A Note from the Collins Center

In response to the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, the Obama administration in 2009 began injecting billions of dollars into the U.S. economy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). As it now stands, expenditures for what is commonly known as "stimulus spending" are expected to reach $825 billion in total. The administration promised an open and transparent process and to this end the federal government created recovery.gov to ensure the public has access to information about stimulus spending.

States that accept stimulus money are legally bound to ensure an open and transparent process. Many states, including Florida, created websites to inform the public about state and local stimulus spending. Early in 2011, citing low web traffic and the availability of Florida spending data on the federal government's website, the state greatly reduced the amount of information it posted to its website, flarecovery.com.

With a grant from the Open Society Foundations, and in partnership with the nonprofit Good Jobs First, the Collins Center is reviving the reports that previously appeared on the state's website and making the information available to the public. Don Winstead, former head of Florida's Office of Economic Recovery, will compile the quarterly reports and provide analysis on stimulus spending as the information is made available by the federal government.

These compilations make adjustments for reporting errors in the federal system and provide summaries by state agency and by federal agency that are not readily available on the federal website. In addition, the compilations track information on federal Recovery Act funds for entitlement programs like Food Stamps, Medicaid and Unemployment Compensation that are not included in the maps on the federal site. We believe these reports provide a more comprehensive, accurate and "Florida-centered” reflection of the Recovery Act funds coming to our state.

Through the Florida Transparency Project, the Collins Center is committed to providing an easy-to-access resource for the public in the interest of both citizen education of ARRA spending as well as government accountability. Additionally, the Collins Center will join with other foundations and organizations devoted to open government to analyze the methods and practices in place to assure government is conducted in the open.

The Collins Center began analyzing stimulus spending in 2010, producing reports on stimulus spending on the state’s investment in infrastructure and on health care. A report on ARRA’s spending in education in Florida is forthcoming. These reports and other resources, including discussion forums and blogs, can be found in this site. This space is provided with a belief that the best decisions made by government are those made in the presence of an informed public.