Federal agencies should improve the FOIA process by utilizing data tools more effectively to identify records to proactively post, according to a white paper issued Feb. 24 by the Data Working Group of the Chief FOIA Officers’ Council. 

The working group interviewed representatives from 10 federal agencies to find that the most successful FOIA programs use metrics to examine request trends and to figure out what information should be proactively posted online. Findings included: 

• Agencies that go beyond the minimum requirements for tracking FOIA requests are the most successful. They monitor trends, types of requests received, number of pages processed and other data that help them adapt and respond more quickly. 

• Some agencies use data visualization tools – as simple as Excel charts, Tableau or other programs – to interpret FOIA performance and trends, including workload issues and bottlenecks. The tools also can help deal with voluminous requests – and explain to leadership the burdens FOIA offices face, and the need for additional resources. 

• The most successful agencies proactively post data and refer requesters to the online information, saving everyone time and hassle in the FOIA process. That includes examining FOIA logs to identify frequently requested information and asking requesters what they want. 

• Agency chief data officers should communicate regularly with agency chief FOIA officers, coordinating data functions with the FOIA process. 

Many of these recommendations mirror the work of the Modernization Subcommittee within the last term of the FOIA Advisory Committee, under the National Archives and Records Administration. The subcommittee, led by Jason R. Baron of the University of Maryland and Gorka Garcia-Malene of the Department of Health and Human Services, provided a list of recommendations March 18, 2024, that also included greater use of AI and other tools to improve the process. 

Posted: March 13, 2025
Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, FOI, FOIA, Government Transparency, open records laws, public records