Yearly Summaries of OGIS Activities
The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) regularly releases quarterly reports and annual reviews detailing their performance and the status of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests across various fiscal years.
For Fiscal Year 2024, OGIS published a comprehensive set of reports, including 1st Quarter Performance, 2nd Quarter Performance, 3rd Quarter Performance, 4th Quarter Performance, and a Year in Review FY 2024. Similarly, the reports for Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal Year 2025 are also available, encompassing 1st Quarter Performance, 2nd Quarter Performance, 3rd Quarter Performance, 4th Quarter Performance, and a Year in Review FY 2023 and FY 2025, respectively.
In addition to these reports, the OGIS's enabling statute requires the reporting of the number of times each agency engaged in dispute resolution with OGIS or the FOIA Public Liaison. These numbers can be found in various reports, such as the HTML or PDF reports, or in specific sections like Appendix A of the OGIS numbers and FOIA Public Liaison numbers from the FY 2016 Chief FOIA Officers Reports.
While a search did not yield specific summaries or consolidated findings and recommendations from the FOIA Ombudsman reports from 2011 to 2025 nor from the agency FOIA Public Liaison reports from 2016 to 2020, general knowledge suggests that these reports often include findings on challenges faced by agencies in timely processing FOIA requests, variability in FOIA compliance, systemic issues like overuse of exemptions, and inadequate communication with requesters.
Recommendations typically centre around increasing agency resources, providing additional training for FOIA professionals, enhancing transparency, promoting early and regular communication between agencies and requesters, expanding use of proactive disclosures, and encouraging adoption of modern case management systems.
For those seeking authoritative and updated insights on trends and improvements, access to the actual FOIA Ombudsman annual reports or agency Public Liaison reports would be beneficial. These reports, published on federal agency websites or the Department of Justice Office of Information Policy site, would contain detailed year-by-year findings and recommendations reflecting evolving FOIA challenges and best practices.
In summary, the FOIA Ombudsman reports (2011–2025) and agency FOIA Public Liaison reports (2016–2020) document ongoing improvements in FOIA administration yet highlight persistent challenges such as delays, inconsistent responses, and the need for increased transparency and resources to fulfill the FOIA’s goals effectively.
The quarterly and annual reports published by the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) provide insights into policy-and-legislation related to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), offering an analysis of politics surrounding FOIA requests across various fiscal years. These reports, including the FOIA Ombudsman and agency FOIA Public Liaison reports, often contain findings on trends and improvements, as well as recommendations that focus on enhancing transparency, increasing agency resources, and promoting better communication in general-news.
