Chief FOIA Officer Report for Overseas Private Investment Corporation 

I. Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness 
1. Description: Each of the 37 FOIA requests received by OPIC in FY09 was scrutinized on 
an individual basis by one of two attorneys applying the presumption of openness. 
Recommendations to withhold information were reviewed by another attorney for 
justification and consistency with the requirements of FOIA. OPIC does not keep 
statistics on the number of pages of information it did not withhold solely because of the 
"presumption of openness since that presumption has been applied as a matter of course, "
in accordance with the law. 
"2. Disclosure Comparisons: In FY09, OPIC processed 37 FOIA requests. All requested "
information was released 35% of the time. Partial information was released 24% of the 
"time. In FY08, OPIC processed 50 FOIA requests. All requested information was "
released 28% of the time. Partial information was released 28% of the time. Due to the 
"small number of requests received in FY09, it is difficult to determine if the -4% "
difference is statistically significant. 


II. Steps to Ensure That Your Agency Has an Effective System for Responding to FOIA 
Requests 
1. All FOIA requests are received by one of two attorneys in the agency’s Legal Affairs office either 
"by daily review of the FOIA email inbox, or via hand-delivery of mail from the agency’s "
mailroom. Faxed requests are received via a fax located within Legal Affairs. 
2. OPIC has created a tracking and reporting system using shared server technology that allows the 
attorney handling FOIA requests to enter information for each request and track its progress. The 
system operates on agency servers with technical support provided by the IT department. It uses a 
minimal amount of resources and is requires little maintenance. The attorneys who deal with 
FOIA matters review the information on a daily basis. 
3. OPIC uses a centralized information management system to store and retrieve historical 
project files. The attorneys who respond to FOIA requests make regular use of it to 
identify and retrieve information. 


III. Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures 
"1. In conjunction with the Open Gov Initiative, OPIC’s FOIA counsel worked with agency "
"leadership to identify and make available on-line several datasets of agency information, "
"including OPIC’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis "





"Details, and OPIC US and Development Effects FY 2008. (http://www.opic.gov/open) "
2. The Chief FOIA Officer serves as part of the task force that is continuing to identify information 
that will be made available in the future. 


IV. Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology 
1. Does your agency currently receive requests electronically? Yes. Requests are received via 
electronic mail delivered to an email account for the attorneys who respond to FOIA requests. 
"2. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency establishing a mechanism to receive "
requests electronically? N/A. 
3. Does your agency track requests electronically? Yes. OPIC has created a tracking and reporting 
system using shared server technology that allows the attorney handling FOIA requests to enter 
information for each request and track its progress. The system operates on agency servers with 
technical support provided by the IT department. It uses a minimal amount of resources and is 
requires little maintenance. The attorneys who deal with FOIA matters review the information on 
a daily basis. 
"4. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency utilizing a system to track requests "
electronically? N/A. 
5. Does your agency use technology to process requests? Yes. In addition to the systems 
"described above, OPIC scans documents that are not otherwise available in digital format. The "
"scanned documents, as well as original electronic documents, are processed digitally for redaction "
and marking purposes. 
"6. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency utilizing technology to process requests? "
N/A. 
7. Does your agency utilize technology to prepare your agency Annual FOIA Report? Yes. The 
report is compiled using statistics generated by the tracking system described above as well as by 
a separate spreadsheet program maintained by the attorney who has primary responsibility for 
handling FOIA requests. 
"8. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency utilizing technology in preparing your "
Annual FOIA Report? N/A. 


V. Steps Taken to Reduce Backlogs and Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests 
1. Backlog Status: OPIC did not have a backlog of requests and appeals in FY 08 and FY 09. 





2. Backlog Reduction Steps: N/A 
3. Steps to Improve Timeliness: One attorney is now tasked with monitoring and responding to all 
requests. This has resulted in greater attention to the timeliness of responses.