FOIA IT Working Group Meeting: Using Technology to Improve Agency FOIA Websites

Federal agencies continue to examine ways to leverage technology to find efficiencies in their administration of the FOIA.  Next week, our office will convene another meeting of the FOIA IT Working Group to continue the discussion of how to harness the power of technology across the government in order to improve the processing of FOIA requests and the public’s FOIA experience. Since its inception, the FOIA IT Working Group has served as a collaborative forum for agency personnel to discuss many areas of FOIA administration that could benefit from the application of technology.  The Working Group also provides agencies with an opportunity to share best practices and highlight successes they have achieved through the use of technological and digital tools.  Next week’s meeting of the FOIA IT Working Group will focus on how agencies can utilize technology and other innovative approaches to increase the utility of agency FOIA websites. The details for the meeting, which is open to all agency FOIA professionals and interested agency technology specialists, are: Agencies continue to report that one area where they have been able to realize success in the application of technology is in the updating of agency FOIA websites, which not only provide the public with previously processed and frequently requested records, but also important information on how to make a FOIA request and what types of records are maintained at the agency.  As a part of this meeting, representatives from the Department of State will provide a presentation on the State Department’s recently redesigned FOIA website. If you are interested in attending this event, you can register by e-mailing your name and phone number to OIP’s Training Officer at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “August FOIA IT Working Group Meeting.”  If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact OIP’s Training Officer at (202) 514-3642.