Introduction One of the many ways by which the federal government of the United States offers transparency to taxpayers is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Established in 1967, this Act was designed to “keep citizens in the know about their government.” (United States Department of Justice, “What is FOIA?”, n.d.) Sadly, many American citizens are unaware that they can request any information from a federal agency as long as such disclosure does not fall under the nine exempted categories. Information that is not already publicly available can be requested under the FOIA and federal agencies must provide it. The implications of the FOIA are many; however, due to the high percentage of research in America that is funded by the federal
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Marianne Woods of Johns Hopkins University provides insight to the exemptions to the FOIA. Of Exemption Four she notes that the government does not require respondents to provide information “that may put them at a disadvantage with competitors” (Woods, 2015). Since research universities are becoming hubs for the innovation ecosystem, the VPR should advise faculty regarding their rights under the FOIA to withhold information that could jeopardize the commercialization of their work. More and more, as our institution and others like it forge through the third augmentation of research, the translation of research to industry can mean that more aspects of research would be exempted from the FOIA. The Committee recommends the development of a checklist or flowchart to help faculty determine whether or not their information can be categorized as “trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.” (United States Department of Justice, “Frequently Asked Questions”, n.d.) Though the Committee chose to highlight Exemption One and Exemption Four due to the nature of research at our university, all nine are considered essential elements of the FOIA. If the researcher and the authorized representative do not find the request to fall under any of the exemptions, the team should work quickly to fulfill the request. As such, another essential element of the FOIA pertains to the format and content of the
Marianne Woods of Johns Hopkins University provides insight to the exemptions to the FOIA. Of Exemption Four she notes that the government does not require respondents to provide information “that may put them at a disadvantage with competitors” (Woods, 2015). Since research universities are becoming hubs for the innovation ecosystem, the VPR should advise faculty regarding their rights under the FOIA to withhold information that could jeopardize the commercialization of their work. More and more, as our institution and others like it forge through the third augmentation of research, the translation of research to industry can mean that more aspects of research would be exempted from the FOIA. The Committee recommends the development of a checklist or flowchart to help faculty determine whether or not their information can be categorized as “trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.” (United States Department of Justice, “Frequently Asked Questions”, n.d.) Though the Committee chose to highlight Exemption One and Exemption Four due to the nature of research at our university, all nine are considered essential elements of the FOIA. If the researcher and the authorized representative do not find the request to fall under any of the exemptions, the team should work quickly to fulfill the request. As such, another essential element of the FOIA pertains to the format and content of the