OGIS Director Miriam Nisbet joined other advocates of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on March 11, testifying before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary about OGIS’s work and two new suggestions the Office has for improving FOIA. OGIS proposes that FOIA be embedded into Federal Information Technology (IT) management across the government. “We suggest … Continue reading OGIS Director testifies, suggests improvements to FOIA
While some of us on the East Coast may feel like this is the winter that will never end, it’s nice to know that there’s sunshine on the horizon – Sunshine Week 2014! During the week of March 16 to March 22, groups across the country will promote openness in state and local governments and … Continue reading A Sunny Forecast
We’ve written about the new FOIA Modernization Committee forming out of the U.S. National Action Plan for the global Open Government Partnership, and we’ve heard from lots of folks who are interested in joining the effort. If you are interested in serving on the committee or nominating someone to serve on the committee, it’s not … Continue reading FOIA Modernization Committee Update
Sunshine Week is less than six weeks away! Agencies, what are you doing to prepare? Last year, Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero sent a message during Sunshine Week to National Archives’ staff reminding them that FOIA is everyone’s responsibility and responding to access requests doesn’t rest solely on the agency’s FOIA and archival … Continue reading Getting Ready for Sunshine Week
The U.S. National Action Plan for the global Open Government Partnership is big news for FOIA. We’ve written about the plan’s five-part commitment for strengthening and modernizing the Freedom of Information Act. One of the five components of the FOIA commitment calls for a new FOIA advisory committee: Establish a FOIA Modernization Advisory Committee. Improvements to FOIA … Continue reading Modernizing FOIA
We’ve written before about the importance of providing estimated completion dates to requesters -- not only is it good customer service, but since 2007, it’s the law. Unfortunately, OGIS still hears from many requesters with delayed requests who have not heard when they might expect a response. In those cases, OGIS contacts the agency, talks … Continue reading Upcoming FOIA Requester Roundtable: Estimated Completion Dates
When agencies respond to a FOIA request with released records, they retain a copy of those records along with the response letter in a file documenting the request. This is important for a couple of reasons—so that the agency can respond to any questions from the requester, or that the information can be passed along … Continue reading Do You Copy?
In this season of reflection and good cheer, we at OGIS are giving thanks for some improvements we have seen recently in the FOIA world: While backlogs remain a significant problem, agencies are making strides in reducing them—they are down 45% in five years—even as requests increase and staffing decreases. OGIS constantly beats the drum … Continue reading Giving Thanks
We at OGIS talk quite a bit about the importance of the FOIA administrative process, which includes the all-important appeal. But what is an appeal, exactly, and what should it include? What are some best practices for an agency’s appeal process? How can the FOIA and the appeals offices better work together? We will discuss … Continue reading Upcoming Requester Roundtable Discussion: Appeals
We’ve written about the positive difference that executive support for FOIA can make in federal agencies. We’ve made this point in our recommendations and, whenever we can, we encourage agencies to make FOIA a priority (and communicate this across the board). One effective way that agency heads can spread the word that FOIA matters is … Continue reading FOIA Fever: It’s Contagious
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