Brokering Access Beyond the Border and in the Wild: Comparing Freedom of Information Law and Policy in Canada and the United States

Luscombe, Alex; Walby, Kevin; Lippert, Randy K.

doi:10.1111/lapo.12080

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This second example resembles definitions of special treatment in the literature and bolsters suspicions about the potentially reciprocal nature of these transactions that we have elaborated elsewhere (Luscombe et al, 2017).…”

Section: Reciprocity: From Gift To Counter-giftsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…Outside directors who join a police foundation, also represent their primary corporations. These latter organizations then become represented as supporters of police projects, and receive insider opportunities to become major sponsors of foundation events like galas (Lippert and Walby, 2017;Luscombe et al, 2017Luscombe et al, , 2018. For many of its board members, Foundation X was among several company-supported initiatives ranging from sporting events to healthcare.…”

Section: Philanthropy Generosity and Obfuscationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Police foundation governance and accountability: Corporate interlocks and private, nonprofit influence on public police

Walby

Lippert

Luscombe

2018

Criminology & Criminal Justice

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Police foundations are new private organizations used by public police services to raise corporate monies in North America. This article examines problems of governance and accountability arising in relation to police foundations and police services. Drawing from interviews, freedom of information requests and records from city archives, we analyze interlocks between corporations and police foundations via board membership. Because of the influence and control directors exercise by voting on projects and vetting other board members, links between corporations and police foundations raise ethical questions about the power of board members to influence police spending and procurement. We analyze data pertaining to four themes in literature on nonprofit organizations and directorate interlocking: philanthropy; influence and control; cooptation; and reciprocity. In conclusion, we reflect on the implications of our findings for literatures on public police governance and accountability.

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Section: Reciprocity: From Gift To Counter-giftsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Philanthropy Generosity and Obfuscationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Police foundation governance and accountability: Corporate interlocks and private, nonprofit influence on public police

Walby

Lippert

Luscombe

2018

Criminology & Criminal Justice

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“…The onus should not fall completely on FOI coordinators either. Part of brokering access to FOI disclosures must be communicating with FOI coordinators to achieve access (Walby and Luscombe 2018, 2017; Luscombe, Walby, and Lippert 2017; Luscombe and Walby 2017).…”

Section: Analysis Of the Duty To Assist: Core Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The duty to assist in Canadian Freedom of Information law

Roziere¹,

Walby²

2020

Can Public Adm

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The duty to assist is a core principle in Freedom of Information (FOI) law in Canada and elsewhere. FOI coordinators working in each Canadian government agency are responsible for implementing this duty, though they face challenges in doing so. Examining Information Commissioner rulings, we elaborate on the dimensions of duty to assist as articulated in Canadian law and policy. We argue that while attention to the duty to assist is a necessary but insufficient condition for refurbishing FOI law in Canada, improving adherence to it would enhance "internal mechanisms of administrative justice" (Adler 2003). We conclude by discussing remedies and implications for literatures on FOI, administrative justice, and due process. Sommaire : Au Canada et ailleurs, l'obligation de prêter assistance est un principe fondamental de la Loi sur l'accès à l'information (LAI). Alors que les coordonateurs de la LAI oeuvrant dans tout organisme gouvernemental canadien sont responsables de mettre en oeuvre cette obligation, ils doivent surmonter des défis pour le faire. Après avoir étudié les décisions du Commissaire à l'information, nous donnons plus de détails sur les dimensions de l'obligation de prêter assistance telles que formulées dans la loi et la politique canadiennes. Nous soutenons le fait qu'alors que de s'intéresser à l'obligation de prêter assistance soit une condition nécessaire mais insuffisante pour remettre à neuf la LAI au Canada, améliorer son adhésion valoriserait les « mécanismes internes de la justice administrative » (Adler 2003). En conclusion, nous discutons des recours et des implications sur la documentation concernant la LAI, la justice administrative, et une procédure équitable.

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“…' (Economic & Social Research Council, 2012: 28) FOIA offers one route for gaining access to information in these circumstances. Writing in a North American context, Luscombe et al (2017) employ the term 'feral lawyer' to describe citizen-researchers operating in the field of FOI, who are not lawyers but end up 'bargaining, arguing, and appealing in ways familiar to formally trained legal practitioners' (Luscombe et al, 2017: 260). But just as Jenkinson (2017) warned journalists not to be seduced into thinking this is journalism, it represents one element of a research process.…”

Section: Foia As a Tool For Critical Social Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using FOI to explore governance and decision-making in the UK

Sheaff¹

2019

Freedom of Information and Social Science Research Design

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CHAPTER 4 Using FOI to Explore Governance and Decision-Making in the UK Mike Sheaff determination of 'public interest', the following section reviews examples of UK research in which FOIA has been used. Accessing information: FOIA and social research in the UK There are now several examples of such research, but referring to an observation by Brown (2009), Savage and Hyde (2013) note suggestions "that researchers are yet to fully appreciate the value of FOIA to empirical research in the fields of social science and law" (2013: 303). A common feature of existing research is the collection of comparative data across public authorities, including Savage and Hyde's (2013) own study of whistleblowing. This involved requests to 48 food safety regulatory bodies to identify whether the regulators were receiving whistle-blowing disclosures, and what action resulted from such disclosures. Savage and Hyde note, "FOIA request are particularly useful where comparisons are sought to be drawn between various public authorities. By using a standardised FOIA request, data obtained from public authorities can be standardised" (Savage & Hyde 2013: 309). Similarly, Johnson and Hampson (2015) sent FOIA requests to police forces in England as part of a larger research study of criminal activity and EU migrants. Over a fifteen-month period, 43 forces were asked to disclose information relating to criminal charges, the type of crime, and the nationality and age of the alleged offenders. While noting limitations, the authors' overall conclusion was that, "access afforded by the FOIA is valuable. Research conducted would not have been possible without this formal mechanism to obtain the required data; results received have been useful, interesting and informative" (Johnson & Hampson 2015: 263). In the context of social work research, Murray (2013) investigated free access to leisure centres for children in care through requests to all 152 local authority children's services in England. Results showed a differential provision, "with fewer than half of councils (48 per cent) currently providing free leisure passes" (Murray 2013: 1347). Murray also comments on limitations in use of FOIA, including difficulties in asking extensive questions and probing responses, and potentially a reluctance by some authorities to comply (although this was not experienced in this study). Murray concludes, "these limitations notwithstanding, there are many advantages associated with using Freedom of Information requests. It is suggested that it be considered a suitable way to elicit data across a range of social work topics" (Murray 2013: 362). A review of use of FOIA requests in research involving the English NHS described the number of studies as "relatively few" (Fowler et al. 2013: 6). Sixteen studies conducted between 2005 and 2013 had requested disclosure on a diverse range of issues, including litigation, surgical provision, funding for rarer cancers, laboratory provision, pharmaceutical safety, and midwifery discipline. These studies involved a total o...

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Brokering Access Beyond the Border and in the Wild: Comparing Freedom of Information Law and Policy in Canada and the United States

Cited by 19 publications

References 33 publications

Police foundation governance and accountability: Corporate interlocks and private, nonprofit influence on public police

Police foundation governance and accountability: Corporate interlocks and private, nonprofit influence on public police

The duty to assist in Canadian Freedom of Information law

Using FOI to explore governance and decision-making in the UK

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