Using the Freedom of Information Act: tips, tricks, and testing out AI. 1-2
This two-part practical course will guide you through the basics of freedom of information legislation and equip you with the skills necessary to make successful information requests and appeals.
FOIA 1: In this session, Jenna and Lucas will talk you through how to draft effective FOIA requests, and will share their top tips and tricks. They will also provide an overview of accessing information under the Environmental Information Regulations and Data Protection legislation. They will share how they obtained documents under information laws for their investigations at Democracy for Sale.
FOIA 2: In this session, Jenna and Lucas will discuss the most common obstacles that you may encounter when submitting FOIA requests, as well as how to challenge them. They will also discuss strategies when appealing against public authorities’ decisions and taking challenges to the tribunal. They will also share how they have been experimenting with AI to help draft FOIA complaints.
“[Jenna] very clearly explained a complex topic and I left fizzing with ideas of how I could implement her techniques!”
“I’ve never submitted an FOI request so I liked how the course showed me from start to finish how it works. It was also incredibly useful to hear about the potential pitfalls and what to do to appeal.”
“Jenna is really the Queen of FOIA and it shows. I really appreciated that she shared her knowledge with us.”
Please note that this course has a specific focus on UK FOI law and is unable to address the legislation in other national contexts in any great detail.
Jenna Corderoy
Lucas Amin
- 26 June 2026 14.40–17.00
FOIA without the Lawyer
by Brendan Montague and Lucas Amin
The Freedom of Information Act is an excellent journalistic tool that offers access to information held by more than 100,000 public bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In FOIA without the Lawyer, the authors share the methodology they have developed while running The Request Initiative and making requests on behalf of charities, NGOs and campaigning groups.