NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REPORT
FOR OCTOBER 1, 2003 THROUGH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2004
I. BASIC INFORMATION:
A. Point of Contact:
Leslie A.
Jensen, NSF FOIA Officer
Office of
the General Counsel
4201
Wilson Blvd, Room 1265
Arlington, VA
22230
(703) 292-5065
B. Electronic Address for report: The
FY2004 FOIA Report for the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be available
as one of the choices under the References section of the FOIA entry on the
Foundation’s home page, at https://www.nsf.gov/policies/foia.jsp.
C. Paper Copies of report: Paper copies can be
requested from the person/address listed above.
II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST:
NSF policy
is to make the fullest possible disclosure of information and records to any
requester, without unnecessary expenses or delay. NSF’s “Public Information Handbook” is available electronically
as one of the choices under the References section of the FOIA entry on the
Foundation’s home page, at https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf9963.
There are
four basic agency requirements for making a FOIA request:
(1) request must be in writing (mailed
correspondence, fax, or email) and include the requester’s mailing address;
(2) the envelope and letter content must
identify the request as a FOIA request;
(3) the request must provide enough detail to
allow identification of the requested records; and
(4) the request must include agreement to pay
fees chargeable under NSF’s fee schedule.
A. Agency Components:
Requests for
records of the agency should be sent to the NSF FOIA Officer, Office of the
General Counsel, Room 1265, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22230.
Phone:
703-292-5065, Fax: 703-292-9041.
Email: foia@nsf.gov
Requests
for documents maintained by the Office of the Inspector General should be
addressed directly to the OIG, FOIA, Room 1135, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA
22230. Phone: 703-292-7100. Email: oig@nsf.gov
B. NSF response-time ranges:
The agency
generally manages to respond to FOIA requests within three to four weeks for
records that can be found at the agency (allowing for time to contact
submitters of potentially proprietary information). Response times over 20 working days are generally the result of
difficulty in contacting the submitter for clearance, need to track and
retrieve documents from off-site storage at the Federal Records Center,
voluminous number of potentially responsive records, or need to consult among
agency components.
C. Why some requests are not granted:
Requests for
records may not be granted if the records do not exist; if records have been
transferred to the ownership of the National Archives and Records
Administration; if records contain predecisional information that if released
would cause harm to NSF’s decision- making processes; records that contain
personal and/or proprietary information; if records contain information
compiled for law enforcement purposes; or if the requester asked for
information specifically prohibited from disclosure by other statutes.
III.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS USED IN THE REPORT:
A.
Agency-specific
terms and acronyms:
1.
NSF -
National Science Foundation – The National Science Foundation was established
by Congress to promote progress in science and engineering. The agency does so primarily through grants
and cooperative agreements with colleges, universities, K-12 school systems,
businesses, information science organizations and other research institutions
throughout the U.S.
B.
Basic
terms:
1.
FOIA/PA
request – Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request. A FOIA request is generally a request for
access to records concerning a third party, an organization, or a particular
topic of interest. A Privacy Act
request is a request for records about oneself; such requests are also treated
as FOIA requests. (All requests for
access to records, regardless of which law cited by the requester, are included
in this report).
2.
Initial
request – a request to a federal agency for access to records under the Freedom
of Information Act.
3.
Appeal
– a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher
administrative level a full denial or partial denial of access to records under
the Freedom of Information Act, or any other FOIA determination such as a
matter pertaining to fees.
4.
Processed
Request or Appeal – a request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final
action on the request or the appeal in all respects.
5.
Multi-track
processing – a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal
review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex
requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first out
basis. A requester who has an urgent
need for records may request expedited processing (see below).
6.
Expedited
processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a
requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records which
warrants prioritization of his or her request over other requests that were
made earlier.
7.
Simple
request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in
its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the volume and or/simplicity of
records requested.
8.
Complex
request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in
a slower track based on the volume and/or complexity of records requested.
9.
Grant
-- an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA
request.
10. Partial grant -- an agency decision
to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request, deleting
information determined to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA's exemptions;
or a decision to disclose some records in their entireties, but to withhold
others in whole or in part.
11. Denial -- an agency decision not to
release any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA request because
all the information in the requested records is determined by the agency to be
exempt under one or more of the FOIA's exemptions, or for some procedural
reason (such as because no record is located in response to a FOIA request).
12. Time limits -- the time period in
the Freedom of Information Act for an agency to respond to a FOIA request
(ordinarily 20 working days from proper receipt of a "perfected" FOIA
request).
13. "Perfected" request -- a
FOIA request need not be in any particular format, but it must be in writing,
include the requester’s name and mailing address, and be clearly identified
both on the envelope and in the letter, or in a facsimile or electronic mail
message as a Freedom of Information Act or “FOIA” request. It must describe the records sought with
sufficient specificity to permit identification, and include agreement to pay
applicable fees.
14. Exemption 3 statute -- a separate
federal statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain type of information and
authorizing its with holding under FOIA subsection (b)(3).
15. Median number -- the middle, not
average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
16. Average number -- the number
obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers
in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.
IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES:
A.
Exemption
3 statutes relied on by NSF during current fiscal year:
During
Fiscal Year 2003 NSF used Exemption (b)(3) in 10 instances to withhold
contractor proposal information not set forth or incorporated by reference into
the final contract, in accordance with the changes made to 41 U.S.C. 253b,
section 303B, by the National Defense Authorization Act of 1997 (Public Law
104-201).
Statute Rule
Type of Information Withheld
Case Citation
Hornbostle
v. US Dept. of Interior 305 F Sup. 2d 21 (DDC 2003)
V. INITIAL FOIA/PA ACCESS REQUESTS:
A. Numbers of initial requests:
1.
Number of requests pending as of end of preceding fiscal year: __8
2.
Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 311
3.
Number of requests processed during current fiscal year: 309
4. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year: 10
B. Disposition of initial requests:
1.
Number of total grants (records released in full): _36
2.
Number of partial grants (records released in part): 226
3.
Number of denials (total withholding of records): __9
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption was
used:
Exemption 1 __0
Exemption 2 __4
Exemption 4 _65
Exemption 5 __9
Exemption 6 216
Exemption 7 (A) __2
Exemption 7 (B) __0
Exemption 7
(C) _18
Exemption 7 (D) __0
Exemption 7 (E) __0
Exemption 7 (F) __0
4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 38
a. No records 18
b.
Referrals _0
c. Request withdrawn 6
d. Fee-related reason _0 e. Records not reasonably described _9
f. Not a proper FOIA request for some other
reason _3
g.
Not an agency record _0
h.
Duplicate request _0
* i. other (specify) _2
(* Requests were publicly available).
VI. APPEALS OF INITIAL DENIALS OF FOIA/PA
REQUESTS
A. Numbers of appeals
1.
Number of appeals received during fiscal year 6
2.
Number of appeals processed during fiscal year 6
B. Disposition of appeals
1.
Number completely upheld 3
2.
Number partially reversed 2
3. Number
completely reversed 1
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used:
Exemption 1 0
Exemption 2 1
Exemption 3 1
Exemption 4 5
Exemption 5 2
Exemption 6 4
Exemption 7 (A) 0
Exemption 7 (B) 0
Exemption 7 (C) 0
Exemption 7 (D) 0
Exemption 7 (E) 0
Exemption 7 (F) 0
4. Other reasons
for nondisclosure (total): 0
a. No records 0
b. Referrals 0
c. Request Withdrawn 0
d. Fee-related reason 0
e. Records not reasonably described 0
f. Not a
proper FOIA request for some other reason 0
g. Not an
agency record 0
h.
Duplicate Request 0
i. Other:
(Adequacy of Search) 0
VII.
COMPLIANCE WITH TIME LIMITS/STATUS OF PENDING REQUESTS
A. Median processing time
for requests processed during the year:
NOTE: NSF uses a single
first-in, first-out method for processing requests.
.
1.
Number of requests processed
_309
2.
Median number of days to process 19.70
B. Status of pending requests:
1.
Number
of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year (see V.A.4) 10
2.
Median
number of days that such requests were pending as of that date 40
A.
Staffing
levels:
1.
Number
of full-time FOIA personnel - 0
2.
Number
of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties – 1.40
3.
Total
number of personnel (in work years) = 1.40
A.
Total
costs (including staff and all resources)
1.
FOIA processing (including appeals) $ 179,567.00
2.
Litigation-related activities (estimated) No litigation in FY04
3.
Total costs $
179,567.00
X. FEES
A. Total amount of fees collected by agency for
processing requests $ 194.06
B. Percentage of total costs .00108%
XI. FOIA REGULATIONS (INCLUDING FEE SCHEDULE)
<http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html>.