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25 Section III: Duties Relating to Public Access • What kinds of data may a person request? The person requesting government data may request access to specific types of data or data elements, to specific documents or portions of documents, to entire records, files or databases, or to all public data maintained by the entity. Must a data request be made in writing? Although the law does not specify the form in which a data request must be made, an entity may require that the data request be made in writing -- such as by letter, facsimile or a-mail transmission -- and may require the use of a form designed for this purpose. An entity requiring the use of a form must design the form so that it complies with the requirements of the MGDPA, and must establish how it will provide guidance to the public in using the form. May an entity permit standing requests for data? An entity may not prohibit or refuse a standing request for data. It may, however, limit the duration of a standing request or, after a period of time, confirm the requestor's desire to continue the standing request. Must a government entity respond to a data request? Once an entity has received a request, it must respond to the request. What kind of response must the entity make and how soon must it respond? The entity must respond to a data request appropriately and promptly. More than anything else, • what is appropriate and prompt depends upon the scope of the request, and may vary depending upon such factors as the size and complexity of the entity, the type and/or quantity of data requested, the clarity of the data request, and the number of staff available to respond to the request. How does an entity determine the appropriate response to a data request? The first step in responding to a data request is to determine what specific data are requested. This may require the entity to seek clarification from the requestor. Although the entity may not require the requestor to provide identification, provide a reason for the request, or justify the request, the entity may request identifying information from the requestor if that information is necessary to fulfill the request. The entity also must determine whether it maintains the requested data. The entity is not required by the MGDPA to provide data which it does not maintain. The entity also is not required to produce data in a particular form or format if the data are not maintained in that form or format. (The entity may provide data in a specific format pursuant to a data request for summary data. See, What special requirements apply to requests for summary data?, below.) If the entity maintains the requested data, it then must determine how the data are classified. As described above, entities must know what data they maintain and how those data are classified in order to be able to determine whether the requested data may be made available to the requestor. • July, 2000 Model Policy: Access to Government Data & Rights of Subjects Data