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WrittenevidencefromtheUniversityofEssex 1. ExecutiveSummary.TheUniversityofEssexbroadlysupportstheprinciplesoftheFreedom ofInformationAct.IngeneraltheActworkswell.Therearesomeareasofconcernand thesearetheusefulnessandapplicabilityofpublicationschemesintheageofwebsites,the costofcompliance,appropriatenessofuseoftheActbyjournalists,thechangingnatureof thesector,andadequateprotectionforresearchdata. 2. Openness,transparencyandaccountability.TheUniversityofEssexisanopenand transparentorganisation.Itmakesalargeamountofinformationfreelyavailableto stakeholdersthroughitswebsitesandotherpublications.AsacharitytheUniversityis requiredtopublishawiderangeofinformation. 3. KnowledgetransferisakeypartoftheUniversitysvisionandvalues.Wearerated9th nationallyforthequalityofourresearchandsharinganddisseminatingresearchisan importantpartofUniversityactivity. 4. TheUniversityishometotheUKDAwhichisthecuratorofthelargestcollectionofdigital datainthesocialsciencesandhumanities,formingavitalresourceforteachers,researchers andstudentsworldwide. 5. TheUniversitycurrentlyreceivesaround90FOIrequestseachyear.In2010werespondedin fullorinparttoallbutthreeofthoserequests. 6. Publicationschemes.Thepublicationschemeswereusefulasaninitialguidetothetypesof informationthattheICOconsidereduniversitiesshouldmakeavailable.However,some partsofthedefinitiondocumentarenotclearanddonotalwaysseemtorelatedirectlyto thewayinwhichuniversitiesworkandtheclassesofinformationtheyarelikelytohold. 7. Thepublicationschemesneedtoberevised,withinputfromthesector,tobetterreflectthe typesofinformationthatUniversitieshold. 8. SincetheimplementationoftheActtheUniversity,incommonwithothers,hasgrownits webpresence,makingmoreandmoreinformationfreelyavailablethroughitswebsite. Informationonthewebsiteisorganisedinawaythatreflectsourstakeholdergroupsand theirparticularinterestsandrequirementsforinformation. 9. Itisnolongerhelpfultoberequiredtopulltogethercertainareasofinformationand presentthemasaseparatepublicationscheme.Thistendstoduplicateworkasthescheme needstobekeptuptodatealongsideotherwebpagesthatholdthesameinformation. 10. Wesuggestthatthepublicationschemeshouldbereducedtoaminimumsetofinformation thattheICOconsidersitnecessaryforustopublish.Universitiesshouldbefreetopresent andpublishthisinformationinawaythatbestservestheinterestofstakeholders,rather thanbeingrequiredtomaintainitasaseparatedocument. 11. Costofcompliance.Whileitisreasonablethatuniversitiesshouldcreateandsupportposts todealwithcompliancewitharangeoflegislation,theburdenofFOIoftenfallsnotonthe individualappointedtoberesponsibleforcompliance,butwithstaffacrosstheorganisation whoseprimaryfunctionisprovidingorsupportingservicesthataffectstudents.Itisnot unusualforonepartoftheUniversitytobecalledupontopulltogetherinformationto respondtoseveralFOIrequestsatonce,takingstaffawayfromcorebusiness.Manyteams aresmallandtakingonepersonawaytofocusongatheringinformationforanFOIrequest canhaveanimpactonservice.
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12. Itshouldbepossiblefororganisationstonegotiatewithenquirersoverthedeadline. Althoughthe20dayspreventsorganisationsfromunnecessaryprevarication,itcanimpose anunnecessaryburden.Insomeinstances,weretheremoretime,itwouldbepossiblethat theamountandqualityofinformationreceivedbyenquirerswouldbeimprovedasthe organisationwouldhavemoretimetoidentify,retrieveandpresentdata. 13. Section12givesanexemptionwherethecostofcomplyingwouldexceedtheappropriate limit.Thislimithasnotbeenchangedforsometime.Theexemptioncouldbeimprovedby allowingthecostsofconsideringexemptionsorredactingmaterialtobeincluded.These taskscanformaconsiderablepartofrespondingtoFOIrequests. 14. Usebyjournalists.Reflectingnationaltrends 1 around30%ofallFOIrequestsreceivedat Essexaresentbyjournalists.Wherethereisbadpracticeitisrightthatjournalistsareable toexposethat.However,wesharetheconcernofotherpractitioners,notedintheMoJ memorandumaddendaontheIPSOSMORIpoll,thatjournalistsuseFOItofishforstories. Largenumbersofinstitutionsaretargetedbyroundrobinrequests,whichoftendonot appeartobeusedinanymediaitem.ItwouldbehelpfuliftheActallowedustoreferthe enquiriestopressofficesandagreethatarequestisnottobehandledundertheAct. 15. ThechangingnatureofHigherEducationfunding.TheFOIActappliestopublicauthorities. Asfundingofthesectorchanges,andagreaterproportionofuniversityincomescomesfrom nongovernmentalsources,itisevenmorearguablewhetherUniversitiesaretrulypublic authoritiesandwhethertheActshouldthereforeapplytothem.Thisconcerndoesnotarise fromawishtobecomeopaqueandsecretive,butfromaconcernthatasUniversitiesmove intoanevenmoreopenmarketplacesomeoftherequirementsofFOIcouldconstitutea competitivedisadvantage. 16. Thehighereducationsectorisexpandingtoincludeprivateproviders.Suchproviderswould beabletouseFOItodiscoverinformationabouttheircompetitorsinthemarket.Ifpublic sectoruniversitieswereunabletorelyonsection43toprotectassetsincludingcourse materials,theycouldhavetoreleasethemtocompetitors,butbeunabletomakesimilar requestofthosecompetitors. 17. Therearethreewaysinwhichalevelplayingfieldcouldbeprovidedhere.Section43 alreadyexiststoprotectcommercialinterests.However,theInformationCommissionerhas inthepastbeenseeminglyreluctanttorecognisethatuniversitieshavecommercial interests.TheforcingofUCLAN2 toreleasecoursematerialsisaprimeexampleofacasein whichtheprivatesectorwouldbeabletobenefitwiththepublicsectorunabletoprotect itself.Section43shouldbeamendedtoencompassawiderunderstanding,orclearer definitionofwhatconstitutescommercialinterests. 18. ThesecondoptionistokeepUniversitieswithinthescopeofFOIbuttoexemptthoseareas whichareprimarilycommercialoroperatinginanopenmarketplace.Thismodelalready existsfororganisationsincludingUCAS,whichissubjecttotheActonlyinrelationtosome ofitsfunctions. 19. Thefinaloption,istobringprivateproviderswithinthescopeoftheAct.Thisisalready beingconsideredforMacDonaldswithregardtotheireducationalprovision.Ifprivate
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20. providersofhighereducationweresimilarlycoveredbytheActthenthiswouldcreatea morelevelplayingfield. TheotherareaofcommercialinterestforUniversitiesiswhollyownedcompanies.Thesedo fallwithintheAct,despitesomeofthembeingcommercialorganisationswithaprofit makingremit.Itisdifficultforthemtooperateinanopenmarketwhen,simplybyvirtueof thenatureoftheirparentorganisation,theyaresubjecttoalawthatdoesnotapplytotheir privatesectorcompetitors. Research.ColleaguesintheresearchcommunityhavelongvoicedconcernsthatFOIcould poseathreattotheirwork.Ingeneralresearchersarekeentoshareanddisseminatetheir findings:thatistheverypurposeofresearch.Manyfundersofresearchnowrequirequite rightly,thatresearchfindingsanddatashouldbereleasedaspartoftheresearch,butthisis somethingthatshouldhappenattherightpointsintheresearchproject,underthecontrol oftheresearchers. Therearetimesduringthelifetimeofaresearchprojectwhenitwouldbeharmfultoshare theinformation.Theharmcouldbecommercial,withjournalspotentiallyrefusingtotake andpayforpapersbasedoninformationthathadalreadybeenreleasedintothepublic domain.Thereisalsopotentialreputationalharmiftherecannotbeaperiodduringwhich workcanbefullypeerreviewedandcheckedforerrorswhichcanbechallenged.Premature releaseofresearch,beforeithasbeencheckedandvalidated,couldpotentiallycausepublic harm,especiallyinthefieldofhealthresearch. Ourresearchcolleaguesarealsoconcernedthatresearchpartnersfromtheprivatesector willincreasinglybewaryofworkingwithUniversitiesintheUKiftheyfeeltheyareunableto protectandcontrolthedatacreatedbytheresearchproject.Researchisaglobalmarket, benefittingtheUKeconomy,andUniversitiesareakeypartofthis.WeshouldnotallowUK legislationtopreventUKresearchersfromengagingfullyinresearchwithpartners worldwide. Weacknowledgethatexemptionsexistthatmight,primafacie,appeartoprotectresearch fromprematurerelease.AswehavealreadynotedtheICOdoesnotalwaysappeartobe inclinedtosupporttheviewthatUniversitieshavecommercialinterests,makingsection43 difficulttoapply.Section43isalsoproblematicasitisnotalwaysclearintheearlystagesof researchwhatcommercialvalueitmighthave. Section22wouldalsoappeartobeusefulasthenormalintentionofresearchersisto publishtheirresearch.Fundingcouncilsoftenrequireresearchprojectstocreateadata managementplanwhichwillincludepublicationofdata.However,theInformation CommissionerhasmadeitclearthatSection22appliesonlytoinformationthatistobe publishedinthenearfuture.Researchprojectscanhaveverylonglifespans,especially longitudinalstudies.Thetimebetweenthedatacollectionphaseandfinalpublicationofthe lastpapercouldpotentiallyrunintoyears.Evenwhereapaperhasbeenacceptedbya journal,peerreviewandotherpreparationcandelaypublicationbymanymonths. Itisclear,thenthattheexistingexemptionsdonotofferadequateprotection.Wetherefore supporttheproposedUUKamendmenttoFOI. OfficeoftheInformationCommissioner.WewelcometheworkthattheICOhasdoneto betterunderstandtheHEsector.TheICOwebsiteandhelplinearewelcomeresources. However,guidancecouldbecleareranddemonstrateabetterunderstandingofthesector.
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Guidancefromthehelplinecanbevagueandoccasionallycontradictory.SomeICOdecisions wouldappeartoshowalackofunderstandingofthewayinwhichtheHEsectorworks. February2012