On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed
into law The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), pledging
a renewed focus on open government
and transparency, and making it clear that in order for efforts
to succeed this renewed focus had to become a top priority at
each step of its execution.
To provide initial guidance, the White House released detailed
documents on Recovery Act transparency and reporting,
which broadens the focus beyond funding programs to
include details pertaining to how performance information is
communicated to stakeholders, and the means by which this
may be accomplished.