BEV BUTULA: Welcome to Sunshine Week

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This is Sunshine Week. The focus of the Sunshine Week initiative is to promote government transparency and freedom of information. Thanks to the folks over at INFOdocket, I learned about the recent launching of FOIA.gov by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Per the news release, FOIA.gov “brings together all the FOIA data collected by the department on behalf of the federal government.” The Office of Information Policy elaborates by saying, that the website is “a comprehensive public resource for government-wide FOIA information and data. FOIA.Gov displays graphically a wealth of data on agency FOIA compliance, contains educational material about how the FOIA works, and contact information for all government agencies.”

FOIA.gov provides a list of the most recent reports issued and the “most popular.” The “Data” tab allows the user to create individual reports. Selection options include the type of report (e.g. exemptions, appeals, backlog), the agency of interest, and the year.