Month: September 2024

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

OIP’s Best Practices Workshop series continued at the end of 2015 with one event focusing on best practices for small agencies and another on reducing backlogs and improving timeliness. Launched in 2014, the Best Practices Workshop series was designed as a part of the United States’ Second Open Government National Action Plan commitment to modernize FOIA administration. The goal of the series is to improve FOIA processes by leveraging effective strategies from across the government, highlighting successes achieved by agencies and sharing successful strategies on a wide range of FOIA issues.

In August 2015, agency colleagues participated in a discussion on best practices in FOIA administration for small agencies. Over half of federal agencies received less than 200 FOIA requests annually in the last five fiscal years and this workshop was designed in recognition of the unique challenges faced by those small-volume agencies. Moderated by OIP Director Melanie Ann Pustay, the panel included representatives from the Office of Government Ethics, the Federal Maritime Commission, the Farm Credit Administration, and the Department of Justice’s Tax Division. What was most note-worthy about this event was the extent to which these small-volume agencies utilized many of the same techniques and approaches to their FOIA administration as the larger-volume agencies. During the event, the panelists highlighted numerous best practices they have relied on to achieve success in FOIA administration, including:

• Collaborating with agency personnel, including non-FOIA personnel
• Using Multi-Track Processing
• Communicating with requesters
• Conducting Internal Reviews of FOIA Practices and Procedures 
• Utilizing a FOIA Tracking System or Database

The August workshop was followed by a December 2015 event discussing best practices for reducing backlogs and improving timeliness. Given the ongoing importance of improving timeliness and reducing any backlogs of pending requests, OIP’s very first Best Practices Workshop event in May 2014 focused on those topics. In 2015 OIP held another Best Practices Workshop that concentrated on those topics. This most recent event built off the successes and strategies first introduced during the initial 2014 discussion. Serving on the panel at this event were representatives from the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Energy. Each panelist shared the approaches their agencies had taken to achieve success, including:

• Leveraging Technology
• Utilizing Active Case Management Techniques
• Getting Employee Buy-in
• Developing Quality Staff
• Building Relationships Amongst Program Offices

This combination of approaches, while requiring ongoing focus and attention, has proven to be successful for the agencies participating in the Workshop. Additional details on the best practices discussed during these events, as well as OIP resources on these topics, are available on our Best Practices Workshops page.

The Best Practices Workshop series continues next month with a discussion on best practices from the requesters perspective on March 16^th.  Be sure to continue reading FOIA Post for more information on this series and other events offered by OIP.

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

The Department of Justice is proud to announce that we will once again commemorate the start of Sunshine Week with a kickoff event on Monday morning, March 14, 2016. To help us prepare for this event, OIP is seeking nominations for this year’s Sunshine Week FOIA Awards.

Embracing DOJ’s declaration that “FOIA is everyone’s responsibility,” during Sunshine Week 2015 the Department recognized and celebrated the contributions of FOIA professionals with the first Sunshine Week FOIA Awards. At last year’s event, the accomplishments of various FOIA professionals were highlighted through awards such as Excellence in Management and Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee. As we prepare for Sunshine Week 2016, and in recognition of the FOIA’s 50^th Anniversary, OIP is seeking nominations for two categories of awards for our 2016 Sunshine Week event.

Details on how to submit your nominations for this year’s awards are listed below. Nominations are due to OIP by Friday, February 19^th. Awardees will be recognized during the Department’s 2016 Sunshine Week Kickoff Event to be held on Monday, March 14^th at 10:00 am. Full details for this event will be announced here on FOIA Post in the coming weeks.

The Department’s 2009 FOIA Guidelines emphasize the key role of agency FOIA professionals as these individuals are “responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the Act.” The FOIA was signed into law by President Johnson in 1966 and over the last 50 years it has, as President Obama declared, remained “the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government.”

The 2016 Sunshine Week Awards are designed to recognize both the vital work of FOIA professionals as well as to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of this important law. We look forward to receiving your nominations and seeing you at the event.

Department of Justice Sunshine Week FOIA Awards

Submission Guidelines

All agency personnel are eligible for the below awards. This can include Government Information Specialists, supervisors, FOIA attorneys, or FOIA administrative specialists.

We invite nominations for these awards from agencies as well as members of the public. Agency submissions should be made by the agency’s principal FOIA contact, FOIA supervisor, or Chief FOIA Officer.

Nominations must include:

• The full name, title, agency or organization (if applicable), and contact information for the person submitting the nomination,
• The name(s) of the individual(s) they are nominating,
• The award category that best reflects the nominee’s accomplishments,
• A summary, not to exceed two single-spaced pages, that describes the nominee’s or group’s accomplishments, why the individual or group should receive the award, what they have done that sets them apart, and how their actions benefited FOIA administration, and
• A short abstract (100 words or less) that briefly outlines the nominee’s accomplishments.

Nominations must be submitted to DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “2016 Sunshine Week FOIA Award Nomination” by February 19, 2016.

Award Categories

Award for Exceptional Service by a FOIA Professional or Team of FOIA Professionals

Recognizing exemplary performance by a FOIA professional or team of FOIA professionals in carrying out the agency’s administration of the FOIA. This award recognizes those individuals or teams whose exceptional contributions have significantly benefited FOIA administration and implementation of the Department of Justice’s 2009 FOIA Guidelines at their agency. These benefits could include increased efficiency, greater use of technology, reduced backlogs, improved timeliness, and increased proactive disclosures.

Lifetime Service Award

Recognizing an agency FOIA professional with at least 20 years of work in FOIA administration who has demonstrated high standards of excellence and dedication in the administration of the FOIA throughout their career.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Update: This post, originally published July 28, 2015, has been updated with new date information for noted workshops.

As a part of the United States’ Second Open Government National Action Plan commitment to further modernize FOIA, in 2014 OIP launched the Best Practices Workshop series as a way to share and leverage successes in FOIA administration across the government. Today we are announcing details for the second slate of topics and workshops in this series.

Each workshop in the series focuses on a specific topical area and will include a panel of representatives that will share their success stories and strategies. For example, some of the topics covered in the first series of workshops included panels on reducing backlogs, proactive disclosures, and implementing technology in FOIA administration. The new workshop topics were selected based on feedback solicited from both federal agencies and the public. This series continues to be an opportunity for professionals at every level of the FOIA process to learn from one another and to leverage the successes of other agencies for their own organizations.

The workshops are open to all agency FOIA professionals and interested personnel. We will also continue to invite representatives from civil society and the public to participate in certain workshops. The dates, locations, and topics for each workshop are:

Best Practices for Small Agencies
August 26, 2015, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Reducing Backlogs and Improving Timeliness
December 8, 2015, 10:00 am to 12 noon – Robert F. Kennedy Building

Self-Assessments and Internal Reviews
Postponed

Best Practices from the Requester’s Perspective
April 25, 2016, 10:00 am to 12 noon – NEW DATE

FOIA Training Programs
May 25, 2016, 10:00 am to 12 noon

All workshops unless otherwise indicated will be held at the Department of Justice’s Conference Center near 1^st and N Street NE. Registration for all workshops is required for attendance and you will need a picture ID to enter the designated Department facility for any of these workshops.

The August, October, December, and May workshops will feature different panels of agency representatives. The March workshop will feature a panel of civil society and requester community representatives to highlight some of the agency best practices they have experienced while working through the FOIA process.

After each event, the best practices discussed by the panel, as well as other resources, will be added to the Best Practices Workshop Series page of our website as a resource for all agencies and interested individuals. Information, best practices, and resources from the first slate of workshops is also available on this page as well.

If you are interested in attending any of these events, you can register by emailing your name and phone number to OIP’s Training Officer at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “[Month] Best Practices Workshop.” If registering multiple individuals, please include the email addresses of all registrants. If you have any questions regarding the series, please contact OIP’s Training Officer at (202) 514-3642.

As we hold these workshops, we continue to invite your suggestions on future meeting topics and potential panelists.  If you would like to participate as a panelist or recommend someone for any of the above scheduled workshops, please email us at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “Best Practices Workshop Suggestion.”

Source: United States Department of Justice

This week, representatives from the United States Government and the Department of Justice are joining 1,500 participants from governments and civil society organizations around the globe to participate in the 2015 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Summit. Founded in 2011, the Partnership has grown from eight to sixty-six participating countries committed to working both domestically and internationally to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and transform the way the governments serve and engage with the public. Each participating member of the OGP is required to work with civil society to develop an Open Government National Action Plan (NAP), and today the Department is excited to highlight the issuance of the United States’ third National Action Plan.

Each country’s NAP covers a two year period and includes specific and measurable commitments that advance transparency, accountability, participation and/or technological innovation. The United States’ third NAP released yesterday represents its most ambitious and extensive plan consisting of forty-five commitments on a wide range of actions the Administration will take over coming months to strengthen, deepen and expand upon our open government efforts. As with the prior two NAPs, the Department of Justice is proud to be working on a number of initiatives, which promote the principals of open government and together will improve public services, access to information, government integrity and the administration of justice.These commitments include:

Open Government to Improve Public Services

• Making it easier for individuals to access their own information. DOJ will assist an interagency team led by OPM, GSA, and the Department of Commerce to develop new authentication tools to protect individual privacy and ensure that personal records only go to the intended recipients.

Access to Information

• Modernizing the implementation of the FOIA. Building on its efforts to improve the government-wide administration of the FOIA, the Department will expand the services offered on FOIA.gov, conduct a proactive disclosure pilot for posting FOIA-released records online, and improve agency FOIA websites.
   
• Strengthening and improving transparency of privacy safeguards. The Administration will revise and reconstitute guidance to agencies on the collection and protection of individuals’ personally identifiable information.
   
• Enhancing transparency of Federal use of investigative technologies. As law enforcement and homeland security have employed new technologies, such as unmanned aircraft systems, the Administration has recognized that these must be used in a manner that protects the privacy and civil liberties of the public. Agencies are encouraged to develop and make public a privacy analysis for advanced technologies.

Government Integrity

• Increasing transparency of foreign intelligence surveillance activities. The Administration will increase efforts to make information regarding foreign intelligence surveillance activities more publicly available, while continuing to protect such information when disclosure could harm national security. 
   
• Strengthening whistleblower protection for government employees. The Department of Justice will propose revisions to its regulations providing whistleblower protection procedures for employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including proposing to expand the list of officials to whom protected disclosures may be made. Additionally, the Department will continue to evaluate and update its mandatory training program to ensure all employees understand their rights and responsibilities under whistleblower protection laws.

Justice and Law Enforcement

• Expand Access to Justice to promote Federal programs. The White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable, co-led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Department of Justice, works to raise awareness about the profound impact that legal aid programs can have in advancing efforts to promote access to health and housing, education and employment, family stability, and public safety. On September 24, 2015, President Obama issued a memorandum intended to institutionalize this Roundtable, expand the participating agencies, and include consideration of equal access to justice for low-income people in both the civil and criminal justice systems. The Roundtable will seek input from civil society, and will annually report on the progress of this work.

Since the signing of both his FOIA and Transparency and Open Government memoranda on his first full day in office, President Obama has committed to “creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.” The U.S. published its first NAP in 2011, with twenty-six commitments that have increased public integrity, enhanced public access to information, improved management of public resources, and given the public a more active voice in the U.S. Government’s policymaking process. In 2013, the U.S. released its second NAP, which included twenty-three commitments. In 2014, the Administration added three additional commitments to the second NAP and further expanded one existing commitment, bringing the total for that plan to twenty-six.  

The forty-five commitments in the third NAP issued yesterday build on the commitments fulfilled in the prior two plans. In putting together the third NAP, the U.S. engaged in unprecedented consultations inside and outside of government, including with a broad range of U.S. departments and agencies and subnational governments as well as the general public, civil society groups, foundations, academia, and the private sector. The Department is proud to have worked with the Administration and civil society on the formulation of the plan issued yesterday and looks forward to working on the commitments noted above. 

Source: United States Department of Justice

September is the final month of Fiscal Year 2015 and agency FOIA professionals are hard at work processing FOIA requests and administrative appeals in order to close out the year strongly. All the work done by agencies to administer the FOIA each year is captured in their Annual FOIA Reports and Chief FOIA Officer Reports. In addition, during the course of the year four key FOIA statistics are reported every three months in agency Quarterly FOIA Reports. These reports all serve an important role in documenting the efforts of  agencies to respond to the ever-increasing numbers of FOIA requests received each year. They also provide valuable information about the many ways agencies are working to find greater efficiencies, increase proactive disclosures and utilize technology to improve FOIA administration.

In order to satisfy their reporting obligations this year, agencies should mark the following deadlines in their calendars:

Fiscal Year 2015 Annual FOIA Report

December 4, 2015 – Agencies are required to submit their Fiscal Year 2015 Annual FOIA Reports to OIP for review.

For guidance on the requirements for completing the Annual FOIA Report, please see the Department’s Annual FOIA Report Handbook.

Fiscal Year 2016 Quarterly FOIA Reports

January 29, 2016 – Quarter 1 data is required to be posted.
April 29, 2016 – Quarter 2 data is required to be posted.
July 29, 2016 – Quarter 3 data is required to be posted.
October 28, 2016 – Quarter 4 data is required to be posted.

For guidance on the requirements for completing the FY 2016 Quarterly Reports, please see OIP’s guidance on quarterly reporting.

2016 Chief FOIA Officer Reports

January 15, 2016 – The twenty-nine high-volume agencies noted in the 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Report Guidelines are required to submit their 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP for review.

February 5, 2016 – All other agencies are required to submit their 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP for review

March 14, 2016 – Agencies are required to post their 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Reports online.

For guidance on the requirements for completing the 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Report, see OIP’s 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Report Guidelines.

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To help assist and prepare agencies for these reporting obligations, OIP will be hosting a refresher training on the Fiscal Year 2015 Annual FOIA Report and 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Report. The details for this training are:

If you are interested in attending this refresher training seminar, please email your name to OIP’s Acting Training Coordinator at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “Annual Report and Chief FOIA Officer Report Refresher Training.” Please note that registration is required to attend and that you will need a picture ID to enter the building. If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact OIP’s Acting Training Coordinator at (202) 514-3642.

If you have any questions regarding any of the deadlines noted above, or the requirements for completing any of the reports, please contact OIP’s FOIA Compliance Team at (202) 514-3642.

You can also find all of these reporting deadlines on the Reports page of OIP’s website.