Section III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures

The Department of Justice has long focused on the need for agencies to work proactively to post information online without waiting for individual requests to be received.

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to increase the amount of material that is available on your agency websites.  In addition to the questions below, you should also describe any additional steps taken by your agency to make and improve proactive disclosures of information.

1. Please describe what steps your agency takes to identify, track, and post (a)(2) proactive disclosures.  

  • Within the NIH components, various communications, research, and policy individuals monitor their component’s activities and research portfolios for matters appropriate for proactive disclosure.  The Communications offices also monitor correspondence from the public and stakeholders for topics of general interest.  Web teams monitor websites for sites that receive many views to identify material that might be appropriate for translation into other languages.
  • Manuals are posted on the CMS website, for instance there is an Internet-Only Manual (IOM) which has a table of contents for recent changes and an implementation date when the changes are to be incorporated into the IOM.
  • HRSA has historically proactively released records to the public, without requiring a FOIA request.  The HRSA FOIA Reading Room provides the public with links to the HHS Electronic FOIA Reading Room; Heath Center Data & Reporting; and Uniform Data System (UDS) resources and data.  Additionally, HRSA’s FOIA Reading Room contains links to HRSA’s Data Warehouse; Office of Pharmacy Affairs 340B Database; and the National Practitioner Data Bank.  Additionally, HRSA’s programs routinely proactively release information as part of their business practices. 
  • HRSA used an Artificial Intelligence program to identify similar requests based on the requester or the subject of the request. This enhancement will allow HRSA FOIA Office to efficiently determine if they meet the Rule of 3 for Reading Room posting.

2. Provide examples of any material that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past reporting year, including records that have been requested and released three or more times in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(D).  Please include links to these materials as well.

CDC:

CMS:

  • Frequently requested and posted records include: Statement of Deficiency, Cost Reports, and Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and applications. CMS Rulings and Provider Review Board decisions are also posted in the CMS Reading Room
  • Manuals are posted on the CMS website, for instance there is an Internet-Only Manual (IOM) which has a table of contents for recent changes and an implementation date when the changes are to be incorporated into the IOM.

FDA:

HRSA:

IHS:

NIH:

The Office of the Director regularly updates proactive disclosures in the NIH FOIA Library, found here:

https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/freedom-information-act-office/nih-foia-library

ORS News2Use newsletter provides useful information and is publicly available on NIH’s website.  (https://news2use.ors.nih.gov/Pages/default.aspx) It is published quarterly.

The Center for Scientific Review (CSR), the gateway for NIH grant applications and their review for scientific merit.:

Review Matters Blog: https://www.csr.nih.gov/reviewmatters/

CSR Advisory Council Information (Agenda, minutes, video, roster etc.):

https://public.csr.nih.gov/AboutCSR/Organization/CSRAdvisoryCouncil

Study section information, rosters, and meetings dates:

https://public.csr.nih.gov/StudySections 

https://public.csr.nih.gov/RevPanelsAndDates 

CSR news and Policy:  https://public.csr.nih.gov/NewsAndPolicy 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CSRpeerreview

Review Matters blog: https://www.csr.nih.gov/reviewmatters/

Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives/ Office of Research Infrastructure Program (DPCPSI/ORIP):

Twitter feed at homepage
https://orip.nih.gov/   

Highlighting Progress Relative to ORIP’s Strategic Plan
https://orip.nih.gov/strategic-plan/orip-theme-i/highlighting-progress-archives  


Fogarty International Center (FIC):

News and feature articles about Fogarty’s programs and grantee successes, scientific publications etc.: https://www.fic.nih.gov/News/Pages/News.aspx
Weekly funding newsletter including items of interest to global health researchers:
http://www.fic.nih.gov/Funding/News/ 
Commentary and publications by Fogarty Director:
http://www.fic.nih.gov/About/Pages/director.aspx 
Newly funded grants and awards:
http://www.fic.nih.gov/Grants/Search/Pages/search-grants.aspx 


National Center for Advanced Translational Services (NCATS):

Annual reports, which can be found on the right rail and bottom at https://ncats.nih.gov/about/center
Translational Science Education and Training: https://ncats.nih.gov/training-education
Funded activities under the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards
(CTSA) Program: https://ncats.nih.gov/files/ctsa-funding-information.pdf
NCATS Strategic Plan: https://ncats.nih.gov/strategicplan
NCATS Toolkit for Patient-Focused Therapy Development: https://ncats.nih.gov/toolkit
E-Newsletter: https://ncats.nih.gov/enews
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ncats.nih.gov
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncats_nih_gov
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-center-for-advancing-translational-science-ncats
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ncatsmedia


National Institute on Aging (NIA):

Budgets and testimony: https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/budget
Inside NIA Blog: https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/blog
Payline information and policies: https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/grants-funding/nia-specific-funding-policies


National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB):

NIBIB-funded science highlights: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/news-events/newsroom
Funding opportunities: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/research-funding#quicktabs-funding_tabs=1
National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering meeting agendas and meeting minutes: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/about-nibib/advisory-council   
NIBIB Congressional Justification: http://www.nibib.nih.gov/about-nibib/budget   


National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA):

The NIDA Data Share web site (https://datashare.nida.nih.gov/

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS):

Databases & Searches - NTP makes several databases and online searches available      at no cost. See http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/results/dbsearch/index.html

NTP Monographs - NTP conducts literature-based evaluations that assess evidence on substances in our environment that may cause adverse health effects. See https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/pubhealth/hat/index.html


National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):

NIMH Clinical Trials Funding Opportunity Announcements: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/opportunities-announcements/clinical-trials-foas/index.shtml

Funding Opportunities: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/index.shtml


National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD):

Director’s Corner -  Director’s Corner -  http://nimhd.nih.gov/about/directors-corner/index.html

NIMHD Staff Directory - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/staff-directory.html 

Extramural Research Programs - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/extramural 

NIMHD Research Framework - https://nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/research-framework.html

NIMHD funding opportunities - https://nimhd.nih.gov/funding/nimhd-funding/ 

Intramural Research Programs - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/intramural/ 

NIMHD Publications - https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/publications/

OS:

The We Can Do This website launched in April 2021 with the goal of providing partners and stakeholders with timely, relevant, and up-to-date resources focused on vaccine confidence and uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic. The site includes a regular stream of new materials for social media, television ads, explainer videos with trusted messengers, helpful one-pagers, and posters and flyers for in-person spaces in 14 different languages, using messaging at an 8th grade reading level.

Throughout the site history, the ASPA Public Education Campaign (PEC) has worked with partners, stakeholders, and cultural agencies to ensure that the content provided is accessible and meeting the needs of the communities we hope to reach. We have created a pathway through site by building a submission feature to capture feedback from site users and opened communication through focus groups where individuals were able to convey their use of the site and ways to improve.

In addition to site analytics, ASPA PEC are guided by this relevant information and continue to build and develop the We Can Do This site to accommodate our partners and stakeholders’ work to close the gap in COVID vaccination.

OS worked with the Department of Army to identify and proactively post COVID-19 contracts related to the Countermeasures Acceleration Group. The contracts can be found in the HHS Reading Room, under OWS Proactive Releases - https://www.hhs.gov/foia/electronic-reading-room/index.html

3. Does your agency disseminate common types of material outside of FOIA, including in online databases where the public may access them?  If yes, please provide examples and, if applicable, statutory authority. 

  1. CDC posts Public Use data sets
    •  COVID Data Tracker
    • COVID-19 Data from the National Center for Health Statistics (cdc.gov)
    • COVID-19 Death Data and Resources - National Vital Statistics System (cdc.gov)
  2. CMS posts National Provider Identification data and Public Use Files of provider -based Medicare reimbursements.
  3. IHS posts policies, standards and procedures related to patient care services.
  4. NIH’s RePORT Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) website provides access to a variety of reporting tools, reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities. Including access to NIH funded grants,
  5. OIG releases audits, reports, press-releases, exclusion notices, enforcement actions, fraud alerts, HHS OIG Most Wanted healthcare fugitives
  6. FDA posts

4. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information more useful to the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your agency’s website?

Yes

5. If yes, please provide examples of such improvements.  In particular, please describe steps your agency is taking to post information in open, machine-readable, and machine-actionable formats, to the extent feasible.  If not posting in open formats, please explain why and note any challenges.

  1. OIG Exclusions notifications are posted in open machine-readable format.
  2. CMS Nursing Home Compare, information is in 508 format and can be accessed by  requesting braille or different languages.

6. Does your proactive disclosure process or system involve any collaboration with agency staff outside the FOIA office?  If so, describe this interaction.

  1. Within the NIH components, various communications, research, and policy individuals monitor their component’s activities and research portfolios for matters appropriate for proactive disclosure.  The Communications offices also monitor correspondence from the public and stakeholders for topics of general interest.  Web teams monitor websites for sites that receive many views to identify material that might be appropriate for translation into other languages.
  • HRSA involves their Office of Communications because they manage the public-facing internet pages.  In regards to the UDS data, the Bureau of Primary Health Care is included.  Another example of the collaboration is the Division of Injury Compensation Program’s CICP Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program data.
  • FDA proactive disclosure involves our public affairs and media affairs staff, as well as IT and website staffs.

Optional -- Please describe:

  • Best practices used to improve proactive disclosures
  • Any challenges your agency faces in this area
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