GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
OFFICE ON ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER AFFAIRS

 

Open Government Report 2014
 

To institutionalize a culture of transparent and open government, accountability, and to expand
opportunities for resident participation and collaboration, this report describes how the Office on
Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OAPIA) has and will continue to develop and enhance
transparency, public participation, and collaboration. In accordance with Mayor’s Order 2014170, this report addresses the following topics: Transparency, Public Engagement and
Participation, and Collaboration.

Transparency

1. In accordance with the Mayor’s Order 2014-170, OAPIA has taken steps to become more
transparent. OAPIA shares information with the public through various methods. In
particular, OAPIA regularly updates the agency’s website (http://apia.dc.gov) with new and
relevant information for the public; information including, but not limited to:
• Census reports on the DC Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community
• Newsletters, press releases, special announcements, grant announcements, event
photos
• Translated materials (e.g. emergency messages)
• Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (CAPIA) meeting announcements
and publication of related documents.
OAPIA grant funding opportunities and CAPIA meeting announcements are also accessible
to the public through the District of Columbia Register and Board of Ethics and Government
Accountability (BEGA) website.
Furthermore, OAPIA distributes information and informs the public about the agency via
internet protocol suites, including, but not limited to an online listserv and the use of social
media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.
Additionally, OAPIA keeps the public informed through traditional methods (e.g. community
based organizations, print materials, phone banking, door-to-door outreach) to ensure that
individuals of all ages, including those with language and cultural barriers, are engaged.

2. OAPIA meets its obligations pursuant to the District’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
by taking the following steps in response to FOIA requests:
• OAPIA directs all FOIA requests to the agency’s FOIA officer.
• The FOIA officer reviews the requests and researches for requested information, if
necessary. The FOIA officer responds to the FOIA request within 15 business days.
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FOIA procedures: http://dc.gov/page/freedom-information-act-foia.
FOIA materials specific to OAPIA: http://apia.dc.gov/page/foia-requests-apia.

OAPIA meets its obligations pursuant to the Open Meeting Act by takes the following steps
in informing the public about Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (CAPIA)
meetings:
• All regularly scheduled meetings are published in the District of Columbia Register.
• If there is a special or emergency meeting, a public notice is provided 48 hours or two
business days (whichever is greater) in advance of the meeting.
• A notice includes the date, time, and location of the meeting and the planned agenda.
• Open Meetings Act: http://www.bega-dc.gov/open-meetings-act.

3. OAPIA currently archives CAPIA meetings through the posting of meeting minutes and
correspondence electronically on the agency website at http://apia.dc.gov/page/commissionapi-affairs. Additionally, CAPIA meetings are currently being held in the OAPIA conference
room, which is equipped with a webcam, allowing the commission the option to webcast live
future meetings to the public.

4. OAPIA will take the following steps to increase public access to information and make more
of its data available to the public:
• Constantly remind the public that the best way to access OAPIA information would
be to access the agency website, sign up to receive electronic agency newsletters,
and/or visit the social media pages.
• Remind the public that OAPIA publishes its data in the indices and in its testimony to
the District Council, both of which are public documents and available online at
District government websites.
• Utilize the assistance of community-based organizations and ethnic media partners in
making agency information more accessible to the public.
• Inform the public of agency services through the use of online blogs and traditional
outreach (e.g. posters, flyers, mail).

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Public Engagement and Participation

5. OAPIA has taken steps to enhance or expand opportunities for the public to participate in
agency decision-making. OAPIA shares information and resources to keep the public
properly informed by maintaining an online presence.
OAPIA utilizes social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), an online listserv, and direct
emails to share information and resources. Additionally, OAPIA sends information about
OAPIA performance hearings and budget hearings and instructions on how to testify to
community leaders and stakeholders via email.
OAPIA also has information published on the agency website and on other District
government websites:
• OAPIA’s annual report: http://apia.dc.gov/page/annual-report.
• OAPIA’s indices: http://apia.dc.gov/publication/oapia-indices-2013.
• Individuals can submit inquiries through the “Ask the Director” form:
http://app.dc.gov/apps/about.asp?page=atd&type=dsf&referrer=[$DSF_SERVER_N
AME$]&agency_id=1056&apiaNav=|31461|.
• OAPIA’s performance plan is published on the Office of the City Administrator’s
website: http://oca.dc.gov/node/160652.
OAPIA also conducts outreach offline to cater to non-internet users and:
• Conducts phone banking and in-person outreach.
• Accepts calls or visits to OAPIA’s office any time during regular business hours,
Monday to Friday, from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm.
• Responds to email correspondence within 24 hours or the next business day and
written correspondence will receive a response postmarked within 48 hours or the
next business day.
• Informs the public and gathers feedback from the public on current and upcoming
OAPIA programs, services, and overall agency performance through the use of
community meetings and public surveys.
• Informs the public of the agency’s activities through partnerships with community
partners, ethnic media partners, and other District government agencies. In particular,
OAPIA issues press advisories and press releases to ethnic media partners, and invites
them to report on such items in-person.

6. OAPIA does not issue any proposed rules and regulations, but provides available information
to the public upon request and encourages the public to visit http://dcregs.dc.gov.

7. OAPIA identifies stakeholders by conducting direct outreach activities and working with
community-based organizations (CBOs) and partners to gather community input. OAPIA
engages the AAPI community at community meetings and events and through agency
activities. OAPIA invites the participation of these stakeholders by informing them through
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online engagement, the agency’s website, the agency’s listserv, and the use of social media,
and through direct engagement through phone banking, door to door outreach, and
partnerships with ethnic media and CBOs.

8. OAPIA will improve public engagement and participation online by increase the use of
English and in-language social media by having more updates and targeted engagement
towards specific groups (e.g. youth, LEPs, non-LEPs). And utilize in-language email lists to
target groups that may not use social media nor visit the agency website.
OAPIA will increase direct public engagement efforts involving traditional methods of
information distribution (e.g. print material, door-to-door outreach, phone calls) to ensure
that all individuals of all ages, including those with language and cultural barriers, are
involved.

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Collaboration

9. OAPIA enhances and expands collaboration among departments and other governmental
agencies, whenever applicable/possible. OAPIA utilizes partnerships with departments and
other government agencies to better:
• Promote programs, services, and job opportunities to the Asian American and Pacific
Islander (AAPI) community and general public.
o Traditional outreach (e.g. events, workshops, community meetings, door-todoor outreach).
o Online outreach (e.g. weekly community updates to the listserv, website
updates, and social media postings).
• Bring a wider range of services and government information to the AAPI community
through formal and direct Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreements and
working partnerships.
• Share District government agency resources and equipment for OAPIA functions and
events.
• Receive assistance in resolving AAPI constituent cases in which a particular District
government agency is the subject matter expert.
• Ensure that AAPI community members receive timely access to District government
services by connecting them with the appropriate point of contact.
OAPIA provides assistance to other agencies in implementing the Language Access Act of
2004 to increase their capacity to serve linguistically and culturally isolated AAPI
community members through data collection, outreach, personnel hiring, cultural
competency, and technical assistance:
• OAPIA sends available data and resources about the AAPI community to District
government agency Language Access Coordinators.
• Recommendations are provided by OAPIA on identifying top AAPI community
issues.
• OAPIA engages in cultural sensitivity training with other District government
agencies.
• OAPIA works with other agencies in developing language access policies and in
developing their biennial language access plans.
o This begins with developing a language access work plan based on a survey about
the previous year and what agencies would like to see OAPIA support them in for
the upcoming year.
o Once a work plan is established, OAPIA distributes it to the agencies and works
on the joint and individual projects throughout the year – this evaluation/survey is
then repeated at the end of the year.
• The recent support OAPIA provided to assist other agencies regarding language
access can be found on the agency website in the form of reports and resources at
http://apia.dc.gov/page/resources-agencies.
• OAPIA also provides quality control services for other governmental agencies as it
pertains to document translation on a case by case basis.

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10. Among the public, and non-profit and private entities, OAPIA engages in partnerships with
community-based organizations, community leaders, and community stakeholders. OAPIA
utilizes partnerships with these entities to better:
• Identify and address key community concerns and issues.
• Plan and promote community engagement activities and events that reach a wider
audience, such as the Hate Crime Bias Task Force and Crime Victim Assistance
Partnerships.
• Disseminate Asian language information on government programs and services to the
community, particularly amongst ethnic media partners.
• Recruit office interns that support the agency’s mission to support and engage the
community.
• Recruit speakers, guests, and other resources for OAPIA functions and events.
• Recruit bilingual and general volunteers for OAPIA functions and events, particularly
amongst youth and young professional organizations.
• Resolve cases involving non-governmental services or cases that fall outside the
scope of government.
OAPIA seeks in-kind donations for agency programs from these entities and submits a
donation application form first to the Office of Partnerships and Grants (OPGS) and receives
their approval before soliciting donations. Once approved, OAPIA requires donors to sign a
donation agreement form and submits the form to OPGS for record keeping purposes.
Additionally, OAPIA annually awards funding in the form of grants to eligible communitybased organizations (CBOs) providing direct services to the District’s AAPI community.
• The community grants support CBOs in increasing their capacity to provide high
level, supplemental services to the AAPI population.
• OAPIA also works with these CBOs to improve the sustainability of the organizations
to reduce their dependence on government funds and to increase their ability to
provide a high level of services on their own.
• More information on grants: http://apia.dc.gov/service/oapia-community-grants.

11. OAPIA will take the following steps to improve collaboration with government agencies,
public, private, and non-profit entities. Overall, OAPIA will engage with governmental
agencies and private entities to gauge how to strengthen relationships and to maximize the
effectiveness of serving the community, while reducing costs. Specifically, OAPIA intends
to:
• Conduct stakeholder meetings and discussion on a more frequent basis.
• Explore the possibility of conducting an end of the year survey with community
leaders and stakeholders on OAPIA services and soliciting suggestions on ideas for
collaboration in the future.
• Allow for other avenues of soliciting feedback (e.g. online surveys). Currently,
OAPIA collects input and feedback on agency services and future areas of
engagement. This helps all parties involved to identify potential collaborative projects
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and mutual interests which will benefit the AAPI community, and thereby improve
existing programs and services, and increase capacity.
Among government agencies, OAPIA will:
• Focus on language access by first examining their biennial language access plans and
targeting two main areas of data and outreach.
• Explore methods to make data even more accessible to obtain, and in processing and
understanding of the data.
• Identify events and areas where there can be room for collaboration and thus involve
other governmental agencies.
• Identify the resources needed and expand the informal partnerships for OAPIA
agency events that may not be accompanied with a MOU, but rather through
increased correspondence.
Among non-profits, OAPIA will:
• Examine with regards to grants, capacity building resources offered by the District.
• Identify external resources and compile them for use by nonprofit stakeholders.
• Explore methods of developing resources with nonprofit stakeholders that will
increase their capacity to serve District residents and increase their sustainability.
• Allocate funding that nonprofits can use for capacity building. OAPIA will work
together to identify areas and programs that nonprofits can take advantage of that are
relevant to their organization.

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