Collaborating with Government Agencies
Collaboration is a cornerstone of OGIS's outreach efforts. Starting in November 2009 with the Department of the Army, the Office participated in seven agency FOIA training sessions to alert agencies to OGIS's role in the FOIA process. OGIS regularly presents at Office of Information Policy agency-wide FOIA training programs. OGIS also has worked with Federal agencies, FOIA requesters, and FOIA advocates to identify the law's shortcomings and to develop solutions to help it work more effectively and efficiently. For example, OGIS collaborated with OIP on a few disputes brought to OGIS that involved questions about the interpretation and implementation of agencies' FOIA policies.
Early on, Director Nisbet joined the Interagency Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Working Group, comprised of ADR leaders throughout the Government who meet to discuss common issues and share best practices.
To further OGIS's commitment to support FOIA Public Liaisons and other FOIA professionals in improving the administration of FOIA, OGIS also is collaborating with the ADR specialists at the Departments of Defense, Interior, and Veterans Affairs, which have volunteered to serve as pilots in extending their existing mediation and dispute resolution programs to include FOIA disputes.
ADR specialists at Defense and Interior are quickly advancing their respective pilot programs, which they hope to launch in FY 2011; OGIS continues to work with both departments. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security agreed to collaborate with OGIS to develop a department-wide dispute resolution skills training program for its FOIA Public Liaisons. Also, the FBI has agreed to work with OGIS to develop a plan for providing this training to its FOIA professionals. OGIS is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with these departments and agencies.
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OGIS CASE STUDY A requester filed a request with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for records for a book that he was writing. The CIA began processing the request, placing the requester in the "commercial" fee category, which would require him to pay for all fees incurred in the processing of the request. The requester, believing he should qualify for a favorable fee category, contacted OGIS. OGIS spoke with the CIA about the various categories and whether this requester best fit with the "commercial" status, and the CIA decided to waive all fees for the request. |
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