8th Annual FOIA Technology Conference Attracts over 250 Federal FOIA Case Workers
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) August 25, 2013 -- Over 250 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case workers and their managers representing more than 70 federal departments and agencies attended the 2013 FOIAXpress Users Group Conference on August 22 in downtown D.C. This annual event is hosted by AINS Inc., the creator of the leading FOIA technology in North America.
At the conference, attendees gathered to improve their FOIA-related technology skills and knowledge and discuss FOIA request processing with their colleagues from across the government. AINS moderated a panel discussion about the benefits of FOIA-in-the-cloud and presented the new Advanced Document Review solution that leverages ediscovery technology to ease the burden of voluminous requests and complex email sets. Attendees also learned about FOIAXpress Technical Services and AINS commitment to directly impact the productivity of agency FOIA agencies via improved utilization of FOIAXpress.
Richard Huff, former co-director of the Office of Information and Privacy, gave the keynote address to the audience, themed around the significance of the CREW v. Federal Election Commission decision and its effect on the government FOIA community in terms of a new definition of “Promptly” for response times. He also touched on the day-to-day stresses of the FOIA worker, and closed with a heartfelt discussion about the best parts of working with the FOIA, saying “I see stories in numerous newspapers… that couldn’t have been written without the work of everyone associated with a FOIA office. These are the kinds of stories that can truly inform our citizenry of the operations and activities of their government.”
Delores Barber, Deputy Chief FOIA Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, was the recipient of the 2013 Wayne R. Jewell Customer Appreciation Award for her hard work to improve FOIA processing at her agency. Upon receiving the award she said, “My department’s relationship with AINS is a perfect example of how the private sector and government can work together to solve some problems and make our lives a little bit easier in administering the FOIA and providing greater service to our requester community.”
At the end of the program, participants gathered in “FOIA Communities” with colleagues from agencies with similar missions to continue their discussions about the practical challenges that face FOIA workers and best practices for greater efficiency.
For more coverage of this event, please see: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=&sid=3430241
David Kruger, AINS Inc., http://ains.com/foiaxpress-users-group/, 301-670-2311, [email protected]
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