Getting started with FOIA "Backlog Buster" Redaction Engine

The FOIA Redaction Engine reviews responsive records before your analysts do: it removes duplicates, threads email and proposes redactions for personal information and controlled unclassified information, each with a suggested exemption and the reason it was flagged. Analysts accept, reject or change every proposal, so their time goes on judgment rather than on searching pages. Nothing is released until a person has decided every redaction and a second reviewer has checked the set.

What it is for

Most of the effort in a FOIA response goes into line-by-line review of records that are repetitive, long and full of personal details. Backlogs grow when the same email appears many times, when scans are hard to read, and when redactions on one copy of a record are not carried to the others.

• Analysts spend much of their time finding names, numbers and contact details rather than making exemption decisions.
• Duplicates and long email threads mean the same text is reviewed, and sometimes redacted differently, more than once.
• Controlled unclassified information can be missed when markings are inconsistent or absent.
• Exemption logs and release packages are assembled by hand at the end, when deadlines are closest.

Who uses it

• FOIA officers and analysts who review and redact records
• FOIA public liaisons and program managers who track backlogs
• Agency counsel who advise on exemptions and defend responses in litigation
• Records managers who supply collections and retention guidance
• Privacy officers who oversee Privacy Act requests and disclosures

Before you start

• Your organization licenses FOIA "Backlog Buster" Redaction Engine from Moraph.
• A Moraph client account in that organization, signed in.
• Access to FOIA "Backlog Buster" Redaction Engine in Moraph Apps, given by an administrator in the Moraph Portal under People and access.
• For setup: the product administrator role.

Steps to get started

1. Sign in at app.moraph.com with your Moraph account.

2. Open FOIA "Backlog Buster" Redaction Engine from the launcher. The first time anyone opens it, its workspace is created from the default described in Workspace reference.

3. Check your role: what you can see and do depends on it. See Roles and permissions.

4. Product administrators: work through Set up FOIA "Backlog Buster" Redaction Engine before your team starts.

5. Everyone else: start with Everyday tasks.

Where to go next

• Set up FOIA "Backlog Buster" Redaction Engine
• Everyday tasks
• Connect your systems
• Security, data and compliance
• Troubleshooting and the support guide
• Product overview on moraph.com