Between July–August 2021, a User Experience (UX) Survey was conducted to gather feedback on the process of submitting an Access to Information (ATI) request for government records.
The survey was comprised of 4 sections, with a total of 32 questions , organized as follows:
1. Submitting a request (Q1-Q11)
2. Contact with an ATIP Officer (Q12-Q18)
3. Proactive Publication (Q19-Q24)
4. Demographic information (Q25-Q31)
The questions and the distribution of responses can be found below. Please note:
• Some survey questions were mandatory and others were optional, impacting the total number of responses received per question.
• Similarly, some questions allowed for respondents to select all options that applied, which increased the number of total responses received for a question.
• Each of these instances have been noted below.
The survey had 294 respondents. 13% (39 respondents) indicated that they had never submitted an ATI request. Given this was a user experience survey, the survey ends there for those respondents. On average, respondents who had submitted an ATI request indicated having submitted 3 requests overall and 2 in the last 2 years. 62 respondents who had submitted a request indicated having encountered difficulties finding out how to make the request. When asked what difficulties they encountered, most respondents indicated issues with the ATI process itself and not the platform. Results of the survey are aligned with what we have heard through public engagement. Key themes include:
• Expanding the right of access
• Increasing the amount of information released
• Reducing delays
• Strengthening proactive disclosure
• Improving the capacity of the access to information system