While the federal government goes to great lengths to protect sensitive information from cyberattacks and unwanted leaks, you may be surprised to know that most government information is public – if you’re willing to ask for it. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you can request records or information from participating government agencies that may be useful to you. For example, as a government contractor, you can request lists of valuable industry contacts from an event or webinar you attended, or lists of bidders on government contracts. In this blog, we’ll talk about what a FOIA request is, how you can use it to your advantage as a government contractor, and the process for submitting one.
What is a FOIA Request?
The 1967 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits any individual to request access to federal agency records or information. It’s regarded as the law that keeps citizens informed about what their government is doing. We’ll discuss later how the FOIA can benefit government contractors specifically, but for now, keep in mind that the FOIA is at your disposal if you’re seeking government information that is not readily available.
What is the Scope of the FOIA?
Under the FOIA, federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested, unless it falls under one of nine exemptions that protect certain important interests. These exemptions are:
- Information that is classified to protect national security.
- Information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.
- Information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.
- Trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.
- Privileged communications within or between agencies, including those protected by the:
- Deliberative Process Privilege (provided the records were created less than 25 years before the date on which they were requested)
- Attorney Work-Product Privilege
- Attorney-Client Privilege
- Information that, if disclosed, would invade another individual’s personal privacy.
- Information compiled for law enforcement purposes that:
- Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings
- Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication
- Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
- Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source
- 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
- Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual
- Information that concerns the supervision of financial institutions.
- Geological information on wells.
If only parts of a file or record fall under one of these exemptions, the agency is required to consider whether partial disclosure of information is possible. The FOIA also requires agencies to proactively publish certain information online, such as frequently requested government records.
When Should You Make a FOIA Request?
The FOIA can be a useful tool, but making a FOIA request isn’t always necessary when you’re searching for government records. Since the FOIA mandates the publication of frequently requested records, we recommend checking first to see if what you’re looking for has already been published. With a bit of research, you can save the time and potential expense involved in the FOIA request process, as we’ll discuss.
You can find previously released government records and other useful information by navigating to the FOIA section of a government agency’s site. For instance, the General Services Administration (GSA) has a wealth of FOIA resources, including the Electronic Reading Room, Annual FOIA Report folders, and released information available at their Public Access Link. In most cases, you’ll discover that the government information you need is at your fingertips. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, then it’s time to make a FOIA request.
However, you should also consider whether making a FOIA request is in fact suited to your research needs. The FOIA only requires agencies to provide documents that you specifically request, or documents that may have the information you’re seeking. Agencies are not required to conduct research for you, analyze data, answer written questions, or create new records in response to your request. Therefore, you should go into the FOIA request process with a clear idea of the documents or information you need. Conducting ample preparatory research can help you to formulate a FOIA request that’s specific and focused.
How Can FOIA Requests Benefit Government Contractors?
FOIA requests can be extremely valuable to government contractors seeking information about their competition or industry that hasn’t been published. It’s worth noting that a lot of competitor and contract data is already available through GSA’s market research tools. We’ll share below how you can use FOIA requests to gain helpful information that isn’t public.
As a government contractor, you can use FOIA requests to obtain valuable industry contacts from webinars or events you’ve attended. GSA hosts numerous well-attended virtual events, geared towards current or prospective government contractors and covering a range of contract vehicles. Many attendees of these events would make great teaming partners on a contract vehicle like the Multiple Award Schedule, in addition to being helpful industry contacts. Partnering with other contractors brings a host of benefits, especially for small businesses, but the first step is finding those partners. A useful FOIA request might be to ask for the names of attendees from a GSA Industry Day, an instructional webinar on the Multiple Award Schedule, or a GSA event focused on small businesses.
FOIA requests can also help you better understand your competition when it comes to specific government contracts. The government already publishes which contractors have been awarded contracts on sites like USASpending.gov – however, the names of unsuccessful bidders on government contracts aren’t publicly released. Making a FOIA request for the list of these bidders enables you to analyze your competition for similar types of contracting opportunities. You can even make a FOIA request for the unredacted parts of the winning proposal, if you’d like to evaluate how the awardee’s technical and cost proposals were successful. Conducting this competitor analysis can help you to better market to the government and differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Finally, FOIA requests can give you early insight into federal agencies’ budgets, so you can anticipate where the most contracting opportunities will be. USASpending.gov publishes a breakdown of each federal agency’s budget by fiscal year, but making a FOIA request allows you to gain information about agencies’ potential budgets before they’re released to the public. By knowing in advance how federal agencies are planning to use their funds, you can adjust your marketing strategy accordingly and get ahead of your competitors.
How Do I Submit a FOIA Request?
The online FOIA request process is fairly straightforward and designed to provide you with the greatest possible return for what you request. You can submit a FOIA Request by visiting FOIA.gov and selecting “Create a Request.”
First, you’ll be asked to select the agency that you’re requesting information from. Over 400 federal agencies participate in the FOIA. If you’re unsure of the correct agency for your request, you can explore a list of agencies broken down by topic on USA.gov. Keep in mind that the agency itself will be responsible for handling your request after you submit it through FOIA.gov.
After you identify the correct agency, you can begin filling in the details of your request through a simple online form. You’ll be asked for your contact information, the type of requester you are, your organization, and most importantly, a description of the information you’re seeking. You can use the form’s write-in box to describe your request, or you can attach a letter outlining your request in the Attachments section. In addition, you can attach any supporting files that may be useful to the agency during the search.
Make sure to be as detailed as possible in the description of your request. Include specific dates, times, titles of events, participating organizations, etc. The specificity of your request can impact how quickly you receive a response. You don’t need to worry about following any particular structure in your request, and you can always follow up with the agency’s FOIA service center to make sure that they understand the request.
Finally, the form will ask you for the amount in fees you’re willing to pay. If you’re attaching a letter, you can also ask to be notified if the estimated fees reach a certain amount. We’ll cover more about how fees work below.
Is There a Fee for FOIA Requests?
There is no initial fee to make a FOIA request. However, agencies are required to assess the fees to recover the direct costs of locating or reproducing records. If the estimated fees exceed $25, the agency will notify you of the cost estimate and give you the chance to narrow the scope of your request to reduce fees.
The fees themselves vary by agency. 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, and $29 per hour if completed by professional staff, with computer searches charged at a direct cost to GSA.
When Will I Receive My FOIA Results?
Agencies generally respond to requests in the order that they’re received. The FOIA sets one month as the standard time limit for responding to requests, but agencies may take longer depending on the complexity of the request. For example, GSA’s average processing time in 2023 for FOIA requests was 46 working days for simple requests, and 170 working days for complex requests.
However, you can expect to hear from your agency’s FOIA office well before you receive the formal response to your request. A few days after sending your FOIA request, you’ll likely receive a letter acknowledging the request and assigning it a tracking number. You’ll want to refer back to the tracking number in all correspondence regarding the request.
Your agency’s FOIA office will keep in touch with you about the timeline of your request and will contact you if they need to take extensions. They may also reach out to clarify certain details of your request.
Market Research and Competitor Analysis Beyond FOIA Requests
We’ve discussed how FOIA requests can help government contractors with market research and competitor analysis, but the vast majority of data on government sales, awarded contracts, and competitor pricing is already public. USASpending.gov, CALC, SSQ+, GSA Advantage, and GSA eLibrary are free online tools that allow you to easily access this data. To learn more about how these tools can help you with competitor analysis and market research, check out our blog, “Using GSA Tools to Check Up On Your Competitors.”
Thorough market research can help you determine how you stand out from the competition, so you can craft a marketing strategy that showcases your value to government customers. If you have any questions about how to approach government market research, our consultants are here to help.
