About
Us

The Open Government Directive is an exciting opportunity to transform the relationship between the American people and their federal government. Open Government Directions will be a unique space to consider how federal agencies can best reach President Obama’s goal of creating a more transparent, participatory and collaborative government. We will analyze new trends, assess open government progress, and discuss best practices from which agencies can learn.

Open Government Directions is a joint project of AmericaSpeaks and Ascentum, two international leaders in the fields of public deliberation and online engagement.

AmericaSpeaks is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1995 to respond to the increasing disconnect between the American people and their government. Over the past 15 years, AmericaSpeaks has engaged more than 150,000 people in large-scale deliberations on important policy issues, like rebuilding the World Trade Center after 9/11, finding common ground on health care reform proposals, developing municipal budgets, and creating a recovery plan for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Our work has demonstrated that average citizens do have the ability to understand complex policy issues and make reasonable judgments about how to resolve them.

Since its inception, AmericaSpeaks has experimented with the integration of new technologies with authentic public deliberation. AmericaSpeaks has integrated keypad polling, groupware computers, webcasting and satellite video teleconferencing with facilitated discussions to convene some of the largest public deliberations ever conducted in the United States. AmericaSpeaks has also convened online deliberations on a wide array of issues, including health privacy and information-technology, social security reform, land-use redevelopment, economic development and autism policy.

Contact AmericaSpeaks to learn more about our work.

Ascentum is an innovative professional services firm that employs a variety of integrated online and in-person tools, techniques and technologies based on the philosophy of informed participation. Through a flexible, comprehensive approach to knowledge gathering, Ascentum reveals the ideas, perspectives and values that empower public, private and not-for-profit clients to make sustainable decisions on complex issues.

At the heart of Ascentum’s public participation methodology is a deep appreciation for informed participation and the conviction that people must be at the centre of public participation process.  Informed participation is an enriched knowledge gathering process.  It taps into people’s collective experience, values, knowledge and common sense by providing them with an opportunity to consider multiple facets and implications of a given issue. Social media has now changed the way that organizations interact with their clients, stakeholders and the public at large.  Ascentum has been a leader in assisting government organizations navigate through the hype of social media to put social media to work for them.

Contact Ascentum to learn more about our work.