Category: Public Engagement

In our 2014 supplemental report, Setting Priorities: An Essential Step in Transforming Declassification, the PIDB advocated for a coordinated, government-wide approach to declassifying information based on those records most sought after and of most historical significance to the public.  To this end, we believe topic-based prioritization is a viable alternative to prioritizing records simply by … Continue reading Prioritization and the National Declassification Center

On behalf of the members of the Public Interest Declassification Board, I would like to congratulate Miriam Nisbet on the eve of her retirement from Federal  service.  Throughout her Federal career, she served with distinction as a tireless advocate for transparency and access to government records.  We first met Ms. Nisbet in her role as … Continue reading Retirement of Miriam Nisbet, Director of OGIS

On September 11-12, 2014, the PIDB traveled to College Station and Austin, Texas to see first-hand how the Presidential Libraries are providing access to their important holdings.  The PIDB would like to thank the Directors and staff at the George. H. W. Bush and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Libraries for hosting us.  We appreciated … Continue reading PIDB Visits Presidential Libraries and the Center for Content Understanding

On Friday, June 20, the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) held a congressional briefing on the Report to the President on Transforming the Security Classification System, which offered fourteen key recommendations on how to reform the security classification system to better reflect the digital age.  The need for increased transparency and improved public access to … Continue reading PIDB Holds Congressional Briefing on Transforming the Security Classification System

The members and staff of the Public Interest Declassification Board attended and participated in many events last week to commemorate Sunshine Week. We thank the public and representatives from civil society and open government advocacy groups, Government agencies, the Congress and all attendees who participated in Sunshine Week activities. The Board wishes to thank the … Continue reading What We Heard and Learned during Sunshine Week

The annual celebration of Sunshine Week reminds us of the need for greater transparency in government and greater public access to government information. As part of the initiative to promote freedom of information, we, the members of the Public Interest Declassification Board, renew our call on the need to transform our nation's security classification system. … Continue reading Commemorating Sunshine Week: More Sunshine Earlier

The PIDB still wants your suggested topics that you feel agencies should prioritize for declassification.  Beginning on January 27, 2014, the PIDB will begin compiling the responses and comments it received on this blog.  It will then use those ideas and report back to the public its conclusions and suggested next steps to assist the … Continue reading Final Call for Topics

We have already received many comments from our followers about what topics you would like to see declassified.  Today, we present you with a new  list of topics.  These topics all relate to records found at the Presidential Libraries. View the List Here:  Topics Related to the Presidential Libraries Like the other categories on our … Continue reading NEW PRIORITIZATION: Topics Related to the Presidential Libraries

We continue to receive comments and feedback on the topics posted on our blog.  We have a new list of general topics of interest to share with our followers.  This list contains topics of interest that do not fall squarely into one of the other categories we have featured on the blog. You can view … Continue reading NEW: GENERAL TOPICS FOR PRIORITIZATION

We thank you for your continued interest in prioritization and for the many comments from our followers we have received about what topics you would like to see declassified.  Today, we present you with a new list of topics that involve information classified as Formerly Restricted Data (FRD) information. View the List Here: Topics Re: … Continue reading PRIORITIZATION UPDATE: New Topics Re: Formerly Restricted Data (FRD) Information