RTI for advocacy Lesson 3.1

understanding the procedures for making

requests is important because how you

make a request can affect how much of

the information you want you actually

get and even whether you receive the

information or get a response at all

for example if you are not sufficiently

specific in your request public

authorities may face difficulties in

locating and providing the requested

information to you in a timely fashion

requesting procedures vary sometimes

widely between countries so you need to

check your own law for the specifics

in this video i sketch out the main

procedures that are generally applicable

first you should identify the public

authority that you are seeking

information from and then whether under

your law that authority is obliged to

process requests for information

not all public authorities are covered

in every country

remember that this obligation is not

restricted to government entities

private bodies that undertake public

functions or receive public funding may

also be covered

once you have identified the public

authority you should generally be able

to make a request in different ways

better practice is to offer a variety of

flexible methods for lodging requests

such as in person by email via an online

portal or through regular mail

often there is a form you need to fill

out although you may be able to submit

requests in any format including by just

sending an email

you should be as precise and detailed as

possible when describing the information

you're asking for and also keep the

request to what you need for example you

may want to request for communications

about an event and if so you should

indicate the period you want the request

to cover

this should help the public authority to

find the information as quickly and

accurately as possible

unless you want to hide your identity

for some reason it can be useful to put

the request on headed paper or to make

it clear who you are

this can help ensure that the public

authority takes your request seriously

although there are also cases of

authorities delaying requests from civil

society or the media

you should not be required to provide

the reasons for your request but at the

same time it can be useful to mention

them if you feel it might help trigger a

public interest override that is covered

in the section on exceptions

for example an investigation of

corruption by a media outlet is of

greater public interest than a

commercial request by a business but

they might look the same to an official

processing the request

if you are having problems lodging a

request for example because you are not

sure exactly how to describe what

information the authority may have that

is of interest to you the information

officer should be able to help you just

ask and see

you may be able to specify the manner in

which you wish to access the record such

as to be sent the documents in

electronic form to get a photocopy of

them or to inspect documents at the

premises of a public authority if so

consider what format would be the most

useful to you and indicate it

there may also be a relationship between

format and cost

for example electronic documents should

be free while there may be charges for

photocopies

such charges should be limited to

photocopying and sending costs but again

this will depend on your law

if your request is voluminous or you are

filing multiple requests it may be

preferable to try to get the information

in electronic format

it is always good practice to keep a

copy of your request and once it is

lodged to monitor the response including

whether they provide you with a receipt

for the request in a timely fashion

prompt follow-up for any delays can help

ensure that your request is treated

seriously