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A Beginner’s Guide to FOIA Requests: Learning More About Government Sales Blog Feature
Tyler Kittle

By: Tyler Kittle on January 30th, 2023

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A Beginner’s Guide to FOIA Requests: Learning More About Government Sales

GSA Schedule | 6 Min Read

While the federal government goes to great measures to protect sensitive information from cyberattacks and unnecessary leaks, there is a lot more transparency to the public than you may think—if you are willing to ask for it. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you are able to request information from participating government agencies that you would find useful such as business and market revenue projection in terms of government contracting, as well as valuable contacts from an event or webinar you may have attended. FOIA requests can be a useful tool in learning more about government sales. In this blog, we’ll talk about what a FOIA request is and how you can use it to your advantage.

What is a FOIA Request?

The 1967 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits any person to request access to federal agency records or information. Using FOIA as a tool when seeking government sales information on past procurements and contracts may be helpful if the information you are searching for is not readily available.

Under FOIA, federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested unless it falls under one of 9 exemptions that protect interests, which are:

1. Information that is classified to protect national security.
2. Information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.
3. Information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.
4. Trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.
5. Privileged communications within or between agencies, including those protected by the:

5(A). Deliberative Process Privilege (provided the records were created less than 25 years before the date on which they were requested)

5(B). Attorney Work-Product Privilege

5(C). Attorney-Client Privilege 

6. Information that, if disclosed, would invade another individual’s personal privacy.
7. Information compiled for law enforcement purposes that:
          7(A). Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings
          7(B). Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication
          7(C). Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of                 personal privacy
          7(D). Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential                  source
          7(E). Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement                            investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law                                enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could                                reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law
          7(F). Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of               any individual
8. Information that concerns the supervision of financial institutions.
9. Geological information on wells.

So, where to begin? You can find useful FOIA information on GSA’s website from resources like the Electronic Reading room, GSA Policies, reports, and GSA's Annual FOIA Report folders. In addition, you can search FOIA online for records that have already been published. In most cases, federal government information might be readily available at your fingertips without you needing to make a formal request, but if this is not the case, GSA has outlined an online FOIA request process to seek the information you require.

When to Submit a FOIA Request

We suggest you search for the information you are looking for first and see if it’s available publicly. This will save you time and possibly money (which we’ll cover below). If you cannot find this information, then it’s time to make a FOIA request.

First, you’ll need to determine the right agency to make the request to. There are over 100 participating agencies, and each is responsible for handling its own FOIA requests. You can check out the list of agencies broken down by topic on USA.gov.

When you make a FOIA request, you should describe the records you want as clearly and specifically as possible. Under the 1967 law (and periodic updates), agencies are only required to provide the documents that you are specifically requesting to review, or documents to which may provide the information you are seeking.

In general, agencies like GSA try to handle FOIA requests in a customer-friendly fashion, the law does not require them to do research for you, analyze data, answer written questions, or in any other way create records in order to respond to your request. Therefore, it’s important to lead by putting effort into researching and understanding the documents and/or information being sought, and whether or not it is already published elsewhere.

How Do I Submit a FOIA Request?

The online request process is quite simple and is designed to provide the requestee the greatest possible return for what is being requested. You begin by identifying the agency to which you would like to inquire from, the type of request, your contact information, and other questions regarding your request. You will be provided with an opportunity to add a description of what you are looking for in addition to having the ability to attach files that may be useful on the agency’s part during the search.

Make sure to be as detailed as possible. Include specific dates, times, titles of events, participating organizations, etc. There is no particular request structure to be followed, but make sure to fill out all the information the agency asks of you in the request.

Is There a Fee for FOIA Requests?

There is no initial fee to make a FOIA request, however an agency is required to asses the fees to recover the direct costs of locating or reproducing records. If it’s under $25, you will not be charged, but if it’s over $25, an agency will contact you to give you an estimate.

For example, GSA advises that commercial users submitting a FOIA request are required to pay for all search, review, and copying expenses. The current GSA fee schedule is $13 per hour for manual searches by clerical staff, $29 per hour if completed by professional staff, and ‘Direct cost to GSA’ for computer searches, however, depending on the nature of the information and effort involved, the agency may also elect to not charge a fee if they are able to process the request with minimal effort.

When Will I Receive My FOIA Results?

After completing a FOIA request, the agency’s FOIA office will respond to you in the order it was received and notify you of the estimated cost (if applicable). As you may already be very aware, there is no specific time limit with government processes.

What Do I Do with My FOIA Results?

The information that is available can be extremely valuable to government contractors, depending on how the contractor chooses to apply the gathered statistics, contact information, etc. Helpful information from government agencies is out there and readily available, it might have a reasonable price tag attached to it, but in the long run for government contractors, it is worth the effort and request.

Government Market Research Lends Success to GSA Contractors

 Doing your research will help you create an effective marketing plan and identify which agencies you should be targeting for opportunities. FOIA is a great way to do find out information on past contracts including pricing. Some of our past blog posts reference using FOIA as a tool for price setting based on historical contracts, so you can get a good idea of where to set your price so it’s in line with your competition.

For more information on market research and marketing your GSA Schedule, check out our blogs, “How Government Contractors Can Stand Out from their Competition” and “Responding to RFIs: Tips and Tricks for Engaging in Market Research.” If you have any questions about your GSA Schedule, or would like to get one, Winvale is here to help.

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About Tyler Kittle

Tyler Kittle is a Consultant for Winvale. Tyler is a retired Army combat veteran, a former federal careerist, and Cum Laude graduate of American Military University. Utilizing his government contracting experience, Tyler works to establish strong client relations and efficiency in the acquisitions process.