November 10, 2015 (Redwood City, California) - OpenGov and Innovate Your State today announced that five California counties - Kern, Sutter, Placer, Napa and Mendocino - have come forward as the first organizations to take advantage of grants offered by Innovate Your State to use the OpenGov platform for financial transparency and performance intelligence. With the addition of these organizations, there are now 17 California counties that have deployed, or are in the process of deploying, OpenGov to give over 10 million residents instant access to their county’s finances in an intuitive, digital format.
“Kern County is pleased to build on its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association with the adoption of the OpenGov financial transparency and reporting platform,” commented Jason Wiebe, Administrative Analyst, Kern County Administrative Office. “Kern County continues to be a leader in providing accurate, timely, and transparent financial data to the public and for internal analysis. The OpenGov platform fits perfectly with our goal of being a leader in open data, transparency, and citizen engagement.”
Key facts and figures:
- Five counties have taken advantage of the Innovate Your State grant program to cover their first year of service on the OpenGov platform.
- One in four California counties now use OpenGov.
- Once deployed, more than 10 million residents will have access to their county’s finances through OpenGov.
OpenGov’s web-based platform gives administrators the ability to share financial and performance data with anyone who needs it -- inside or outside their government. It allows staff, managers, department heads, and elected officials to quickly understand current budgets and actual expenditures, compare current and historical data across departments, understand progress to goals, and streamline the budgeting process. By unlocking this information, government staff are improving operational efficiency, improving spending power, and making better data-driven policy decisions. The OpenGov platform also enables public administrators to engage citizens and build trust through unprecedented insight into their government's finances.
“One in four California counties now use OpenGov to manage their financial and performance data,” said OpenGov Co-Founder and CEO Zac Bookman. “Because of this excellent opportunity to collaborate with Innovate Your State, five more California county governments have gained access to cutting-edge OpenGov technology, with many more right behind them.”
“The idea behind Innovate Your State’s Fix California Challenge was to find venture governance ideas that could fundamentally improve government,” said Tim Draper, founder of Innovate Your State. “The OpenGov platform advances our shared mission to make public administration more transparent, data-driven, and efficient. This is a fresh approach to the way citizens and county officials access and engage with government finance and performance data.”
Limited grant funds are still available, and interested counties should act soon. The first California counties that purchase the OpenGov platform and complete the reimbursement grant application will be eligible for a reimbursement grant from Innovate Your State for the first year of service. Counties wishing to learn more about the Innovate Your State OpenGov grant can get started by visitinghttp://info.opengov.com/innovate-your-state.
About OpenGov Inc.
OpenGov transforms the way the world analyzes and allocates public money. With more than 500 government customers across 44 states in a rapidly expanding network, OpenGov is the market leader in performance intelligence and financial transparency for government. OpenGov technology empowers administrators to make better policy decisions by measuring budget to actual expenditures, comparing data across departments and other governments, and streamlining the budgeting process. Founded in 2012 with headquarters in Silicon Valley, OpenGov works with leading governments of all sizes including Minneapolis, New Haven, and Beaufort, SC. Learn more atwww.opengov.com.
About Innovate Your State
Innovate Your State is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and encouraging public participation to fundamentally improve government. More information about the organization can be found at www.innovateyourstate.org.