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
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”
Several weeks ago we invited government Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) professionals with an interest in technology and innovation to consider volunteering their knowledge and talents to the Technology Committee of the Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Council. To date, more than 20 FOIA professionals from a variety of federal agencies have expressed an interest, and … Continue reading The Technology Committee is Now Full
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of life in the United States, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process is no exception. We will be sharing information in the coming weeks about how agencies are responding and providing links to resources that we hope will be useful to you. Here are some … Continue reading COVID-19 and FOIA: Observations and Useful Links
We at the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) hear you loud and clear! The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging FOIA professionals and requesters alike in unprecedented ways. Amid all the uncertainty, one thing is certain: response times are likely to increase. It is more important than ever to keep the lines of communication open. One … Continue reading Setting Expectations in Extraordinary Times
The rapid spread of COVID-19 in the United States is forcing many industries to rethink how they do business, and the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) is no exception. In the interest of social distancing, all OGIS staffers are teleworking. While we are pleased that we are able to continue to function as the … Continue reading OGIS Is Open For Business – How to Reach Us
The following post is written by Meredith Doviak, our National Archives colleague who is helping us assess methods agencies use to prepare documents for posting on agency FOIA reading rooms. In the decades since Congress amended FOIA in 1996 to expand the role of the agency FOIA reading room, the expectations and use of Federal … Continue reading Assessing FOIA Reading Rooms
Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation, the National Archives and Records Administration has canceled all public events in its Washington, DC, and College Park, MD, facilities through May 3. Regrettably, this includes OGIS’s Sunshine Week event, scheduled for Monday, March 16. Stay safe and healthy!
All government agencies create and obtain records as they carry out their day-to-day duties. The types of records vary by agency. In the Intelligence Community (IC), many of these records are classified due to the sensitive nature of the agencies’ work and the obligation to protect the sources and methods used to collect and process … Continue reading Please submit your questions for the upcoming Intelligence Community forum!
March means more than warmer temperatures for those of us in the transparency community—it also means Sunshine Week, the annual nationwide celebration of access to public information. Since the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) launched the initiative 15 years ago, journalists, librarians, concerned citizens, civil society organizations, elected officials, and government employees alike have … Continue reading Sunshine Week 2020
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