VA Increased FOIA Processing Thanks to Automation
The agency is using capacities like RPA to expedite FOIA review, decreasing the time between request and document release.
Adam Patterson & Amy Kluber, GovCIO Media & Research, May 11, 2022
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In fiscal year 2021, the agency received more FOIA requests than it did in fiscal year 2019 — from 21,336 to 27,762. From a preliminary glance at the full list of these requests, one can see many of the requests received in 2021 pertained to things like COVID debt relief data, vaccination rates and other matters that were pertinent to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
The amount of requests it was able to process dipped in fiscal 2020. This is in part due to the disruption in working location, the need for increased remote access to systems and the influx of paper mail. Plus, like many U.S. hospitals, the agency had to handle unprecedented numbers of patients sick with COVID-19 and stand up a nationwide vaccination effort quickly.
The number of requests the agency processed, however, rose again in fiscal 2021 and surpassed the amount processed before the pandemic. Part of this is thanks to its FOIA office introducing more automation into its workflows.
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