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It's a lot less transparent than Candidate Obama promised when he first ran in 2008 and repeatedly pledged to have the most transparent administration in history.Below are comments from experienced attorneys who have careers dealing with requests involving the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):“Obama is the sixth administration that’s been in office since I’ve been doing Freedom of Information Act work. … It’s kind of shocking to me to say this, but of the six, this administration is the worst on FOIA issues. The worst. There’s just no question about it,” said Katherine Meyer, a Washington lawyer who’s been filing FOIA cases since 1978. “This administration is raising one barrier after another. … It’s gotten to the point where I’m stunned — I’m really stunned.”David Sobel, senior counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that “despite the positive rhetoric that has come from the White House and the attorney general, that guidance has not been translated into real world results in actual cases. … Basically, the reviews are terrible.”"Last month, several frequent FOIA requesters filed a class-action lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency, alleging that it unlawfully impedes requesters by requiring them to agree to pay all fees without providing any cost estimate, by imposing new fees for declassification and by refusing to release records in electronic form."'"Also in February, five nonprofit groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, asserted that the Department of Homeland Security was demanding thousands of dollars in “exorbitant fees” to process FOIA requests, even though the groups regularly obtained waivers in the past."Read more: President Obama's muddy transparency record - Josh Gerstein

All science proposals that go through the government have publicly available information in terms of an abstract, award amount, etc. The National Science Foundation, for example, publishes this information on their website nsf.gov, though it is sort of a pain to navigate if you ask me. You can search awards for all kinds of information. There is supposed to be a paragraph that is written for the educated “layperson.” The NSF also publishes slides of research highlights that summarize key results of NSF research, as well as regular newsworthy results. They want to tell you what kind of research is happening. More generally, you can try looking at Home | GRANTS.GOV for grant information more generally.You can also file a FOIA request for a government-funded grant proposal. It isn’t often done but should such a thing be filed, my understanding is that they inform the grantee of the request but are essentially obligated to provide it. I do not know if you can also get access to the reviews.For research funded through private foundations, the answer is probably no. For research funded through the Department of Defense, I do not know what is possible or not possible.Keep in mind that what people propose and what they end up doing is not always identical. Every year, we have to report to the grantee what was done and what aspects of the project had to be changed to accommodate the results of the research. This is fairly common for research. I do not know how accessible those reports are but they would form a key part of the record of what was promised and what was delivered.Also, there is significant optimism bias - we always think we can do more than we can deliver. So long as we make progress toward those promises, I would call that success. Complete failure is also possible, but typically complete failure would still result in products, albeit aligned in a slightly tangential direction. Typically, an “excellent” proposal will outline possible problems that can arise and how the researchers plan to work around them. For non-research related grants, I know a lot less.

Use our online FOIA system to request:Your own records of international travel to/from the U.S., apprehensions/detentions by Border Patrol, and Secondary inspections at Ports of Entry;Another person's records (if a signed consent is provided/uploaded) for international travel to/from the U.S., apprehensions/ detentions by Border Patrol, and Secondary inspections at Ports of Entry; orAgency Information such as policies, data, communications, etc.After you create a FOIA online account you can submit a FOIA request directly to CBP. When submitting a FOIA request on records that pertain to you, please provide your full name, address, and date of birth. If you are requesting records on behalf of someone else, you need a signed G-28 form (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative), or some other form of signed consent that will allow CBP to release the records to a 3rd party. Once your request is submitted you will receive an acknowledgment and a FOIA tracking number. After your FOIA request is acknowledged you can track the status of your request at any time. Please note that the FOIA process is not intended to be a mechanism for asking questions of CBP. FOIA requests are intended to provide access to CBP records.To Receive Your Records as Efficiently As PossibleVisit the CBP Newsroom to confirm we have not already posted the records you need.Request only the records you need, as we can return precise requests faster.Make your request with the right agency by reviewing the sections below. Records contained in the A-file are processed by USCIS.