For those interested civic engagement:

A White House (blogpost)url discussed "ExpertNet", a proposed public consultation tool (now open for public input, and not limited to experts).

Our commitment to openness means more than simply informing the American people about how decisions are made. It means recognizing that government does not have all the answers and that public officials need to draw on what citizens know. And, that’s why as of today I’m directing members of my Administration to find new ways of tapping the knowledge and experience of ordinary Americans… Because the way to solve the problems of our time as one nation is by involving the American people in the policies that affect their lives. The Basics The system would allow an official solicit expertise from the public in a four step process:

Setting up a topic with public consultation questions; Distributing questions to professional networks; Facilitating structured, online responses to those questions; and Synthesizing public input and returning feedback. White House Blog Post http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/08/designing-democracy-0 Draft Concept of "ExpertNet" http://expertnet.wikispaces.com/Original+Draft

The overall concepts and implementation details in the draft are refreshingly forward-looking: We are the solution. The feedback loop for open government is now taking shape. Join the discussion: http://expertnet.wikispaces.com/message/list/Original+Draft (note: each page has its own discussion thread)