As used in this part:
Administrative FOIA Appeal is an independent review of the initial determination made in response to a FOIA request. Requesters who are dissatisfied with the response made on their initial request have a statutory right to appeal the initial determination made by the component's FOIA office.
Agency is any executive agency, military agency, government corporation, government-controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Federal Government, or any independent regulatory agency. Thus, USAID is an agency.
Complex request is a request that typically seeks a high volume of material or requires additional steps to process such as the need to search for records in multiple locations.
Consultation is when USAID locates a record that contains information of substantial interest to another agency, and the component's FOIA office asks for the views of that other agency on the disclosability of the records before any final determination is made.
Discretionary disclosure is information that the component's FOIA office releases even though it could have been withheld under one of the FOIA's exemptions.
Duplication is reproducing a copy of a record, or of the information contained in it, necessary to respond to a FOIA request. Copies can take the form of paper, audiovisual materials, or electronic records, among others.
Electronic record is any information that is recorded in a form that only a computer can process and that satisfies the definition of a Federal record per the Federal Records Act. Federal electronic records are not necessarily kept in a “recordkeeping system” but may reside in a generic electronic information system or are produced by an application such as word processing or electronic mail.
Exemptions are nine categories of information that are not required to be released in response to a FOIA request because release would be harmful to a government or private interest. These categories are called “exemptions” from disclosures.
Expedited processing is the FOIA response track granted in certain limited situations, specifically when a FOIA request is processed ahead of other pending requests.
Freedom of Information Act or FOIA is a United States Federal law that grants the public access to information possessed by government agencies. Upon written request, U.S. Government agencies are required to release information unless it falls under one of nine exemptions listed in the Act.
Frequently requested records are records that have been requested three (3) or more times from the component's FOIA office.
Multi-track processing is a system that divides in-coming FOIA requests according to their complexity so that simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first-out basis.
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) offers mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and agencies as an alternative to litigation. OGIS also reviews agency FOIA compliance, policies, and procedures and makes recommendations for improvement. The Office is a part of the National Archives and Records Administration, and was created by Congress as part of the OPEN Government Act of 2007, which amended the FOIA.
Proactive disclosures are records made publicly available by agencies without waiting for a specific FOIA request. Agencies now post on their websites' material concerning their functions and mission. The FOIA itself requires agencies to make available certain categories of information, including final opinions and orders, specific policy statements, certain administrative staff manuals and frequently requested records.
Record means information regardless of its physical form or characteristics including information created, stored, and retrievable by electronic means that is created or obtained by the Agency and under the control of the Agency at the time of the request, including information maintained for the Agency by an entity under Government contract for records management purposes. It does not include records that are not already in existence and that would have to be created specifically to respond to a request. Information available in electronic form shall be searched and compiled in response to a request unless such search and compilation would significantly interfere with the operation of the Agency's automated information systems.
Referral occurs when an agency locates a record that originated with, or is of otherwise primary interest to another Department, agency, or component. It will forward that record to the other agency to process the record and to provide the final determination directly to the requester.
Simple request is a FOIA request that a component's FOIA office anticipates will involve a small volume of material or which will be able to be processed relatively quickly.