GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Serve DC – The Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism

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 Serve DC – The Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism has and will continue to
develop and enhance transparency, public participation, and collaboration. In accordance
with Mayor’s Order 2014-170, this report addresses the following topics:
1)

Transparency
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Serve DC makes information regarding all funding opportunities available via
the agency website, serve.dc.gov, posts in the DC registry, and the Office of
Partnerships & Grant Services funding alert.
Serve DC posts all scheduled meetings and the subsequent meeting minutes of
the DC Commission for National & Community Service within the Board of
Ethics & Government Accountability’s website.

As an office within the Executive Office of the Mayor, Serve DC – The Mayor’s
Office on Volunteerism is working closely with the Office of the City
Administrator (OCA) and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) to
identify a significant number of datasets that OCA and OCTO expect to publish
online later this year. If no dataset from Serve DC – The Mayor’s Office on
Volunteerism is selected to be included in this 2014 release, we will continue to
work with OCA and OCTO to identify datasets appropriate to publish in 2015. In
the future, requirements for open data reporting will be provided by the Chief
Data Officer.
2)

Public Engagement and Participation
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Serve DC archives all resources and information about agency programs and
initiatives on the agency website.
Serve DC has taken major steps in 2014 to increase access to information
about government volunteer opportunities via the creation of NeighborGood,
the Districts volunteer opportunity search engine.
Serve DC has made information available on all AmeriCorps grant funded
organizations through serve.dc.gov and dcamericorps.org which is linked to
the agencies main website serve.dc.gov.
Serve DC actively utilizes social media via Twitter and Facebook to engage
the public in agency programs and initiatives.
As the District Government Agency dedicated to promoting volunteerism as a
sustainable solution to meeting community needs, Serve DC is consistently
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3)

engaged in efforts to involve the community in all agency programs and
initiatives through outreach activities and events.
Serve DC utilizes the DC Department of Health’s DC Responds
communication system to notify volunteers, partners, and programs of
important announcements and emergencies.

Collaboration
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In 2013 Serve DC Launched the District of Columbia Cities of Service Task
Force bringing together volunteer managers and program staff from across
District Government agencies to facilitate collaboration, communication, and
coordination around how District Government is leveraging volunteer and
pro bono services. These efforts continued throughout 2014.
In partnership with the DC Department of Health – Health Emergency
Preparedness Administration, Serve DC has launched the DC Vulnerable
Populations Community & Health Care Coalition, bringing together
government agencies, for profit, and not profit service providers to develop
plans and strategies for ensuring the safety and resilience of seniors, residents
with access and functional needs, and other vulnerable populations before,
during, and after a disaster or emergency.
In 2014 Serve DC launched partnerships with the DC Department of
Employment Services and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services to
promote volunteerism as a pathway to employment exposing youth and other
residents to careers within the emergency management and public safety
sector.
Serve DC convenes a monthly Service members, Veterans and Military
Families brown bag bringing together government agencies and non-profits
providing services to service members, veterans and military families in the
District of Columbia.

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