Title: NSF FOIA Report FY 2008 
Date: 02/03/09




NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REPORT
FOR OCTOBER 1, 2007 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2008



I.  BASIC INFORMATION:



A.  Point of Contact:

Leslie A. Jensen, NSF FOIA Officer

Office of the General Counsel

4201 Wilson Blvd, Room 1265

Arlington, VA  22230

(703) 292-5065



B.  Electronic Address for report: The FY 2008 FOIA Report for the National
Science Foundation (NSF) will be available as one of the choices under the
References section of the FOIA page on the NSF web site:
http://www.nsf.gov/policies/foia.jsp.



C.  Paper Copies of report: Paper copies can be requested from the Point of
Contact listed above.



II.  HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST:



NSF policy is to make the fullest possible disclosure of information and
records to any requester, without unnecessary expenses or delay.  NSFs
Public Information Handbook is available electronically as one of the
choices under the References section of the FOIA page on the Foundations
web site:

http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07135.



There are four basic agency requirements for making a FOIA request:

(1)  request must be in writing (mailed correspondence, fax, or email) and
include the requesters mailing address;

(2)  the envelope and letter content must identify the request as a FOIA
request;

(3)  the request must provide enough detail to allow identification of the
requested records; and

(4)  the request must include agreement to pay fees chargeable under NSFs
fee schedule.



A.  Agency Components:



Requests for records of the agency should be sent to the NSF FOIA Officer,
Office of the General Counsel, Room 1265, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA
22230.

Phone: 703-292-5065, Fax: 703-292-9041.  Email: foia@nsf.gov.



Requests for documents maintained by the Office of the Inspector General
should be addressed directly to the OIG, FOIA, Room 1135, 4201 Wilson Blvd,
Arlington, VA 22230.

Phone:  703-292-7100.  Email:  oig@nsf.gov



B.  NSF response-time ranges:



The agency generally manages to respond to FOIA requests within three to
four weeks for records that can be found at the agency (allowing for time
to contact submitters of potentially proprietary information).  Response
times over 20 working days are generally the result of difficulty in
contacting the submitter for clearance, need to track and retrieve
documents from off-site storage at the Federal Records Center, voluminous
number of potentially responsive records, or need to consult among agency
components.



C.  Why some requests are not granted:



Requests for records may not be granted if the records do not exist; if
records have been transferred to the ownership of the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA); if records contain predecisional information
that if released would cause harm to NSFs decision-making processes; if
records contain personal and/or proprietary information; if records contain
information compiled for law enforcement purposes; or if the requester
asked for information specifically prohibited from disclosure by other
statutes.



III.  ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS:



1.      Agency-specific terms and acronyms:



NSF - National Science Foundation  The National Science Foundation was
established by Congress to promote progress in science and engineering.
The agency does so primarily through grants and cooperative agreements with
colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, information
science organizations and other research institutions throughout the U.S.



2.      Basic terms:



  a. Administrative Appeal  a request to a federal agency asking that it
     review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by
     the agency at the initial request level.



  b. Average Number  the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of
     numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group.  For example, of 3,
     7, and 14, the average number is 8.

  c. Backlog  the number of requests or administrative appeals that are
     pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the
     statutory time period for a response.

  d. Component  for agencies that process requests on a decentralized
     basis, a component is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an
     Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency
     that processes FOIA requests.  The FOIA now requires that agencies
     include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall
     and for each principal component of the agency.

  e. Consultation  the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA
     request first forwards a record to another agency for its review
     because that other agency has an interest in the document.  Once the
     agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the
     record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it.  That
     agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester.

  f. Exemption 3 Statute  a federal statute that exempts information from
     disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information
     under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.

  g. FOIA Request  a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal
     agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e. a
     third-party request), or concerning an organization, or a particular
     topic of interest.  FOIA requests also include requests made by
     requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., first-party
     requests) when those requestors are not subject to the Privacy Act,
     such as non-U.S. citizens.  Moreover, because all first-party
     requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access
     provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA
     requests also include any first-party requests where an agency
     determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act systems of
     records or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency
     looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access.  All requests
     which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the
     requester are included in this report.

     Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency
     for processing and direct response to the requester.  It does not,
     however, include records for which the agency has received a
     consultation from another agency.  (Consultations are reported
     separately in Section XII of this Report.)

  h. Full Grant  an agency decision to disclose all records in full in
     response to a FOIA request.

  i. Full Denial  an agency decision not to release any records in
     response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their
     entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a
     procedural reason, such as when no records could be located.

  j. Median Number  the middle, not average, number.  For example, of 3,
     7, and 14, the median number is 7.

  k. Multi-Track Processing  a system in which simple requests requiring
     relative minimal review are placed in one processing track and more
     voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other
     tracks.  Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet
     another track.  Requests in each track are processed on a first
     in/first out basis.

     i.  Expedited Processing  an agency will process a FOIA request on an
     expedited basis when a requester satisfied the requirement for
     expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency
     regulations.

     ii.  Simple Request  a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track
     processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the
     low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

     iii.  Complex Request  a FOIA request that an agency using
     multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the high
     volume and/or complexity of the records requested.

  l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial  in response to a FOIA request, an
     agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold
     other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a
     portion of the request for a procedural reason.

  m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal  a request or
     administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action
     in all respects.

  n. Perfected Request  a request for records which reasonably describes
     such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating
     the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.

  o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal  a request or
     administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in
     all respects.

  p. Range in Number of Days  the lowest and highest number of days to
     process requests or administrative appeals.

  q. Time Limits  the time period in the statue for an agency to respond
     to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a
     perfected FOIA request).


3.  Nine FOIA exemptions:

      a.  Exemption 1:  classified national defense and foreign relations
information.

      b.  Exemption 2:  internal agency rules and practices.

      c.  Exemption 3:  information that is prohibited from disclosure by
another federal
           law.

      d.  Exemption 4:  trade secrets and other confidential business
information.

      e.  Exemption 5:  inter-agency or intra-agency communications that
are protected by
           legal privileges.

f.       Exemption 6:  information involving matters of personal privacy.

g.      Exemption 7:  records or information compiled for law enforcement
purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could
reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would
deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,
(C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity
of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for
law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose
guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could
be reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any
individual.

h.      Exemption 8:  information relating to the supervision of financial
institutions.

i.       Exemption 9:  geological information on wells.



IV.  EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES:



Statute   Type of         Case Citation  Number of        Total Number
          Information                    Times Relied     of Times
          Withheld                       upon per         Relied upon
                                         Component        by Agency

41 U.S.C. Business        Hornbostel     OIG: 1                7
 253b    Proposal         v. U.S.       NSF: 6
          Documents       Dept. of 
          not             Interior,                   
          incorporated    305 F.                      
          in contracts    Supp
                          . 2d 21
                          (D.D.C. 2003)

35 U.S.C. Confidential     Irons and Sears v.     OIG: 0        18
 122     status of        Dann, 606 F.2d 1215,   NSF: 18
          applications;    1220 (D.C. Cir.      
          publication of   1979), cert.
          patent           denied., 444 U.S.
          applications     1075 (1980); Lee
                                     
                           Pharmaceuticals v.
                           Kreps, 577 F.2d 610,
                           615-617 (9th Cir.
                           1978), cert. denied,
                           439 U.S. 1073 (1979)



V.  FOIA REQUESTS:



A.  Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests (Perfected and
non-perfected)

     Column 1   +   Column 2   -   Column 3     =    Column 4

     Number of      Number of      Number of          Number of
     Requests       Requests       Requests           Requests
     Pending as of  Received in    Processed in       Pending as of
     Start of       Fiscal Year    Fiscal year        End of Fiscal
     Fiscal Year                                      Year

OIG     0              39             37              2
NSF     2             314             315             1

Agency  2             353             352             3
Overall

B.  (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests  All Processed Requests



Number     Number of       Number of       Number of Full Denials Based 
of Full    Partial         Full Denials    on Reasons Other than Exemptions
Grants     Grants/Partial  Based On
           Denials         Exemptions
                           
				                No        All      Request   Fee-Related
								Records	 Records  Withdrawn  Reason  
						                 Referred 
                                         to
								    	 Another                               
                                         Component                     
                                         or Agency                                    
                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                             
 OIG    4      21      5         4                    2                                         
 NSF    32     234     3         5                   15          4                               



     Records not        Improper      Not      Duplicate  Other     Total
     Reasonably         FOIA          Agency   Request    *Explain
     Described          Request for   Record              in chart
                        Other                             below
                        Reason                                        37
        
		                  1
OIG		
NSF		3                               14                    5       315






B.  (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests  Other Reasons for Full Denials
Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions from Section V,
            B(1) Chart

     Agency Overall     Description of Other Reasons        Total
                        for Denials from Chart B(1) &
                        Number of times Those Reasons
                               Were Relied upon
          OIG                         0                         0
          NSF             * Records provided directly           2
                            to requester from
                            submitter
                          * Records publicly available
                          * Suspended, requester never          2
                            responded to request for
                            information                         1

B.  (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests  Number of Times Exemptions Applied

        Ex. Ex.  Ex. Ex.  Ex. Ex.  Ex.  Ex.   Ex.  Ex.  Ex.   Ex.  Ex. Ex.

         1   2    3   4    5   6  7(A)  7(B) 7(C) 7(D)  7(E) 7(F)   8   9
  OIG        1    1   1    2  22    5         22
  NSF        2   24   87  12  203
 Agency      3   25   88  14  225   5         22

Overall





VI.  ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS



A.  Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals



               Column 1              +           Column 2
   -               Column 3               =              Column 4



 Number of Appeals Number of Appeals  Number of Appeals  Number of Appeals
   Pending as of   Received in FiscalProcessed in Fiscal Pending as of End
  Start of Fiscal         Year               Year          of Fiscal Year
       Year
         0                 10                 10                 0



B.  Disposition of Administrative Appeals  All Processed Appeals

   Number      Number Partially     Number Completely    Number of  TOTAL
 Affirmed on Affirmed & Partially  Reversed/Remanded on   Appeals
   Appeal    Reversed/Remanded on         Appeal        Closed for
                    Appeal                                 Other
                                                          Reasons
      8                2                    0                0        10



C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal  Number of Times Exemptions Applied



 Ex.  Ex.  Ex.  Ex.  Ex. Ex.   Ex.   Ex.   Ex.  Ex.   Ex.   Ex.   Ex.  Ex.

  1    2    3    4    5   6   7(A)  7(B)  7(C)  7(D)  7(E)  7(F)   8    9
                 2    2   6     1           2













C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal  Reasons Other than Exemptions



   No    Records  Request Fee-Related  Records  Improper  Not  DuplicateRequest in   Appeal   Other
 Records ReferredWithdrawn   Reason      not    Request Agency  Request Litigation   Based   *Explain
            at                       Reasonably   for   Record or Appeal           Solely on in chart
         Initial                      Described  Other                             Denial of  below
         Request                                Reasons                             Request
          Level                                                                       for
                                                                                   Expedited
                                                                                   Processing
    1



C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal  Other Reasons from Section VI, C(2)
Chart





  Description of Other Reasons for Denial on Appeal          Total
  from Chart C(2) & Number of Times Those Reasons Were
                      Relied Upon
                           0                                     0



C. (4) Response time for Administrative Appeals

 Median Number of   Average Number of  Lowest Number of  Highest Number of
       Days               Days               Days              Days
        20                16.4                6                 20

C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals



              10th    9th  8th   7th  6th   5th   4th  3rd   2nd   Oldest
             Oldest                                                Appeal
             Appeal
  Date of       0      0    0     0    0     0     0    0     0       0
 Receipt of
 Ten Oldest
  Appeals
 Number of      0      0    0     0    0     0     0    0     0       0
    Days
  Pending





VII.  FOIA REQUESTS:  RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS

A.  Processed Requests  Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests

                       Simple                   Expedited Processing
          Median  Average  Lowest Highest  Median Average  Lowest  Highest
          Number  Number   Number  Number  Number  Number  Number   Number
          of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days  of Days of Days
OIG      13       12.3    1       33      0       0       0       0
NSF      17.5     21.12   1       229     0       0       0       0
         16       20.26   1       229     0       0       0       0



Agency
Overall



B.  Processed Requests  Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which
Information Was Granted



                       Simple                   Expedited Processing
          Median  Average  Lowest Highest  Median Average  Lowest  Highest
          Number  Number   Number  Number  Number  Number  Number   Number
          of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days of Days  of Days of Days
   OIG      13     11.9      1       33      0       0        0       0
   NSF      19     23.18     1      229      0       0        0       0
            18     22.22     1      229      0       0        0       0



  Agency
 Overall



C.  Processed Requests  Response Time in Day Increments



                              Simple Requests



        1-2021-4041-6061-80 81-100101-120121-140141-160 161-180181-200201-300301-400 401+
                                   Days
        DaysDays  Days Days  Days          Days   Days   Days   Days    Days   Days  DaysTOTAL
  OIG         2
        32
  NSF   202  81    22   5     1      1      1                            1
        234  83    22   5     1      1      1                            1

 Agency

Overall



                   Requests Granted Expedited Processing



        1-2021-4041-6061-80 81-100101-120121-140141-160 161-180181-200201-300301-400 401+
                                   Days
        DaysDays  Days Days  Days          Days   Days   Days   Days    Days   Days  DaysTOTAL
  OIG    0    0    0    0     0      0      0      0       0      0      0      0     0    0
  NSF    0    0    0    0     0      0      0      0       0      0      0      0     0    0
         0    0    0    0     0      0      0      0       0      0      0      0     0    0

 Agency

Overall







D.  Pending Requests  All Pending Perfected Requests

                        Simple                   Expedited Processing
              Number    Median    Average    Number     Median    Average
             Pending   Number of Number of   Pending  Number of  Number of
                         Days       Days                 Days      Days
    OIG         2         9.5       9.5         0         0          0
    NSF         1         272       272         0         0          0
                3         135        97         0         0          0

   Agency
  Overall





E.  Pending Requests  Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests



         10th    9th   8th  7th  6th   5th   4th  3rd    2nd      Oldest
        Oldest                                                  Request and
        Request                                                  Number of
          and                                                      Days
       Number of                                                  Pending
         Days
        Pending
  OIG                                                  9/17/08    9/16/08



                                                          9         10
  NSF                                                             8/27/07



                                                                    272



             10th   9th 8th  7th  6th  5th 4th    3rd     2nd     Oldest
            Oldest                                                Request
           Request                                              and Number
             and                                                  of Days
            Number                                                Pending
           of Days
           Pending
                                                9/17/08 9/16/08   8/27/07

  Agency
  Overall
                                                   9       10       272

VIII.  REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

A.  Requests for Expedited Processing

              Number    Number   Median Number    Average        Number
             Granted    Denied     of Days to    Number of    Adjudicated
                                   Adjudicate     Days to      Within Ten
                                                 Adjudicate  Calendar Days
    OIG         0          0           0             0             0
    NSF         0          0           0             0             0
                0          0           0             0             0



   Agency
  Overall



B.  Requests for Fee Waiver



              Number Granted    Number   Median Number of Average Number of
                 (Partial)      Denied        Days to          Days to
                                            Adjudicate       Adjudicate
     OIG             0            0              0                0
     NSF             0            0              0                0
                     0            0              0                0



    Agency
   Overall

IX.  FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS



A.  Personnel











B. Costs



                                 Column 1     +   Column 2        =
Column 3



                    Personnel                              Costs
          Number of  Number of    Total
         Full-TimeEquivalent Number of
            FOIA     Full-Time Full-Time Processing Litigation-RelatedTotal Costs
         Employees    FOIA       FOIA      Costs          Costs
                    Employees   Staff


   OIG        0        0.16       0.16    $20,278.00         0         $20,278.00
   NSF        0         3.6        3.6   $275,061.00         0         $275,061.00
              0        3.76       3.76   $295,339.00         0         $295,339.00

 Agency
 Overall







X.  FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

                          Total Amount of Fees    Percentage of Total Costs
                                Collected
          OIG                    $48.07                     0.24


          NSF                   $4,579.68                   1.66
                                $4,627.75                   1.57

     Agency Overall















XI.  FOIA REGULATIONS



NSF FOIA regulations are published at 45 C.F.R. 612, available
electronically at

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/45cfr612_05.html.



XII.  BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS



A.  Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals



                          Number of Backlogged      Number of Backlogged
                         Requests as of End of      Appeals as of End of
                              Fiscal Year               Fiscal Year
          OIG                      0                         0
          NSF                      1                         0
                                   1                         0

     Agency Overall



B.  Consultations on FOIA Requests  Received, Processed and Pending
Consultations
                                          Column 1           +
Column 2               -           Column 3            =          Column 4

              Number of       Number of       Number of       Number of
            Consultations   Consultations   Consultations   Consultations
            Received from   Received from   Received from   Received from
            Other Agencies  Other Agencies  Other Agencies  Other Agencies
              that Were       During the      that Were       that Were
           Pending at Your   Fiscal Year     Processed by  Pending at Your
             Agency as of                    Your Agency   Agency as of End
             Start of the                     During the    of the Fiscal
             Fiscal Year                     Fiscal Year         Year
    OIG           0               0               0               0
    NSF           1               1               2               0
                  1               1               2               0

   Agency
  Overall

























C.  Consultations On FOIA Requests  Ten Oldest Consultations Received From
Other Agencies And Pending At Your Agency



       10th Oldest  9th  8th  7th   6th  5th  4th  3rd  2nd      Oldest
      Consultation                                            Consultation
      and Number of                                          and Number of
      Days Pending                                            Days Pending
            0        0    0    0     0    0    0    0    0         0
            0        0    0    0     0    0    0    0    0         0



            10th Oldest  9th 8th  7th 6th  5th  4th 3rd  2nd     Oldest
           Consultation                                       Consultation
           and Number of                                     and Number of
           Days Pending                                       Days Pending
                 0        0   0    0   0    0    0   0    0        0

  Agency
  Overall





D.   Comparison Of Numbers Of Requests From Previous And Current Annual
Report  Requests Received, Processed And Backlogged

               Number of Requests Received   Number of Requests Processed
              Number Received    Number         Number          Number
               During Fiscal    Received       Processed       Processed
              Year from Last  During Fiscal  During Fiscal   During Fiscal
               Years Annual    Year from   Year from Last     Year from
                  Report     Current Annual  Years Annual  Current Annual
                                 Report         Report          Report
                   * 340         NSF 314         *343             315
                                 OIG 39                         OIG 37
                  * Only           353            343             352
                 reporting
    Agency    Agency overall
   Overall     as Component
              was not broken
              out in the 2007
               Annual Report



                          Number of Backlogged      Number of Backlogged
                       Requests as of End of the Requests as of End of the
                       Fiscal Year from Previous  Fiscal Year from Current
                             Annual Report             Annual Report
          OIG                      0                         0
          NSF                      2                         1
                                   2                         1

     Agency Overall





E.  Comparison Of Numbers Of Administrative Appeals From Previous And
Current Annual Report  Appeals Received, Processed, And Backlogged



                Number of Appeals Received    Number of Appeals Processed
              Number Received    Number         Number          Number
               During Fiscal    Received       Processed       Processed
              Year from Last  During Fiscal  During Fiscal   During Fiscal
               Years Annual    Year from   Year from Last     Year from
                  Report     Current Annual  Years Annual  Current Annual
                                 Report         Report          Report
     OIG          * This            3                              3
               component was
               not reported
               separately in
                2007 Annual
                  Report
     NSF             4              7              4               7
                     4             10              4              10

    Agency
   Overall





                          Number of Backlogged      Number of Backlogged
                        Appeals as of End of the  Appeals as of End of the
                       Fiscal Year from Previous  Fiscal Year from Current
                             Annual Report             Annual Report
          OIG                      0                         0
          NSF                      0                         0
                                   0                         0

     Agency Overall