Category: Ombudsman

FOIA Advisory Committee Meets on December 10

by kmitchell, posted in FOIA Advisory Committee, National Archives and Records Administration, OGIS events, Ombudsman

The following post is from Kimberlee Ried of NARA’s Museum Programs Division who is detailed to OGIS to assist with FOIA Advisory Committee work.  The next meeting of the 2020-2022 term of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee is on Thursday, December 10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET.  This virtual meeting … Continue reading FOIA Advisory Committee Meets on December 10

FOIA Advisory Committee Organizes into Four Subcommittees

by cmcguire, posted in FOIA Advisory Committee, Ombudsman

The following post is from Kimberlee Ried of NARA’s Museum Programs Division who is detailed to OGIS with FOIA Advisory Committee work.  In its first meeting of the 2020-2022 term, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee drew from a presentation by the Chief FOIA Officers Council Technology Committee and ideas from previous Advisory … Continue reading FOIA Advisory Committee Organizes into Four Subcommittees

Chief FOIA Officers Council: Upcoming Virtual Meeting & a New Officer for DHS

by cmcguire, posted in National Archives and Records Administration, OGIS events, Ombudsman

There is still time to register for the upcoming Chief FOIA Officers Council meeting, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on October 14, 2020. Please register using Eventbrite; we will follow up with Webex instructions. We will also live stream the meeting on the National Archives’ YouTube channel for those who wish … Continue reading Chief FOIA Officers Council: Upcoming Virtual Meeting & a New Officer for DHS

OGIS Publishes Issue Assessment on FOIA Performance Measures for Non-FOIA Professionals

by cmcguire, posted in OGIS's Reports, Ombudsman

 This post was written by Brittany Parris, an Archivist with the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, who conducted the assessment while on temporary assignment to OGIS as part of the National Archives and Records Administration Cross-training Program. We are happy to share our latest assessment, which examines FOIA performance measures for non-FOIA … Continue reading OGIS Publishes Issue Assessment on FOIA Performance Measures for Non-FOIA Professionals

UNESCO and ICIC Celebrate International Day for Universal Access to Information

by cmcguire, posted in FOIA around the world, Ombudsman

In observance of International Day for Universal Access to Information, two international access organizations are co-hosting a webinar from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT on September 29, 2020, to discuss best practices in access to information amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Register for the webinar here. The United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) … Continue reading UNESCO and ICIC Celebrate International Day for Universal Access to Information

Recap: Recent OGIS/CDC Webinar on Requests for COVID-19 Records

by US National Archives, posted in Customer service, OGIS events, Ombudsman, Training

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted agency FOIA programs in various ways– some of which we have discussed previously in this space, and others that were addressed in recent Department of Justice Office of Information Policy guidance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has seen a staggering increase in its FOIA caseload in the … Continue reading Recap: Recent OGIS/CDC Webinar on Requests for COVID-19 Records

OGIS Publishes Results of COVID-19 FOIA Website Review

by cmcguire, posted in Customer service, OGIS's Reports, Ombudsman

Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) websites are more likely than not to be silent on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting agency FOIA processing. A majority of federal FOIA websites – 62.6 percent – reviewed by the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) in May and early June do not alert requesters to changes … Continue reading OGIS Publishes Results of COVID-19 FOIA Website Review

FOIA Advisory Committee Meets Virtually May 1

by cmcguire, posted in FOIA Advisory Committee, Ombudsman

  The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee meets Friday May 1 and you are invited to join us — virtually! The Committee will discuss its report and consider recommendations from the Vision and Time/Volume subcommittees. The virtual meeting, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., is open to the public. Unlike previous FOIA Advisory … Continue reading FOIA Advisory Committee Meets Virtually May 1

Statement of the International Conference of Information Commissioners: “Access to Information in the context of a global pandemic”

by cmcguire, posted in FOIA around the world, Government information, Ombudsman

The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic brings unprecedented challenges for our society, both nationally and globally. The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) has joined over three dozen of its colleagues worldwide to support the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) in its statement acknowledging the challenges public authorities face in the current pandemic … Continue reading Statement of the International Conference of Information Commissioners: “Access to Information in the context of a global pandemic”