Freedom of Information Act Requests (FOIA)

When a FOIA request involves documents related to a Principal Investigator (PI) at UMB:

1. The federal agency will notify the PI that a FOIA request has been received.
2. The PI has a limited timeframe to review the documents and confirm whether any confidential commercial, financial, or other sensitive information should be withheld.
3. The PI may respond directly or request that the Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) respond on their behalf.
4. If no information requires withholding, the PI or SPA signs the agency-provided form confirming that the documents can be released in full.

Acting promptly is critical because federal agencies have deadlines for releasing records under FOIA.

While your current FOIA content does not discuss costs, federal FOIA regulations allow agencies to charge fees for search, review, and duplication of records in certain cases. Typical fee categories include:

• Searching for responsive documents
• Reviewing records for exemptions
• Reproducing documents (paper or electronic)

In most cases involving NIH or similar research documents, the agency manages costs directly, and PIs are not responsible for fees.

FOIA requires agencies to release requested records unless they fall under one of nine exemptions and three exclusions, which protect sensitive information. Examples include:

• Personal privacy (e.g., Social Security numbers, date of birth, salary information)
• National security
• Law enforcement
• Commercial or financial information provided in confidence

Redaction and Partial Withholding:

• In rare cases, such as pending patent applications, specific paragraphs or pages of a proposal or progress report may be withheld.
• The PI or SPA must provide the federal agency with:
  • Specific lines or content to redact
  • Justification for withholding

Non-response by PI or SPA:

• If the PI and UMB do not respond by the federal agency’s deadline, the agency will release documents with routine redactions to protect personal or business information.
• Examples of routine redactions include:
  • Social Security numbers
  • Dates of birth
  • Institutional base salary
  • Other personal or business information

References for NIH redactions:

• NIH grant redactions
• NIH contract redactions