This week, after a year in the works, OGIS launched our new website and case management system, the OGIS Access System (OAS). Our excitement over the completion of this process isn’t just sky high — we’re literally in the cloud. The new OAS will manage more effectively and efficiently the requests for assistance that FOIA … Continue reading OGIS on ‘Cloud Nine’
When a requester wants access to records that are classified, he or she can choose to ask an agency to undergo Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) of those documents rather than filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. MDR requests allow the agency to give records a fresh look to see whether they might be … Continue reading Demystifying Declassification
The National Archives and Records Administration is home to some 10 billion records. Wrapping your mind around 1 followed by 10 zeroes can be a challenge, and so can figuring out whether and how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applies to those records. OGIS is here to help. While it’s difficult to apply a … Continue reading Making Heads or Tails of Archives’ Records
If you’ve been a FOIA professional long enough, you’ve been papered. It makes one feel like the homeowner who discovers a toilet-papered yard the morning after Halloween – all trick, no treat. For FOIA professionals who haven’t been papered, here’s how it works: a requester will flood email inboxes, mail boxes and yes, even fax … Continue reading No Treat for Papering Agencies
Coinciding nicely with the recent convening of the Open Government Partnership, a global effort to make governments more transparent, effective and accountable, OGIS Director Miriam Nisbet is privileged to have traveled to China recently to meet with government officials and university faculty and students in conjunction with Yale Law School’s China Law Center. The context … Continue reading Reaching Out
When Elvis sang “Twenty Days and Twenty Nights” he didn’t have FOIA in mind. But the title refrain is sure to spark many in the FOIA community to think about the statutory requirement that agencies respond to requests within 20 business days (5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)). It’s a topic that has many OGIS requester customers … Continue reading Twenty days … or not
We here at OGIS were so busy earlier in September that we missed a big one: OGIS’s second birthday. That’s saying something for a team that includes some talented bakers and chocolate aficionados. Two years ago, OGIS Director Miriam Nisbet walked into an empty office with a big congressional mandate: offer mediation services to resolve … Continue reading Happy (Belated) Birthday OGIS!
OGIS’s outreach is on a roll! This week OGIS staff presented twice to audiences of FOIA requesters as part of the National Archives’ “Know Your Records” series. This was a great opportunity to hear from those in the field – most of whom are not sophisticated FOIA requesters -- about their FOIA concerns. While this … Continue reading Avoiding Common FOIA Pitfalls
For over a year now, we at OGIS have regularly presented dispute resolution skills training sessions to FOIA professionals at various agencies. It’s been a fun, exciting effort that has given us an opportunity to meet FOIA professionals from all across the government. Unfortunately -- with the exception of the few sessions we presented at … Continue reading OGIS Reaches Out – Way Out
FOIA isn’t free, we all know that. The Federal government’s estimated spending on FOIA in 2010 was approximately $416 million. Usually, an agency will process its own FOIA requests by searching for, retrieving and reviewing records. But when an agency has to ask a contractor or even another agency to assist with a request, and … Continue reading Paying the FOIA bills
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