Welcome
Now, more than any time in recent history, government budgets have become the hot topic of conversation from the nightly news to the office water cooler. People are asking, “How much are we spending? What are we spending it on, and why?” The public wants to know which programs are being cut, which are being saved, whether taxes will be raised and if there might be a better way to govern. Many will turn to the Internet to find answers to these questions and to find out how they can get involved. They will look to government websites, online news outlets and nonprofit public interest and advocacy groups. Under the best circumstances, they quickly will find information in useful, readily understood formats on websites providing avenues for feedback and interaction. In most cases, however, they will encounter websites that are works-in-progress and are only just beginning to incorporate these features of online open government.
Historically, Texas has been a leader among states moving toward open government and transparency. The Comptroller’s office publishes state spending and contract information online and encourages local entities to do the same. Other state agencies also have financial information online and available to the public; although, the data can be difficult to locate and analyze.
Overall, we created this resource because we believe in the concept of a government that is both open and competent. Thus, our project explores the idea of open government from a slightly different perspective. Previous studies about online public financial transparency have focused on simply getting information up on the internet. We wanted to focus on the receiving end of government data – citizens, organizations, and advocacy groups because information is only transparent if ordinary people can find what they are looking for. Implementing systems to include the public in government processes signifies a shift in e-government objectives. In fact, it means moving from e-government, which is the online delivery of government services and information, to e-governance, which is direct online public engagement in government.