The review process was announced in June 2021. Information gathering work commenced in September of that year and has included a public consultation on the scope of the review, a customer satisfaction survey, as well as a further public consultation based on themes identified in the scoping phase. Between these three consultations, almost 2,400 responses were received. This was accompanied by interviews and focus groups around key sectors and issues. Alongside this work, the department has looked at international comparisons and analysed statistics on the operation of the FOI system to inform the review.