Is your agency challenged when handling FOIA requests in a timely and efficient way? Is your agency still processing paper requests manually? If your answer was yes, you are surely frustrated with the number of resources and time it takes to compile, copy, and redact documents while having to meet strict deadlines. This is where FOIA Software Solution steps in.

Even if today’s technology can significantly help, some government agencies are still challenged with responding to citizens and stakeholders FOIA requests in an efficient and timely manner. We all know, processing FOIA requests manually is time-consuming and can lead to frustration of citizens when FOIA responses are delayed. So, why not ease your and your employee’s burden and embrace FOIA software solution? Read on and see what the key elements of a solid solution are and how Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution can significantly simplify your agency FOIA request management and improve constituent service.

Simplify Your FOIA Request Management with FOIA Software Solution

Implementing FOIA software solution will help your agency overcome its most complex processing challenges. Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution is an affordable, swiftly deployable, flexible, off-the-shelf solution that can help you meet all of your FOIA needs.

Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution can significantly simplify the whole process of handling FOIA requests by streamlining the management of response documents and communications. Also, citizens and stakeholders will always be up-to-date since they can track the status of their application.

With Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution you will benefit from the following:

• Centralized processing from various request channels: fax, web, paper.
• Simplified uploads of documents, photos, and videos.
• Compliance with security and records retention.
• Mobile friendly and cloud-ready module.
• Automated business intelligence.
• Reduced risk of information lost.
• Faster information assembling.
• Automatic records declaration.
• Improved workflow capacity.
• Faster access to information.
• Higher user productivity.
• Faster response rate.

Since we live in an era of rapidly growing and changing workforce, when you choose FOIA Software Solution, you must plan for the future. The solution needs to be intuitive and adaptable to changes. It needs to be a solution that will evolve with your agency’s requirements.

Now, let’s take a look at the 5 key elements that one FOIA software solution should provide your agency with.

1. Simple Processes

FOIA agencies are facing many complexities while handling FOIA requests, including how the requests are received, captured, processed, and archived. Delays caused by inefficient processing can be costly to your agency and frustrating for citizens and stakeholders.

With Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution you can simplify the whole process of handling FOIA requests, and all the needed data will be just a click away. Instant access to data enables easier communication and collaboration across different departments and facilitates quicker processing and response.

2. Instant Access to Data

You are undoubtedly aware how much time and effort it takes to search data regarding some FOIA request. With Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution, your staff can access a requester’s file instantly and complete all required steps electronically which can provide a complete picture of an FOIA request. With its leading-edge federated searching, our FOIA software solution rapidly connects any number of remote data sources to capture wanted results in just a few seconds. Armedia’s FOIA software solution is quickly deployed and eliminates massive data duplication.

3. Quick FOIA Request Processing

When some agency fails to respond to FOIA request in a timely and satisfactory manner, stakeholders and citizens expectation of government is disappointing. Implementing FOIA Software Solution will significantly speed up communication and collaboration while keeping accountability over clear audit trails.

Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution can be customized based on the way your agency handles FOIA requests. Our solution will help your staff effectively manage, process, and respond to the always increasing FOIA requests and:

• Simplify the process of handling FOIA requests, despite how they are received (letter, fax, phone call or email).
• Assign the request to the people in charge (and notify Executive Officers if needed)
• Create and deliver customized communications automatically, without time-consuming manual data gathering.
• Quickly search across different data repositories, identify the needed data, and make it instantly actionable.

4. Eliminated Manual Processes

Implementing different methods of handling documents and forms among multiple people slows down agency’s flow of work significantly. Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution simplifies data sharing by eliminating manual processes and file shuffling. With our solution, FOIA requests are captured into our software repository, converted into electronic files and routed to the person in charge. With its powerful features, Armedia’s FOIA Software Solution will eliminate the manual workforce and free up your staff to work on some other tasks.

5. Ensure Government Compliance

Since we are experienced in the FOIA field, we at Armedia understand the compliance issues your agency faces. That’s why we’ve designed scalable FOIA Software Solution that complements with your general compliance strategy. Our FOIA Software Solution can help agencies achieve compliance with executive and legislative mandates and improve their FOIA performance and response time.

Agencies that don’t utilize the advanced capabilities of FOIA software solution are dealing with nearly unmanageable processes. For instance, many agencies are still utilizing outdated approaches for redacting information using permanent markers or tape to cover up images and text and then scan or copy the document to create a record without redacted content. What’s more, when a change is required, or some error is made, the whole process must be repeated. On the other hand, with implementing FOIA software solution, agencies will reduce manual workforce and simultaneously increase their efficiencies and response time.

Let’s Wrap This Up

Many complexities are surrounding the FOIA world, starting from how FOIA requests are received to how they are archived. Maintaining FOIA records demands investment in modern technology and a fresh approach to aid in organizing, securing, storing, and searching.

Having FOIA software solution with the end-user as a focus has never been more crucial. Today, government agencies are increasingly pressured to provide quick and easy access to public records and are facing sensitive deadlines for responding to FOIA requests. What this means is that for government agencies’ employees, measuring turnaround times and tracking and reporting on requests are equally important as completing them.

Getting the information within the right timeframe to the right people is a challenge. Armedia offers a comprehensive FOIA software solution with the ability to manage the entire FOIA lifecycle: capturing, tracking, correspondence, document gathering, fulfillment, archival, and reporting.

Armedia’s FOIA software solution helps agencies be more productive while maintaining confidence in legislative compliance and document security. Armedia has been helping agencies deliver citizen-friendly responses by developing more flexible, effective, and scalable software and having the best consulting and implementation services. Armedia’s technology is based on generally accepted standards and works with any electronic content or hard copy.

Utilizing Armedia’s solution leads to huge resource and time savings, fewer chances for errors, and less risk to harm citizens, staff or organization by accidental disclosures. Our goal is to help agencies evolve the public records request process form a manual, labor-intensive process to an efficient automated one.

If you are interested in implementing FOIA Software Solution, don’t hesitate to contact us. We will make sure your agency is hands-free when it comes to maintaining since we maintain and update both the software and ArkCase. And, don’t forget to share this article with your colleagues on social media networks.