April Showers Bring FOIA Meetings

Mark your calendars for two upcoming events! Please join us on April 7, 2022 as Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee members meet to discuss and vote on draft subcommittee recommendations.  The virtual meeting starts at 10 a.m. ET on April 7. If you wish to speak during the public comment period of the … Continue reading April Showers Bring FOIA Meetings

NexGen FOIA Tech Showcase Wrap-up

On February 9th and 10th, 18 private-sector vendors convened virtually for the NexGen FOIA Tech Showcase. This event was held thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Technology Committee of the Chief FOIA Officers Council (CFO), the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Office of Information … Continue reading NexGen FOIA Tech Showcase Wrap-up

Sunshine Month 2022: Mark Your Calendars!

Please save the dates for two FOIA events in March, including Sunshine Week at the National Archives on March 14!  FOIA Advisory Committee Meeting, Thursday, March 10, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET) The FOIA Advisory Committee meets virtually to discuss recommendations and best practices from its four subcommittees: Classification, Legislation, Process, and Technology. The … Continue reading Sunshine Month 2022: Mark Your Calendars!

Thinking About OGIS’s Work: An Academic Perspective

Editor’s note: this blog post was written by Gbemende Johnson, an Associate Professor of Government at Hamilton College. Her research areas include executive-judicial relations, government transparency, and race and politics. She received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 2012.  During the fall of 2021, I worked with the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) as … Continue reading Thinking About OGIS’s Work: An Academic Perspective

Chief FOIA Officers Council Co-chairs Seek Requester Input

Attention Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesters! The co-chairs of the Chief FOIA Officers Council will be available to listen to your comments about and experiences with the FOIA process from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday February 2, 2022. Please join Alina M. Semo and Bobak Talebian, the directors of the Office … Continue reading Chief FOIA Officers Council Co-chairs Seek Requester Input

FOIA Technology Showcase: Request for Information Published on SAM.gov!

NexGen FOIA Tech Showcase Set for February Are you interested in showcasing your company’s FOIA technology to an audience of FOIA professionals? The Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Council’s Technology Committee, in conjunction with The Office of Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of … Continue reading FOIA Technology Showcase: Request for Information Published on SAM.gov!

Register now for the Chief FOIA Officers Council Meeting!

There is still time to register for the upcoming Chief Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officers Council meeting, which takes place virtually from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, November 17. The meeting is open to Chief FOIA Officers, FOIA professionals and the public. We invite you to either watch the livestream of … Continue reading Register now for the Chief FOIA Officers Council Meeting!

New Paper Outlines Best Practices for Processing Video Records

If the government produces a record, requesters will want it. That is according to a new paper published by the Video Redaction Working Group of the Chief FOIA Officers Council's Technology Committee, which describes ways that agencies can meet this challenge when processing requests for video records such as law enforcement body camera footage, security … Continue reading New Paper Outlines Best Practices for Processing Video Records

OGIS: Spanning the Globe

Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) Director Alina M. Semo joined 63 information commissioners and ombudsmen overseeing access to public information from around the world in the first ever virtual convening of the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) closed meeting on June 23-24, 2021. During the two-day session, Director Semo updated participants on the … Continue reading OGIS: Spanning the Globe

Recap: Recent OGIS/CDC Webinar on Enterprise Searching

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4492629 While you may not be familiar with the term “enterprise search,” those who have recently submitted a broad FOIA request for email records are likely to be familiar with the challenges agencies face in conducting records searches across vast electronic repositories. On May 6, 2021, OGIS hosted a webinar with Centers for Disease Control … Continue reading Recap: Recent OGIS/CDC Webinar on Enterprise Searching