A few weeks ago, we gave you an update on the number of agencies that have taken steps towards identifying records or categories of records that should be proactively disclosed to the public. This week, we are sharing a call from members of the 2016-2018 FOIA Advisory Committee for your ideas on what records agencies should routinely post on their website in a proactive manner.
Both the 2014- 2016 term and 2016-2018 term of the FOIA Advisory Committee created subcommittees to study issues related to proactive disclosures and to develop recommendations related to the topic. During the 2014-2016 term, the subcommittee conducted research into how agencies can use their FOIA logs to help determine the types of records that the public wants disclosed, and examined the effect of accessibility requirements on the ability of agencies to post records released under FOIA. During the current term, the Proactive Disclosures and Accessibility Subcommittee has continued to explore these topics and has begun to develop specific recommendations for agencies.
One of the strategies under consideration by the Subcommittee is to develop a list of records – or categories of records – that may be good candidates for proactive disclosure. Agencies can then use this list as a guide as they examine what records they generate and make decisions about what types or categories of records to post on their website. As part of this effort, the Subcommittee wants to hear from You!
Do you have ideas for documents, sets of documents, data, databases, or other records that agencies should endeavor to disclose proactively? The Subcommittee would like to consider as wide a range of ideas as possible, and is gathering suggestions from both within and outside of government. After gathering your feedback, the Subcommittee will consider all of the ideas generated and develop a consensus around a list of recommended targets for proactive disclosure.
Submit your ideas, regardless of scope or specificity, directly to foia-advisory-committee@nara.gov no later than August 7, 2017 to be a part of this exciting effort!
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