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Analysis

Improve FOIA and congressional request responses

A case study in single workspace efficiency

Traditionally, government agencies handle responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), congressional, and litigation discovery requests as completely different processes, even when they ask for the same or similar information. This is partly due to the three distinct requests coming into the organization through different channels, the varying applicable rules, and the development over time of processes and procedures to handle the request responses.​ Using the same process for all requests can help agencies prepare for overlapping requests, reduce total work, and reduce the likelihood of making inconsistent releases of information.

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Using the traditional approach to respond to FOIA, congressional, and discovery requests usually means three completely separate workstreams.​ By combining the workflows, documents can be reviewed and redacted one time–not three–reducing review time and costs, while increasing efficiency and consistency of redactions.​ Deloitte’s team of discovery professionals conferred with agency attorneys, in-house FOIA experts, congressional liaisons, and agency SMEs to create a process for efficiently comparing items collected and produced for each related request.​

To learn more, review the case study.

As information requests increase in volume, agencies can benefit by streamlining their FOIA and congressional response process.​

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