As part of a research project I submitted a number of freedom of information act (FOIA) requests. Most of my requests are at the state level, so different state sunshine laws shape what is required by agencies.

In the past I had a very mixed experience with these requests. Requests to state economic development agencies ranged from detailed data within a month to over a year wait to receive a simple spreadsheet.

My strategy was to send these agencies a polite request for data and a description of my research project. It is hard to draw inferences on this limited FOIA experience, so I hunted around on work on FOIA requests and learned about bit about FOIA requests.

Learning from the FOIA Requests of Others

Quite a few NGOs provide detailed advice on FOIA requests. Many of these agencies coach requesters to make very formal requests that provides details on state FOIA laws, know what exact data you want, and reference the legally required respond time. Walk in like you own the place is the saying that I have heard many times.

A number of other transparency groups provide similar recommendations and some of keep tabs on backlogs in FOIA requests. Public Citizen has a nice guide and a sample FOIA letter.  Here are resources for investigative reporters.

A nice template for those interested in state economic development is from Good Jobs First.

One issue with FOIA requests isn’t only the wait time, but the potential costs. See the above guides where journalists can have fees waved. But for academics there seems to be more discretion from agencies. My own FOIA requests have ranged from free to a quote of $1,000.

Learning from the FOIA Responses of Agencies

FOIA requests are generally made to an agency and whatever information they provide as part of the request goes directly to the requestor. But in other cases, agencies such as the EPA make FOIA data public. So if you request data the agency will send you the data and publicly post the request and data.

One organization, MuckRock directly posts FOIA requests, correspondence with the agency, and the final data on their website. Thus even for agencies that don’t make this request public, MuckRock posts it for everyone to see.

This can be extremely useful for academic research. For example, I examined FOIA requests on issues related to both trade and economic development subsidies.   This search not only uncovered some interesting FOIA request, there was also a FOIA request for all USTR FOIA requests.

What I found interesting in these USTR FOIA requests is that you observe lots of FOIA requests by political parties. A large number of USTR FOIA requests were from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Then a FOIA request from the National Republican Senatorial Committee to get the FOIA requests and data of the Democratic Senate Committee. The Republicans want to know what the Democrats found.

I also accidentally stumbled onto a request for all rejected vanity license plates in Maryland. They didn’t have the list of rejected plates, but they do have a guide that lists “objectionable plates” that plates that would be automatically rejected. Don’t open this in front of your teenage kids or if you plan on having a productive afternoon. There are thousands of these plates.

There’s many “failed requests”. Many agencies don’t respond, require the requester to be a resident of the state, charge large amounts of money, or claim that they are exempt from the request.

The Opposition to FOIA Requests

When looking at these FOIA requests I notice that MuckRock allows organizations (including investigative journalists) to have their data embargoed to allow time for them to write up their “scoop”.

I honestly hadn’t thought about this, but it seemed obvious to me that even journalists have mixed views about FOIA requests. Having access to data that nobody else has provides a competitive advantage over other journalists.

It turns out that new Federal Government FOIA policy have caused a stir. Many agencies are now required to make their FOIA requests and data public.

This has lead to a backlash from at least some journalists.  The worry is that journalists using FOIA requests for a story will be making their request public for others (including other journalists) to see.

As a professor in a business school these concerns about competitive advantages make perfect sense. Investigative journals want a scoop, and collecting information is only a small part of the process. Journalists could feel pressure to quickly write up stories or simply stop investing time and money into FOIA requests.

But there is at least some irony that intrepid investigative journalists pushing for transparency of government wanting to be the gatekeepers of this transparency.

UPDATE

I just received data from a FOIA request for Virginia economic development data.  The FOIA representative from YesVirginia contacted me a couple days after my submission clarifying my request.  And then delivered almost everything I wanted just a few days later.  Kudos to the staff at Yes Virginia.