QUESTION
How is data from FOIL requests managed, and what are the efforts involved in its publication?
1:12:55
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137 sec
The NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) collaborates with agencies to publish data released via FOIL on the open data portal, ensuring data's continuous availability.
- The OTI has updated the FOIL request form to include a checkbox indicating if the request involves data, enhancing review efficiency.
- Agencies releasing data through FOIL are required to report these datasets to ensure they are scheduled for publication on the open data portal.
- The process aims to make datasets available in perpetuity, contrasting with FOIL's temporary or specific time-bound data requests.
- Setting up a structure for continuous open data requires more effort compared to handling individual FOIL requests.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:12:55
Do we have a dataset on how many foil requests the city received by agencies?
UNKNOWN
1:13:01
We do.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:13:03
Yes.
1:13:03
We do.
1:13:04
Oh, wonderful.
Martha Norrick
1:13:05
And we also recently, in the last few years, collaborated with the with Doris to update the form, the foil request form, to have a checkbox, to indicate whether or not that foil request also includes data.
1:13:18
Which helps us review foil requests, you know, even more efficiently to look for data that has been released via foil that should also be in the updated portal.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:13:25
And you, Bart, that you mentioned this for.
1:13:27
But what because some agencies respond provide their data based on, like, their foil request
Martha Norrick
1:13:34
It's one of the things where
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:13:35
they respond with their foil.
1:13:36
I'm sorry.
Martha Norrick
1:13:37
Yeah.
1:13:37
If if an if an agency does release data via foil, that data also to be released on the open data portal.
1:13:43
So we we ask the agencies as a part of their compliance process to to tell us what datasets they've released via foil.
1:13:49
So we can then work with them to make sure that there's a publication schedule for those data sets on open data.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:13:54
Is that more tedious?
1:13:57
Is there more effort there?
1:14:00
No.
Martha Norrick
1:14:01
I I mean, it I think I don't know exactly.
Zachary Feder
1:14:03
More effort compared to
Jennifer Gutiérrez
1:14:05
to just having them respond directly to the datasets as opposed to providing it with, like, their foil response.
1:14:11
Is that what happens?
Zachary Feder
1:14:12
I I think that one of the key differences between foil and open data is that open data is continuous and forever, essentially.
1:14:19
So foil request will frequently ask for, like, a certain subset of information for, like, a month, where for open data, working with agencies on is setting up a structure to get that data in perpetuity Mhmm.
1:14:30
And then sort of document, like, every possible case of it.
1:14:34
So it's not just like one individual's request for a certain burrow, but how do you get all that information available for the entire city So oftentimes, the the work that's required to go into open data.
1:14:47
Yes.
1:14:47
There there's a lot of of additional things that we take pride in in doing with agencies to make that information accessible.
Martha Norrick
1:14:53
But it is actually easier for agencies you know, it for datasets that agencies respond to foil asked about frequently.
1:15:00
It's much easier for the agency to have that data released and updated on open data because then when a a person who requested via foil, you know, can can be directed to that dataset and and help themselves to whatever data that they were looking for in