FDA creates info-sharing task force
A new transparency task force at the Food and Drug Administration will recommend ways to share information with the public.
Food and Drug Administration officials are forming an internal task force to develop recommendations for making information about FDA activities and decisions readily available to the public, according to an announcement on the agency’s Web site.
FDA officials said they are creating the task force in response to President Barack Obama’s request for agencies to use new technologies to share information about operations and decisions online. The task force is also a response to the administration’s request to solicit input and feedback to identify information of the greatest use to the public, according to the announcement.
The task force will seek the public’s input on issues related to transparency and recommend ways the agency can better explain its operations, activities, processes and decision-making, FDA officials said.
The group will also attempt to identify information FDA should provide about specific agency operations, including enforcement actions, recalls and product approvals.
The task force will identify the internal and external barriers to providing useful and understandable information about FDA, and its members will identify appropriate tools and technologies the agency can use to share that information.
The FDA announcement did not include information on who will serve on the task force or when the group would begin working.