Message from the Director

I am proud to present the first report of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). Our office is an important symbol of both the Obama administration's commitment to Open Government and Congress's vision of a better Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). I thank President Obama for his support of OGIS's mission, and Congress for the clear mandate it presented in the OPEN Government Act of 2007, which created the Office, and for its continued support.

Congress has called OGIS the "FOIA ombudsman." Our statutory directive is to offer a range of mediation services to resolve FOIA disputes and to review agencies' FOIA policies, procedures, and compliance. Above all, our role is to advocate for the proper administration of FOIA itself-from agency practices to resolution of disputes between requesters and agencies.

OGIS opened in September 2009. Through the hundreds of cases brought to us, we have observed that the 94 departments and agencies of the Federal Government count among their ranks many hardworking and committed FOIA professionals. While these people are determined to help the public obtain access to Federal records, they face significant obstacles including inadequate funding for FOIA operations, insufficient support from agency leaders, and unrealistic statutory deadlines.

We also have observed repeatedly the importance of good communication between agencies and FOIA requesters. Though OGIS was established to provide a range of mediation services (up to and including formal mediation), our experience shows that facilitating constructive communications between agencies and requesters prevents or resolves many disputes. Changing the FOIA culture to foster communications is as real an obstacle as lack of resources and more difficult to overcome than might be imagined.

Since opening, OGIS has been figuring out how to do our work while doing our work. Several cases awaited me when I opened the office; since then we have hired staff, created policies and procedures, dealt with unexpected obstacles, provided training, explored technological solutions to help us do our job, and communicated with FOIA Public Liaisons-all while handling FOIA disputes. Throughout, our focus was to carry out our mission with these principles in mind:

• OGIS advocates for a fair FOIA process and for improving FOIA.
• OGIS's work must complement agency practice without making the process more burdensome.
• OGIS exists as a resource to help requesters navigate the FOIA landscape and to help agencies improve their FOIA practices.
• FOIA Public Liaisons are essential to improving FOIA administration, and OGIS must support them and promote their role.

We continue to adhere to and build on these principles in our second year. I thank David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, and Adrienne C. Thomas, Deputy Archivist of the United States, for their unwavering support in helping transform OGIS from statutory language to reality.

Sincerely,

Miriam Nisbet, Director
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)

[Next Chapter] Return to the TABLE of CONTENTS