March 9, 2022

Improving FOIA Software by Aligning Agency Goals

Improving FOIA Software by Aligning Agency Goals

It is critical for agencies to come together to form FOIA technology standards and alignment. Feith is dedicated to bringing Federal FOIA leadership together to have broad discussions about what they need, and what is available in the market.

Last spring, Feith took our first step to help drive that alignment in how our customers process FOIA requests. Feith FOIA customers came together for a roundtable discussion about FOIA process requirements between the DoD, Intelligence Community, and VA. Our FOIA SMEs delved deep into the unique needs of our agencies, and developed strategies to incorporate that feedback into our FOIA software.

Feith was ecstatic to see new progress towards the goal of standardizing FOIA this year. In the last month Feith was invited to participate in both the Chief FOIA Officer Council’s NexGen FOIA Technology Showcase, and the EPA’s FOIAonline workshops. These events allowed Feith and other FOIA vendors to present technology and ask questions of federal FOIA leaders. We gained insight into what the agencies are trying to accomplish and how we can continue to improve and automate as much of the process as possible.

Feith is looking forward to continuing this productive process with a wider variety of agencies. While no one-size fits all standard will ever work for FOIA; ideally, we can partner with agencies, move forward towards alignment by establishing overall goals, needs, and methods for agencies, and create ever more innovative FOIA management solutions.