Voicing your right to know

"It is incredibly valuable having the FOI powers. Using them has fundamentally changed what the campaign has been able to achieve."
Simon Birkett, Founder of Campaign for Clean Air in London.

A guide to using Freedom of Information in campaigning

This new guide illustrates how the Freedom of Information Act has been used as a powerful and versatile campaigning tool from the local to the national level. Its findings show how campaigners are at the forefront of developing our 'right to know', making government more transparent.

Illustrated by five case studies, Bliss, Corner House, Campaign Against the Arms Trade, TreeHouse and the Campaign for Clean Air in London, the guide explores ways in which Freedom of Information requests have been used in campaigns, whether for developing the evidence base of a campaign or to gain crucial information on how decisions are made. It also explores why and how campaigns can benefit from using Freedom of Information requests and tackles some of the potential difficulties that can arise.

The ultimate aim of this guide is to share learning and raise awareness of a process which has been proven to achieve significant campaign gains and open up government, through something as simple as writing a letter.

Download the free guide - Your right to know (PDF 1.64MB)

What is Freedom of Information?

"…used effectively, FOI can be an extremely powerful resource, and, in some cases, can even tip the balance between the success or failure of a campaign." Kevin Dunion, Scottish Information Commissioner

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legislation provides rights of access to all all recorded, non-personal information held by public authorities unless a specific exception allows the authority to refuse to give you the information. FOI is first and foremost a right. It is a right to know about information that affects our lives. While FOI came into force under a Labour Government, its importance has been recognised by the present Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government, in their aim to "extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency."

About this research

The research has two main strands. Firstly, a series of five in-depth case studies focusing on different experiences of using Freedom of Information in campaigning, based on interviews with campaigners from the organisations mentioned above. By doing so, readers can understand the benefits and challenges to using FOI from the perspective of those who have used it. Secondly, a survey of the voluntary sector looking at themes and issues in how FOI has been used and the potential for future use. Both of these strands are complemented by some insightful comments by a range of campaigners, lawyers and individuals from the public sector.

It also brings to light some interesting issues – both demonstrating and questioning how FOI can be useful at a variety of levels for a variety of purposes. For example, two of the case study organisations used FOI as a research survey tool on a local, yet nationwide level, while others focused more upon advocacy. In both cases issues explored include use of the information gained, strategy, framing requests, dealing with potential delays and experiences of the appeals system – in regard to the ICO and the Information Tribunal.

FOI can be a means to an end or as an end in itself - the guide investigates how it can fit with other campaigning methods – what to question and what to consider.

Other resources

Video interview Using Freedom of Information as a campaign tool
Katherine Gunderson, Campaign for Freedom of Information, Ann Feltham, Campaign Against Arms Trade and Simon Birkett, Campaign for Clean Air London

Presentation from Simon Birkett: Using Freedom of Information (and EIR) powers in campaigning
Using Freedom of Information in campaigning workshop NCVO Campaigns Conference

Using FOI to benchmark and measure the impact of your campaigns? Guest blogger Tom Baker shares how he's done just that on the campaigning blog.