FOI Man brings news of two new guides to FOI aimed at requesters.

If you are a user of FOI, you will be interested in two new guides to the Act that have been published in the last few weeks. I’ve had some involvement in both publications, and one reproduces my own guide to using FOI responsibly.

The researchers of University College London’s Constitution Unit, fresh from their important contribution to the post-legislative scrutiny of the Act, bring you a guide aimed at academics. Making Freedom of Information Requests: A Guide for Academic Researchers by Gabrielle Bourke, Ben Worthy and Robert Hazell is available online and from the Constitution Unit.

Meanwhile, another guide, primarily aimed at journalists and campaigners, has been produced by the entrepreneurial journalists of Request Initiative. FOIA Without the Lawyer: Freedom, Information and the Press by Brendan Montague and Lucas Amin is available as an e-book from Amazon.

Talking of Request Initiative, I’ll be joining a panel including the Deputy Information Commissioner, Graham Smith, Director of the Campaign for FOI, Maurice Frankel, and fellow blogger and Save FOI campaigner, Tim Turner, to review the post-legislative scrutiny report at a Request Initiative event this Tuesday (9 October) evening. The event is already fully-booked, but you can read my views on the report in previous posts Justice for FOI and A warning shot across the bow.