Gobbledygook

I like the idea of an initiative that would increase citizen participation in and feedback about policy-making. I hate the language that invariably accompanies such proposals. Instructions like "develop a high-level, interagency governance structure to oversee the implementation of the directive" don't actually mean a lot. Neither does "Take on traditional managerial resistance to public participation in agencies by designating a senior level champion."

There are real challenges here. Trying to find sensible channels for public feedback and integrating that feedback into the decision-making process isn't necessarily easy, and will add to people's workloads. Adding layers of public comment erodes management's power, and that's something that people will have to get comfortable with. But adding a high-level official whose job it is to cheerlead for public comment, or creating a panel to oversee how folks integrate public feedback, doesn't actually solve those very practical problems. And couching them in management-speak, sadly, isn't a very good place to start.