Upcoming OGIS Training Session: Developing Dispute Resolution Skills

Do you find yourself flummoxed when faced with an angry FOIA requester? Do you regularly take "no" for an answer from your agency’s program people? We can help! OGIS will present a training session designed to help FOIA professionals develop dispute resolution skills on Monday, December 9, 2013 at the Archives building on Constitution Ave … Continue reading Upcoming OGIS Training Session: Developing Dispute Resolution Skills

Upcoming Requester Roundtable Discussion: Appeals

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

Shutdown Didn’t Stop FOIA Clock

FOIA request processing came to a screeching halt during the 16-day government shutdown as the vast majority of FOIA professionals were furloughed as “non-excepted” employees. We don’t like the term “non-essential” since we consider FOIA essential, as Sen. Patrick Leahy noted October 5 on the Senate floor. “We … take for granted that our open … Continue reading Shutdown Didn’t Stop FOIA Clock

Shutdown

Due to the Federal government shutdown, the Office of Government Information Services and the National Archives are closed. We are unable to post to the FOIA Ombudsman during this closure. All National Archives facilities are closed, with the exception of the Federal Records Centers and the Federal Register until the Federal government reopens. We hope to see you soon.

Managing Emails & Government Records: Are your ducks in a row?

In his November 28, 2011 Presidential Memorandum -Managing Government Records, President Obama noted “proper records management is the backbone of open Government.” Sound records management helps agencies carry out their missions, promotes accountability by documenting agency activities, and fosters open Government. As we’ve written before, good records management is essential for good FOIA programs. That’s … Continue reading Managing Emails & Government Records: Are your ducks in a row?

Making “Publicly Available” Records Available

As the government strives to find ways to improve FOIA, proactive disclosure seems to be one strategy that everyone agrees on; if agencies make more information publicly available, people will not need to make FOIA requests for those records. In many cases, this strategy has worked. Thanks to efforts like data.gov and agencies’ FOIA libraries, … Continue reading Making “Publicly Available” Records Available

A Model FOIA Reg

As we’ve written before, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires agencies to have regulations that specify a fee schedule, designate agency components to receive requests and provide for expedited processing. Beyond those requirements, regulations should be a GPS, of sorts, to help both agency FOIA professionals and requesters navigate the FOIA process. Our parent … Continue reading A Model FOIA Reg