www.opengovernmentrecords.net

About OGR

 

Open Government Records is dedicated to examining novel ways of thinking about freedom of information legislation.

 

Why "novel"? Since freedom of information is so new in our cultural history and yet so far reaching, conventional wisdom may not anticipate what the right to access most government records means. By exploring the novelties created by freedom of information we may find important insights that rejuvenates conventional wisdom.

 

But isn't novelty a sort of immaturity? Yes and no.  We need to recognize that when it comes to thinking about our access rights we are already immature because we live in a culture that has not had access rights before.  Although people use freedom of information in meaningful ways, as a whole our culture still hasn't had enough time to integrate the exercise of access rights into itself. Rather than be ashamed of this immaturity, we need to grow through it. That means examining novel meanings rather than pretending we have freedom of information legislation all figured out.

 

As part of this maturation, we also need to cultivate a sense of irony towards our inherited cultural practices.  Some of our practices are nonsensical when we factor in FOI. For example, in an effort to mitigate against the repercussions of disclosing contentious information to journalist, parliamentarians, or the public, many governments assign orders for documents made through freedom of information with labels such as "sensitive" and then prepare press releases to buffer public criticism that might come from their distribution. However, with orders now self-labeled "sensitive", journalists and the public can simply order all previous FOIs that had been labeled "sensitive" thus actually making it easy to identifying contentious matters.

 

OGR's Charity

As a matter of the heartfelt charity, Open Government Records adopts any employee of government and public organizations who would like to think about how they can use their access rights to benefit their places of employment and public services they provide.

Most public servants will recognize that when it comes to freedom of information, "the only language sprecan and the only labour gefan" is of compliance with the legislation.  While business, media, parliament, organizations, and the general public are welcomed to use freedom of information, employees in the public sector itself would be given cold stares for speaking about how the public sector could itself use freedom of information to improve the public sector. Open Government Records tries to create spaces where public servants can enterain this question.

 

So Open Government Records welcomes public servants to this website! Stay for a long stretch or a short while.  While you are here, please enjoy some freedom of information music or browse the freedom of information library.

OGR's Dedication

Open Government Records is dedicated to Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Officers. You provide a new and important role in bringing democracies to life and deserve public recognition.

 

 

The Freedom of Information Medal of Service is awarded in recognition of freedom of information and protection of privacy officers working in our government and public institutions.

OGR's Mascot

The mascot of Open Government Records is the Elk.