Tracking Change provides a platform for advocacy groups and concerned citizens to get involved in the policymaking process.  By working together, we can turn hope into policies and programs that address issues of importance to the African American community.  The issues include broadband deployment and adoption, and racial disparities in employment, contracting opportunities and access to capital. 

 

Tracking Change is about collaborating to ensure African Americans’ interests are represented “in the midst of our greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.”  It is also about transparency and accountability.

 

In an interview with Black Enterprise, President Obama said:

 

We want to make sure that we have an independent board that is providing transparency, accountability and

oversight for this process before the money goes back out the door and while the money is being spent.  We’re

also going to set up a website called Recovery.gov that will provide people with means of accessing the White

House to report back on how this money is being impacted in the community.  People are going to be able to

track who is getting the money, how it’s being spent and how many jobs are being created in particular

communities around the country. We think it’s very important that this is a completely open process. This can

lay the framework for how we proceed on a whole host of other projects in the future in a way that builds trust in our government.

 

Infrastructure spending decisions will be made at the state and local levels.  At the Thinking Big, Thinking Forward conference, Nobel Laureate in Economics and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman observed:

 

We don’t want the whole thing to turn into the Boston Big Dig.  But that’s not likely because that’s not where

we are right now.

 

And where we are is an environment in which citizens demand transparency and accountability in government.  In addition to long-established groups like OMB Watch, there are citizen-powered watchdogs, including Stimulus Watch and ShovelWatch.  Tracking Change is a member of the New York State Stimulus Oversight Working Group.

 

A survey commissioned by the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery found:

 

Voters express strong support for reforms to make the economic recovery package more accountable to the public.

They want full and open reporting on how the recovery money is spent, with voters of all political stripes strongly

supporting the creation of web-based tracking and reporting requirements—at both the federal and the state

level—to ensure federal money is effectively spent and has a positive impact on the economy.

 

Technology and Civic Engagement

President Obama embraced social networks and social media to bring change to America.  He is committed to “changing the way Americans engage with their government.”

 

In a blog post, Macon Phillips, White House Director of New Media, wrote:

 

Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that.

 

African American organizations must embrace social media to more effectively advocate on behalf of their constituents.  More to the point, if an organization is not in the online policymaking space, it may be a player but it’s not in the game.

 

In these unpredictable economic times, we must do more with less.  Social media use the “wisdom of crowds” to organize, create, edit, comment and share content.

 

Tracking Change provides a platform for advocacy groups to build a knowledgebase and crowdsource content such as ideas to promote an equitable economic recovery, congressional testimony and comments on Federal regulations.  By harnessing the power of social media and crowdsourcing transparency, we can bring about the change we seek.

 

Why a Wiki

The old way of doing business in Washington is over.  In the Obama administration, policymaking will be transparent, collaborative and participatory.  

 

On his first full day in office, President Obama signed an executive order imposing strict limits on lobbyists.  The economic stimulus plan metrics and Treasury Department’s rules are “designed to limit the influence of lobbyists and special interests.”

 

Tracking Change enables concerned citizens to track and measure progress in reducing black unemployment and expanding opportunities for minority-owned businesses.  Together we can make push for change and make it happen.