Objectives of the IFB

Making the Federal Budget Accessible

We want American citizens to be able to gather all of the necessary information needed to see how much money was spent on a given initiative, how it was decided such funds would be spent, and who was involved in those decisions.

Concerned groups could track funding on a variety of topics including education, agriculture, medical spending, research and military spending.

Making it Easy to Track Federal Spending

Using the Web as our platform, we will empower everyone to track U.S. federal spending. With this information, we can influence a reduction in waste and misdirection of funds while improving the use of our tax dollars.

Outcomes include a more efficient and effective government process.

Delivering the Dream of an Illuminated Federal Budget

How We Will Do This

Develop a plan detailing the resources and tasks necessary to implement the project.
Find and coordinate diverse individuals such as legislators, journalists, politicians, computer technologists, business owners, academicians, scientists, students, social activists, etc.
Bring together the concerned individuals who are willing to commit to the project.
Implement the plan.

Developing the Technology to Support an Illuminated Federal Budget

The engine behind the IFB project will be a suite of online tools that will gather information from sources around the Internet. These tools will be:

Easy to use
Provide accurate data
Contain high-quality search capabilities
Able to gather information from multiple and varied sources such as:

Annotated, referenced, cited, and statistically analyzed data.
Personal and anecdotal opinions, used to consolidate and drive a public consensus.

Provided freely to the public, for use by anyone.

First Steps, Quick Wins

The project will start with one specific tool to give an early success. This will provide momentum. An early, small win helps stakeholders gain buy-in. They can then see the feasibility of the project as a whole.

Next, we tackle a second, harder tool. Success breeds more success and generates more enthusiasm and interest. The goal will be to engage more supporters for the project as they recognize the benefits.

Potential Uses

Custom applications could be developed commercially, to support and sustain our public work. The tool set could also be applied other forms of complex, embedded data, including legislation, law, patents, and so forth.