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FOIPPed again! |
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As the clock ticks, hundreds of university employees clean desk drawers, filing cabinets and shelves getting records ready for THE DEADLINE: Jan. 4, 1999.
That's when the University of Alberta will fall under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation or FOIPP for short. Preparation for FOIPP has created a FOIPP office and FOIPP liaison officers, heck, the word has even entered the vernacular as a verb, as in "Is this information FOIPPable?"
It's all about protecting the personal information we gather-while sharing it with the person it is about, if they ask. The provincial Act became law in 1994 and is now extending to other local public bodies, including health authorities, schools and municipalities.
So, what does this mean for the U of A with all its student, donor and alumni records? It depends on whom you talk to. As far as protecting university research, it's business as usual says Bryan Corbett, head of the U of A's FOIPP implementation team. But according to Guy Mallabone, director of development, FOIPP as it stands now will have an "Armaggedon-like impact" on the business of fund-raising and alumni relations.
"We may be unable to send New Trail to alumni or to offer insurance coverage opportunities. We may be unable to produce and publish campaign stories," he says. It all depends on how the Act is interpreted. The letter of the law says you can't use information gathered for one purpose for any other purpose. The current commission seems willing to interpret that to mean we could send out New Trail to alumni if we asked their permission in the publication. However, says Mallabone, there's no guarantee that's how the Act will be interpreted by this-or future-commissioners. "It will severely curtail all major gifts fund-raising programs as structured in the university," says an impassioned Mallabone.
It may mean seeking individual permission from more than 170,000 alumni. "It's an impossibility," he says. FOIPP would also affect how fund-raisers cultivate relationships with donors and potential donors. Research in the development field often includes collecting information from public sources, like news clippings, and from first-hand sources, like friends and associates, and noting attendance at public events. It's to get a better understanding of what potential donors are interested in and what events and causes they support in their community.
On the research side, faculty will now have to have personal information agreements signed before using the information in the custody and control of the university. "For example, if a organization is collecting information from the general public about attitudes it would have to sign a research agreement," says Corbett. If it needed names and addresses of students for a survey on addictions, the agreement would cover itemization of the data and its uses. This is not to say, added Corbett, confidentiality agreements are not already in use. "We have to satisfy ourselves as an institution that the research is in the public good and cannot be accomplished without access to this information."
Sharlene Coss, senior contracts manager in the Industry Liaison Office says, while no researcher has approached ILO with concerns, "We're still struggling with how FOIPP will affect us on a day-to-day basis." It's unclear, says Coss, if the office will get any requests for information, or on the other hand, get inundated.
But as a publicly funded institution, one with a mandate to research and teach, "whatsoever things are true," how much information is open to the public?
"The university must restrict access to some materials and research so that it can fulfil its mandate to preserve and disseminate knowledge," says Dr. Stephen Kent, a sociology professor. "Scientists in many disciplines engage in research that has implications for parties with vested interest in the health, wealth and social welfare of the community. Some of these vested interests have attacked research facilities and material in the past, and we would be na‹ve to assume that no such attacks would occur in futur."
Kent's concerns, says Corbett, are addressed in the legislation. That's because personal research and teaching materials, and also archival materials donated to the university are not "FOIPPable." There are normally legal agreements governing the use of and access to donated materials and they are exempt from the legislation.
"The Act is to be used as a matter of last resort," says Corbett, after all other avenues for access to information have been exhausted. Therefore a student, or member of the public, cannot access a professor's materials or notes through FOIPP. The professor may very well share the information willingly, but "that's their business," says Corbett. "FOIPP won't change that."
FOIPP as it pertains to universities hasn't been tested in Alberta, but B.C. and Saskatchewan have similar legislation covering post-secondary institutions.
Like other post-secondary fund-raisers in Alberta, Mallabone wants to see changes to FOIPP before it takes effect for universities. "The University of Alberta supports the principles of FOIPP but the legislators are not aware of the dramatic impact of the Act on this sector," he says. If the U of A had to cease its practice of conducting related research on major gift prospects during its current fund-raising campaign, Mallabone says approximately $74 million of the $130 million raised to date would not have been raised. Furthermore, the director of development estimates the projected opportunity costs to the university over the next decade could be as high as $500 million. Ontario universities are exempt from similar legislation putting us at a distinct competitive disadvantage, he says.
A university submission to the provincial government has asked for several changes to FOIPP, two relating to alumni relations and fund-raising. First, grandfather-ing of the current alumni list up to Jan. 1999. New processes could be put in place for alumni graduating after that date. And secondly, amending FOIPP to allow the collection and use of personal information obtained from publicly available sources, reliable first-hand sources and public events.
While Mallabone says fund-raisers have received a sympathetic ear from Iris Evans, municipal affairs minister in charge of the charities act, the clock is still ticking towards Jan. 4, 1999.
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