Implementation Checklist for OIP Guidance on Proactive Disclosures of Non-Exempt Agency Information

Implementation Checklist for OIP Guidance on Proactive Disclosures of Non-Exempt Agency Information

1. Identifying frequently requested records:

• Systematically review each request when it is first received to determine whether your agency has received other requests that will involve the same or similar records.
   
• Even in the absence of multiple requests, consider whether the responsive records concern a popular topic that is likely to become the subject of subsequent requests in the future.
   
• During the course of processing requests, flag records that are common to multiple requests.

2. Posting:

• Implement systems and establish procedures to identify records of interest to the public on an ongoing basis and to systematically post such records.
   
• Link FOIA Professionals and program offices to help identify records appropriate for posting.
   
• Establish procedures in key offices where officials routinely identify in advance, or as records are finalized, those records that are good candidates for posting.
   
• Post material in a user-friendly format

Consult with your IT professionals, and resources such as the Open Data Policy, Digital Government Strategy, and Digital Services Playbook, for steps and best practices on posting documents in a machine-readable format to optimize their usefulness to the public. 

• Choose the proper website location:

i: FOIA Library (default location for frequently requested records), or

ii: Other website location (such as a webpage devoted to the records’ topic).

• Periodically review FOIA Library to ensure that it is organized, user-friendly, up to date, and that documents are easy to locate