Marianne Woods of Johns Hopkins University provides insight to the exemptions to the FOIA. Of Exemption Four she notes that the government does not require respondents to provide information “that may put them at a disadvantage with competitors” (Woods, 2015). Since research universities are becoming hubs for the innovation ecosystem, the VPR should advise faculty regarding their rights under the FOIA to withhold information that could jeopardize the commercialization of their work. More and more, as our institution and others like it forge through the third augmentation of research, the translation of research to industry can mean that more aspects of research would be exempted from the FOIA. The Committee recommends the development of a checklist or flowchart to help faculty determine whether or not their information can be categorized as “trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.” (United States Department of Justice, “Frequently Asked Questions”, n.d.) Though the Committee chose to highlight Exemption One and Exemption Four due to the nature of research at our university, all nine are considered essential elements of the FOIA. If the researcher and the authorized representative do not find the request to fall under any of the exemptions, the team should work quickly to fulfill the request. As such, another essential element of the FOIA pertains to the format and content of the
Marianne Woods of Johns Hopkins University provides insight to the exemptions to the FOIA. Of Exemption Four she notes that the government does not require respondents to provide information “that may put them at a disadvantage with competitors” (Woods, 2015). Since research universities are becoming hubs for the innovation ecosystem, the VPR should advise faculty regarding their rights under the FOIA to withhold information that could jeopardize the commercialization of their work. More and more, as our institution and others like it forge through the third augmentation of research, the translation of research to industry can mean that more aspects of research would be exempted from the FOIA. The Committee recommends the development of a checklist or flowchart to help faculty determine whether or not their information can be categorized as “trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.” (United States Department of Justice, “Frequently Asked Questions”, n.d.) Though the Committee chose to highlight Exemption One and Exemption Four due to the nature of research at our university, all nine are considered essential elements of the FOIA. If the researcher and the authorized representative do not find the request to fall under any of the exemptions, the team should work quickly to fulfill the request. As such, another essential element of the FOIA pertains to the format and content of the