Your Seat at the Table
Friday, December 5, 2008 04:28pm EST / Posted by Dan McSwain
http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/seat_at_the_table

In a memo released today, Obama-Biden Transition Project Co-chair John D. Podesta announced that all policy documents from official meetings with outside organizations will be publicly available for review and discussion on Change.gov.

This means we're inviting the American public to take a seat at the table and engage in a dialogue about these important issues and ideas -- at the same time members of our team review these documents themselves.

Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs Michael Strautmanis spoke with us and gave an overview of this unique program. Watch the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9xYOlxLK5M
1:26

Co-chair Podesta's memo to the Transition staff is a bold move towards opening the doors and ensuring access to government processes. Read the full memo here.
http://change.gov/page/-/open%20government/yourseatatthetable/SeatAtTheTable_memo.pdf

Talking face-to-face with advocates and experts is a vital part of the Transition. But in past transitions, meetings like these took place behind closed doors and lacked the public input and transparency we're working hard to provide.

Documents from meetings with these groups are available now. Check out our new Seat at the Table feature on Change.gov, dig in to materials we've provided, and let us know what you think.
http://change.gov/open_government/yourseatatthetable

President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden set up the Obama-Biden Transition Project to make sure their new administration is ready to hit the ground running on Inauguration Day, January 20th.

The Transition will work to develop details of the President-elect's policy agenda, help him choose senior administration staff, and review the current functioning of government agencies.

Barack Obama is committed to running the most open and transparent transition in history, and we hope you’ll visit our website often. For more information, please refer to the following links:

For updates from Obama-Biden Transition Project, including video of President-elect Obama’s weekly address, please click here: http://www.change.gov/newsroom/blog

To learn details about the Obama-Biden policy agenda and share your ideas, please click here: http://www.change.gov/agenda

For the latest news about the President-elect’s and Vice-President elect’s preparations to take office, please click here: http://www.change.gov/newsroom

We appreciate hearing from you and hope you will visit and share your thoughts. Although we may not be able to address each message individually, your input and the input of millions of other Americans will continue to guide President-elect Obama.

Again, thank you and we hope you will continue visiting our website.

Sincerely,

The Obama-Biden Transition Project