FOIAengine
A Data Analytics Platform
for Those Seeking a
Competitive Advantage
FOIAengine is an online data journalism platform and competitive intelligence/due diligence database that tracks U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in as close to real-time as their availability allows.
FOIA requests are predictive, providing signals of upcoming litigation, transactions, stock and market movements, news stories, short-seller initiatives, and other legal and corporate developments.
Who needs FOIAengine? Competitive intelligence pros. Corporate investigators. Hedge funds, quant funds and other investors. Litigators and law firms. Litigation finance industry. News media. Trade associations. Non-Profits. Political organizations.
Following the federal government’s shutdown of FOIAonline.gov last year, FOIAengine is the only source for the most comprehensive, fully searchable archive of FOIA requests across dozens of federal departments and agencies. FOIAengine has more robust functionality and search capabilities, and standardizes data from different agencies to make it easier to work with.
Our Partners Know the Power of FOIA
Through a special arrangement between PoliScio and IRE, professional members of Investigative Reporters and Editors now can get access to FOIAengine.
PoliScio has partnered with the National Council of Investigation & Security Services to improve investigators’ access to critical FOIA information.
PoliScio publishes regular articles in Law Street Media’s legal newsletter detailing the types of developments that are revealed by FOIAengine.
The Power to Know
FOIA requests are predictive. They signal a variety of stock, media and legal developments.
Agency Coverage
We monitor FOIA requests filed with over 30 U.S. government departments and agencies.
Data Structuring
We take unstructured, raw data and turn it into searchable summaries of current FOIA requests.
Key Features
FOIAengine contains over 240,000 FOIA request records generated over the past three years, and is growing rapidly.
The Power to Know
FOIAengine provides millions of signals and gives you the power to know about:
Investors researching agency actions
Reporters writing a critical story
Competitors seeking damaging info
Competitor vulnerabilities
Law firms planning to launch a lawsuit
Politicians planning campaign tactics
Non-profits pursuing policy objectives
Agency Coverage
Data Structuring
We take raw government data and transform it into a searchable database. This involves the following steps:
Regularly monitor departmental and agency websites.
Download raw data as FOIA logs are released.
Convert PDF, CSV and HTML formats into a database structure.
Clean data and correct errors.
Rationalize the data into common fields and data types.
Create additional fields of data, including request organization type.
Upload data to FOIAengine search engine.
Key Features
Agency responses to FOIA requests can take months. But long before that, FOIAengine can tell you important details about the request itself, including the name and organization of the requester, the date of the request, and the information being requested. Knowing these facts can provide new opportunities or warn about coming danger.
> Updated constantly. Tracks requests in as close to real-time as their availability allows.
> Power search features for search and filtering of requests.
> Identify proxy requesters.
> Track market impact in real time.
> Conduct more thorough due diligence.
> Tags are added to make your search more productive.
> Three-year current file and deep historic files available for subscription.
