SupportingStatement for 3095-0068 OGIS mediation.Final.Nov.2019

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Consent to Make Inquiries and Release of Information and Records, NA Form 10003
OMB Control No. 3095-0068
1. Circumstances making the collection of information necessary. In accordance with the Open
Government Act of 2007, Congress created the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS),
which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). OGIS provides
mediation services to resolve disputes between agencies and people making Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) requests and appeals, reviews administrative agency FOIA policies and
procedures, and reviews agencies’ compliance with the FOIA. OGIS is also known as the “FOIA
Ombudsman.” OGIS obtains customer (respondent) intake information and consent as part of its
mediation services program so that it may follow through on customer requests for assistance. In
addition, the Privacy Act of 1974 requires prior written authorization from an individual to permit
Federal agencies to share records and information related to FOIA and Privacy Act requests and
appeals, unless the agency has a published routine use that includes release to OGIS for that
purpose. Currently, 39 Federal departments or agencies have a routine use of this nature included
in their FOIA and Privacy Act system of records notices. Respondents use the NA Form 10003, OGIS
Consent to Make Inquiries and Release of Information and Records, to authorize agencies that do
not have an appropriate routine use to release records and information related to the customer’s
FOIA and Privacy Act actions, so that OGIS can assist in resolving the dispute or in providing
information to the customer. The authority for this information collection is 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b).
2. Purpose and use of the information. In order to fulfill its government-wide statutory mission,
OGIS provides varying types of assistance to its customers, which requires obtaining intake
information from customers and communicating with government departments and agencies
regarding the customer’s FOIA/Privacy Act request/appeal. OGIS collects the following information
from respondents as part of its intake process in order to provide mediation services:
● Customer contact information (name, mailing address or email address, daytime telephone
number)
● A clear description of the issue or the assistance the customer seeks from OGIS (for example,
a delay in receiving a response to a FOIA request or a denial of specific information)
● The name of the agency or agencies to which the customer submitted their request(s)
● The tracking/request/case number(s) assigned to the customer’s FOIA request(s) and/or
appeal(s)
● Copies of all relevant correspondence between the customer and the Federal agency.
Depending on where the customer is in the FOIA process, this material might include:
o Their FOIA request;
o The agency’s response to the customer’s request (including a response to a request for
expedited processing or a fee waiver);
o The administrative appeal letter; and
o The agency’s response to the customer’s appeal.
In some cases, customers also complete a privacy consent form, NA Form 10003. Under the
Privacy Act, agencies may not share peoples’ personal information without either a routine use
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they publish prior to gathering the information, or consent from the involved person. OGIS uses
NA Form 10003 to collect that consent and information necessary for an agency to identify the
correct files in cases where the agency doesn’t have an appropriate published routine use.
Without the information collected during the intake process and the consent submitted in NA
Form 10003, OGIS would be unable to fulfill its mission or provide assistance to requesters.
In its role as the FOIA ombudsman, OGIS has the unique capacity to observe and examine the
interactions between requesters and agencies across the Federal government, noting patterns
that impede the FOIA process. OGIS’ advisory opinions address these patterns and trends,
clarifying issues that may be confusing and offering suggestions to facilitate the FOIA process. Our
goal is to increase efficiency and transparency in the FOIA process in a way that is most useful to
all of our customers. As part of this mission, we may also use the information we collect from
requesters, in the aggregate, to discern such patterns and trends. Specifically, we consider the
types of issues or obstacles requesters raise and encounter in the FOIA process, their frequency,
scope, and similar aspects in the aggregate, as one factor when we assess potential trends and
topics for process improvement, broader awareness, and similar actions.
3. Use of information technology and burden reduction.
OGIS cannot currently accept the collected information via online submission. Respondents may
provide intake information over the phone, by email, by fax, or by mail. Respondents may also use
the NA Form 10003 to provide intake information, in addition to using it to provide consent for
agencies to release information. OGIS informs customers on its website at
https://www.archives.gov/ogis/mediation-program/request-assistance what information they will
need to gather and submit. The NA Form 10003 is available online at OGIS’s website in a fillable
pdf form with electronic signature option, so customers can submit signed copies of the consent
form by email without printing first, or may print and mail or fax it to OGIS. Once OGIS is able to
add online submission technology to a future case management database, it will be able to collect
intake information and consent forms online. The collected information is the minimum
information OGIS needs to perform its statutory mission and to aid requesters.
4. Efforts to identify duplication and use of similar information. There is no duplication of this
information.
5. Impact on small businesses or other small entities. This information collection does not have a
significant impact on small businesses.
6. Consequences of collecting the information less frequently. The frequency of response is
occasional and initiated by customers themselves when they ask for OGIS assistance.
7. Special circumstances relating to the guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5. We conduct the information
collection in a manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5.
8. Comments in response to the Federal Register notice and efforts to consult outside agency. We
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have not engaged in any formal consultations. NARA published a notice in the Federal Register on
August 26, 2019 (84 FR 44641) requesting public comment. We received no comments.
9. Explanation of any payment or gift to respondents. This information collection involves no
remuneration to respondents.
10. Assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents. We provide assurances of
confidentiality to respondents for information they provide through this information collection
and request we keep in confidence, in accordance with the confidentiality provision of the
Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (5 USC §§ 571-84). We maintain information we
collect through this information collection in a Privacy Act-protected system of records, and
store, maintain, and destroy the information in accordance with NARA records retention
schedules. The system of records notice for this information is available on our website at
https://www.archives.gov/privacy/inventory/nara-40.
11. Justification for sensitive questions. We ask respondents no questions of a sensitive nature.
12. Estimates of hour burden including annualized hourly costs. The hour burden for all individual
respondents is as follows:
Form of
Request from
Respondents

Number of
Respondents

Responses per
Respondent

Minutes per
Response

Annual Hour
Burden

Email, mail,
phone, fax

3,646

1

10

608

NA Form 10003
(subset of the
group above)

30

1

2

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OGIS developed the response time data by a combination of administering a proposed consent
form to a test group of respondents and observing the amount of time respondents in person
and over the telephone typically take to provide the information. The number of respondents is
an average based on the past three years of data from our case management system.
13. Estimate of other total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers. The estimated
annualized cost for each individual respondent is $0.
14. Annualized cost to the Federal government. The total estimated annualized cost to NARA is $0.
15. Explanation for program changes or adjustments. The significant increase in burden hours is
due to the increase in program customers, changing the estimated number of annual
respondents from 400 to 3,646. The significant increase in the number of cases is largely
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attributable to the passage of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, (signed on June 30, 2016),
which added statutory language introducing OGIS as a resource at every stage of the FOIA
administrative process. As a result of that change, the estimated average amount of time for
respondents to provide the information also increased (from two minutes to ten per respondent)
because of the need to explain which stage of the FOIA administrative process they are at, gather
documentation related to multiple stages, and the broader range of issues respondents have
been raising.
16. Plans for tabulation and publication and project time schedule. We do not use the information
collection for statistical studies or publications.
17. Reason(s) display of OMB expiration date is inappropriate. We will display the expiration date
of the OMB approval on the form.
18. Exceptions to certification for Paperwork Reduction Act submissions. NARA is not requesting
any exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork
Reduction Submissions,” of the OMB Form 83-I.

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