in the country," Piotrowski said.

Ultimately, she said the formation of the committee will help in bridging the gap between these two groups as its members work to compose the next action plan.

Piotrowski said she anticipates completing multiple rounds of revisions, including a designated draft for public comment, before the action plan is formally considered complete, though the change in national leadership may impact this process.

"We're going to go through a presidential transition, and the federal agencies will have political appointees as their heads," she said. "They may be super excited about open government on day one, or they may have other initiatives."

Previously, National Action Plans that went into effect during the first administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump primarily considered the role of technology but did not strongly emphasize the openness of government, Piotrowski said.

While it is difficult to determine with certainty, she said she estimates the action plan will have a similar focus as he enters the presidential office again.

Essentially, throughout her three-year term with the committee, Piotrowski said she hopes to continue making progress, "to have better government, to increase good governance (and) to increase accountability."

The committee's next meeting will take place on December 11 and requires registration. The completed plan, which is expected to be released sometime in late 2025, is intended to have a flexible completion deadline of two years, according to Piotrowski.