Announcing: OGIS’s First Report

We are very excited to announce the publication of OGIS’s first report, The First Year: Building Bridges Between FOIA Requesters and Federal Agencies.

ogis-report

This publication tells the story of how Director (and first OGIS staff member) Miriam Nisbet stood up a small office with a very big mandate: to improve the Freedom of Information Act process and resolve disputes between Federal agencies and FOIA requesters. The report provides a snapshot of a new Federal office that is figuring out how to do its work while doing its work.

While OGIS handled 391 cases in its first year — and the report provides information on those cases, including a number of revealing case studies — OGIS’s work went beyond resolving disputes. The report includes information on dispute resolution skills training provided by OGIS to agency FOIA professionals, best practices the office observed and distributed, collaborations with government agencies and NGOs, and much more.

We look forward to hearing your feedback on our first report. Please share your thoughts in the comments.