FOIA Data Migration Solution

Transition your FOIA data into Relativity FOIA with structured, defensible migration support

The FOIA Data Migration solution is designed to support government agencies transitioning FOIA data from a legacy FOIA case management system into Relativity FOIA. The solution consists of two complementary SKUs: the FOIA Migration Discovery & Strategy and the FOIA Data Migration.

The FOIA Data Migration solution is available to you if you have licensed Relativity FOIA within Relativity aiR Government. It is not an ongoing operational service, open-ended consulting engagement, or managed-services arrangement. It defines the limited and controlled manner in which Relativity supports data migration specific to Relativity FOIA and is not a replacement for your responsibility for FOIA processing, compliance, or records management.

Definitions

For purposes of the FOIA Data Migration solution, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

Acceptance Criteria means the criteria set forth below that determine whether the migrated data and related solutions satisfy the requirements for acceptance.
Acceptance Defect means a reproducible issue caused by Relativity’s failure to load, map, associate, or validate in-scope data in accordance with agreed specifications.
Agency means the government customer purchasing or receiving the FOIA Data Migration solution.
Discovery & Strategy means the fixed-fee scoping SKU that produces the documentation, specifications, and assessment materials used to support execution of the FOIA Data Migration.
Export or Agency Defect means an issue arising from incomplete, inaccurate, malformed, corrupted, or non-conforming exports, or from agency decisions or scope changes.
FOIA Data Migration means the migration solution described below and priced at one of the applicable complexity tiers.
In-Scope Data means the data categories agreed for migration as part of the applicable solution scope.
Migration Term means the twelve (12) month period from execution during which the migration must be completed.
Relativity means Relativity and its applicable affiliates providing the solution.
Technical Formatting for Ingestion means limited, non-substantive formatting or transformation of agency-provided exports required to load in-scope data into Relativity FOIA in accordance with the agreed specifications. It may include normalizing date or field formats, adjusting delimiters, restructuring manifest files, correcting encoding issues, standardizing file or folder structures, and similar preparation necessary to support ingestion. It does not include substantive data cleansing, data enrichment, reconstruction of missing records, or correction of underlying source-system inaccuracies beyond what is required to perform ingestion in accordance with the agreed specifications.
UAT means user acceptance testing performed by the agency during the applicable validation window to determine whether the migration satisfies the Acceptance Criteria.
Validation Window means the tier-specific period during which the agency performs UAT and identifies Acceptance Defects.
Supported Format means a format, structure, encoding, and field representation identified in the approved mapping specifications or the Export Specification / Data Request Guide as usable for migration into Relativity FOIA for the applicable data type.
Records means the in-scope items included in the migration, which may include cases, correspondence, documents, appeals, metadata entries, workflow history, and other related data categories identified in the agreed scope.
Independent Source System means a distinct system, platform, or repository from which in-scope FOIA data must be exported and mapped for migration, and that has its own data structure, export process, or system-of-record function. Multiple files, reports, or extracts generated from the same underlying system do not, by themselves, constitute separate Independent Source Systems unless they serve as separate systems of record for different in-scope FOIA data.
CMS means a case management system or other system, platform, or repository used by the agency to create, store, manage, or track FOIA requests, correspondence, records, metadata, workflow history, or related information.

Solution Scope

The solution is delivered at a fixed fee and may be purchased through applicable existing contract vehicles, including IDIQ vehicles such as GSA MAS and NASA SEWP. We require purchasing the Discovery & Strategy SKU with the option of purchasing any of the Data Migration tiers based on the information provided to you upon completion of the Discovery & Strategy SKU. The Data Migration tiers are available as part of an indefinite quantity contract.

The FOIA Migration Discovery & Strategy is a fixed-fee scoping SKU. It produces the documentation, specifications, and assessment materials used to support execution of the FOIA Data Migration. The outcomes are provided to you and may be used independently of Relativity’s migration services.

Part Number	Product Name
R1Gov_FOIA_DMS	FOIA Migration Discovery & Strategy

At the conclusion of the Discovery & Strategy SKU, Relativity delivers the following outputs:

Migration Source Inventory: Summary of the known source systems, data categories, export formats, file locations, manifest structure, and known migration constraints identified
Preliminary Data Mapping Matrix: Initial mapping of legacy CMS fields to Relativity FOIA fields, including identified unmapped, custom, duplicate, unsupported, or ambiguous fields
Export Specification / Data Request Guide: Written guidance describing the preferred structure, format, metadata, document organization, manifest requirements, and transfer expectations for the exports to be provided for migration
Migration Strategy and Sequencing Plan: Recommended approach for initial load, test load, validation, cutover support, delta loads, and post-load remediation
Validation and Acceptance Plan: Proposed validation approach, including record-count reconciliation, document association checks, field-level sampling, exception reporting, severity classification, and the UAT process
Migration Tier Assessment: Assessment of the migration scope, complexity, and assumptions used to recommend the purchase of one of the optional Data Migration tiers

The Discovery & Strategy SKU does not include data migration or ingestion, full field mapping, or user acceptance testing. These activities are performed as part of the FOIA Data Migration SKU.

The FOIA Data Migration SKU is the implementation component of the solution. Under this SKU, Relativity receives agency-provided exports, performs approved data mapping and ingestion into Relativity FOIA, validates the migrated data against the agreed specifications, and supports agency acceptance testing and remediation of Relativity-caused Acceptance Defects. Additional details regarding tiering, scope assumptions, and delivery phases are provided in the Tier Structure and Complexity Rubric and Solution Approach sections below.

Scope Assumptions

The FOIA Data Migration solution is scoped exclusively to FOIA-related data and is intended solely to support migration into Relativity FOIA. It does not apply to broader enterprise records migration, non-FOIA use cases, or migration into other systems or platforms. Discovery & Strategy includes an assessment of the migration scope, complexity, and assumptions used to evaluate which Data Migration tier is appropriate for you to purchase. The assessment is based on source information, sample exports, documentation, volume measures, and complexity characteristics available at the time of review. The assessment further assumes that the legacy system supports export of in-scope data in a format compatible with the agreed specifications. This includes FOIA data maintained outside a dedicated FOIA case management system, such as SharePoint, Excel, email, or other shared file repositories. You are solely responsible for obtaining such an export, including any required coordination with third-party vendors, contractors, or internal stakeholders and any associated licensing, access, or technical enablement requirements. Any changes to the scope require mutual written agreement before additional work is performed.

Depending on your needs and agreed scope, a migration may include the following categories of data:

Case Metadata: Request identifiers, receipt dates, due dates, status, disposition, fee category, assigned component, and related attributes
Correspondence: Communications associated with FOIA requests, including acknowledgments, clarifications, interim responses, determinations, and appeal correspondence
Responsive Records: Documents associated with FOIA requests, including native files, redacted versions, and released records
Workflow and Processing History: System‑recorded activity such as status changes, assignments, internal notes, and deadline tracking

For clarity, (a) Relativity does not support recreation of full system-level activity logs or audit trails from external systems; and (b) the specific data included varies by agency and legacy system.

Solution Approach

The FOIA Data Migration SKU is delivered through a series of defined phases, each of which represents a discrete stage of progress toward completion of the migration.

These phases serve as objective delivery milestones for the SKU, aligned to the completion of specific activities, including data ingestion, system-level validation, your validation (UAT), and final acceptance.

Each milestone is considered complete upon satisfaction of the applicable activities and criteria, including the Acceptance Criteria and completion conditions set forth below.

The following phases describe Relativity’s activities during a FOIA Data Migration SKU:

Phase 1: Scoping and Data Definition

After the Discovery & Strategy SKU has been completed as required and if you exercise your option to purchase any of the Data Migration tier SKUs, the outcomes of the Discovery & Strategy SKU are incorporated directly, and this phase is abbreviated to confirming and finalizing those outcomes. The Preliminary Data Mapping Matrix delivered through Discovery & Strategy SKU is provided as an initial mapping output for planning purposes. During this phase, Relativity reviews the proposed mapping with the agency, and the agency’s designated decision-maker confirms the mapping for in-scope fields. Once confirmed, the resulting mapping specifications become the approved mapping specifications governing Phase 4 mapping activities and the applicable acceptance criteria.
Phase completion: This phase is complete when the Migration Source Inventory, Preliminary Data Mapping Matrix, Export Specification / Data Request Guide, Migration Strategy and Sequencing Plan, Validation and Acceptance Plan, and Migration Tier Assessment have been delivered to support migration planning, and the agency confirms in writing that they are sufficient to proceed with the migration. Reference the Discovery & Strategy Acceptance Criteria section for further detail.

Phase 2: Your Data Export

Relativity does not perform or participate in extraction from the legacy CMS. Relativity may provide technical guidance to support you in producing exports aligned to the agreed specifications.
Phase completion: This phase is complete when you have produced and made available exports of in-scope data in the agreed format and structure for transfer to Relativity. If an export does not conform to the agreed specifications, this phase remains open until you provide a corrected or replacement export. If a conforming export cannot be produced, Relativity will document the issue and the parties will have five (5) business days to agree in writing on a path forward, which may include revised scope or a different tier. If the parties cannot reach an agreement in writing, either party may terminate the solution, following which Relativity will provide a full refund for the applicable Data Migration tier SKU.

Phase 3: Receipt of Exported Data

Receiving data through secure transfer mechanism documented in the Export Specification / Data Request Guide or otherwise mutually agreed upon by Relativity and the agency in writing and consistent with the applicable security, contractual, and agency-specific transfer requirements, including use of agency-mandated transfer protocols or government-managed transfer sites where required
Verifying file integrity and staging data for ingestion
Phase completion: This phase is complete when Relativity has received the exported data, verified file integrity, and staged the data for ingestion. If file integrity verification fails, this phase remains open until you re-deliver corrected or replacement exports that pass integrity verification. Such failures are documented as Export or Agency Defects, not Acceptance Defects.

Phase 4: Data Mapping and Ingestion

Mapping legacy CMS data to the Relativity FOIA data model per approved mapping specifications
Loading documents, metadata, and associated records into Relativity FOIA, making only the technical formatting needed for ingestion
Preserving in‑scope relationships between records where supported by your provided export
Phase completion: This phase is complete when in-scope data has been loaded into Relativity FOIA in accordance with the approved mapping specifications and any rejected records, loading errors, unsupported values, or other ingestion exceptions have been documented and classified under the defect framework. Data is ready for system-level validation once it is loaded, staged for validation, and accompanied by the applicable exception reporting.

Phase 5: Validation and Acceptance Testing

Performing system-level validation against your provided export
Providing reasonable support during the applicable validation window, including answering implementation questions, reviewing reported issues, confirming if identified issues reproduce against the applicable Acceptance Criteria, and remediating Acceptance Defects.
Phase completion: This phase is complete upon the earliest of your written acceptance, expiration of the applicable UAT window without timely written notice of Acceptance Defects, unless deemed acceptance is prohibited, or completion of remediation and acceptance. If remediation and acceptance cannot be completed, either party may terminate the solution, following which Relativity will provide a refund of 15% of the fees for the applicable Data Migration tier SKU.

Tier Structure and Complexity Rubric

The rubric below is used by Relativity to assess and recommend the appropriate FOIA Data Migration tier at the conclusion of the Discovery & Strategy SKU and by the Agency to understand the basis for that recommendation. Tier placement is determined using the following hierarchy: (1) the number of independent source systems included in-scope, (2) the qualifying complexity factors present in the migration, and (3) the volume of in-scope cases. Each higher tier reflects a cumulative increase in migration complexity from the tier below. Where these factors indicate different tiers, the highest tier supported by the applicable source-system count and qualifying complexity factors governs, with case volume used as a secondary indicator within that framework.

Part Number	Tier	Primary Driver: Independent Source Systems	Qualifying Complexity Factors	Case Volume	UAT Window ¹
R1Gov_FOIA_DM_T1	Tier 1 - Low Complexity	Single independent source system	Structured export Minimal custom field mapping Standard metadata and correspondence	1-10,000 cases	2 weeks
R1Gov_FOIA_DM_T2	Tier 2 - Moderate Complexity	Single independent source system	Includes Tier 1 characteristics, plus: Moderate custom field mapping Attachments / responsive records Simple redactions or release versions	10,001-50,000 cases	4 weeks
R1Gov_FOIA_DM_T3	Tier 3 - High Complexity	One to two independent source systems	Includes Tier 2 characteristics, plus: Complex field mapping Workflow history Redacted versions / redaction layers More extensive exception handling / reconciliation	50,001-100,000 cases	6 weeks
R1Gov_FOIA_DM_T4	Tier 4 - Enterprise Complexity	Two or more independent source systems	Includes Tier 3 characteristics, plus: Multiple schemas or cross-component consolidation Heightened reconciliation / traceability requirements Enterprise-level migration planning / sequencing complexity	100,001+ cases	8 weeks

¹The applicable UAT window begins when Relativity notifies you that ingestion and system-level validation are complete and the migrated data is available for UAT. The Acceptance Criteria section describes the consequences if UAT is not completed or written notice of Acceptance Defects is not provided within the applicable window.

Staffing

This section describes the respective roles of Relativity and the agency. Binding agency requirements are set forth in the Agency Obligations section below.

Relativity Roles and Responsibilities

Provide project coordination for the solution, including sequencing the migration activities, identifying dependencies, and communicating status, issues, and required decisions.
Incorporate the applicable Discovery & Strategy outputs, such as the mapping approach, validation approach, and data requirements necessary to perform the migration.
Provide technical guidance regarding export structure, format, metadata, manifest requirements, and secure transfer expectations to support your preparation of migration-ready exports.
Receive, stage, and verify the integrity of exported data delivered through approved transfer mechanisms.
Map legacy CMS data to the Relativity FOIA data model in accordance with the approved mapping specifications.
Load in-scope data into Relativity FOIA and perform the technical formatting necessary for ingestion.
Perform system-level validation, document known exceptions, and provide validation results or exception reporting as set forth below.
Support your UAT during the applicable validation window and remediate Acceptance Defects identified as set forth below.

Agency Roles and Responsibilities

Contracting Officer designates agency points of contact and decision-makers authorized to approve scope, mapping specifications, validation criteria, and acceptance.
Before the Discovery & Strategy SKU begins, provide a full inventory of the data sources in scope for migration and, where a legacy system exists, field-level documentation for that system. You must also provide business and technical context regarding legacy schemas, custom fields, non-standard structures, and operational requirements relevant to migration planning and execution, and make subject-matter resources available to answer scoping, mapping, and validation questions.
Prepare and provide structured exports of case data and associated documents in the agreed format, deliver those exports through approved secure transfer methods, and re-deliver corrected exports if prior exports are incomplete, malformed, or non-conforming.
Provide a test export or representative sample data before the full export where requested by Relativity to support validation of export structure, formatting, and transfer readiness.
Review and provide required decisions, approvals, and other agency input on mapping specifications, validation criteria, and other matters requiring agency input within five (5) business days of Relativity’s request, unless a different timeline is agreed upon in writing. Failure to respond within that timeframe will be documented as an agency delay and may affect the Migration Term, milestone timing, or ability to proceed with the migration as originally planned.
Where a legacy system exists, maintain access to that system through completion of the export phase and promptly notify Relativity if the legacy CMS vendor is changing, the system is being decommissioned, or export access is being restricted during the Migration Term.
Maintain the legacy CMS and continuity of FOIA operations, including statutory deadlines, throughout the migration, and remain responsible for records retention, archival, migration scope determinations, legal sufficiency, FOIA processing decisions, exemption determinations, and compliance obligations.
Participate in UAT during the applicable validation window, provide written acceptance or written notice of Acceptance Defects by the end of that window, and cooperate in good faith with remediation activities.
Support issue resolution by reviewing remediation results and coordinating any required agency follow-up for export-related issues.

Term

The FOIA Data Migration solution remains in effect for twelve (12) months from execution (the “Migration Term”). Services must be completed within the Migration Term. If completion has not occurred within the Migration Term due to your delays or materially changed scope, the solution does not automatically extend, and any unused fees for services not completed within the Migration Term expire and are forfeited. If completion has not occurred within the Migration Term due to Relativity’s delays, Relativity will use commercially reasonable efforts to complete the solution.

Acceptance Criteria

Discovery & Strategy Acceptance Criteria

The Discovery & Strategy SKU is ready for acceptance when Relativity has delivered the applicable outputs described below in a form sufficient to support migration planning, export preparation, validation planning, and tier recommendation based on the information reasonably available at the time of review. Discovery & Strategy outputs may identify assumptions, dependencies, open questions, or items requiring further clarification, and the existence of such items does not by itself render the Discovery & Strategy SKU incomplete.

Acceptance Area	Criterion
Migration Source Inventory	Identifies the known source systems, in-scope data categories, export formats, manifest structure, file locations, and known migration constraints reflected in the information and sample materials provided by the agency.
Preliminary Data Mapping Matrix	Provides an initial mapping of legacy CMS fields to Relativity FOIA fields and identifies known unmapped, duplicate, unsupported, custom, or ambiguous fields requiring further clarification.
Export Specification / Data Request Guide	Provides written guidance describing the preferred structure, format, metadata, document organization, manifest requirements, and transfer expectations for the exports to be provided for migration, including the agreed secure transfer mechanism or the process by which that mechanism will be confirmed before transfer.
Migration Strategy and Sequencing Plan	Describes the proposed migration approach, including sequencing of initial load, test load, validation, delta handling, cutover considerations, and anticipated remediation approach, at a level sufficient to support migration planning.
Validation and Acceptance Plan	Describes the proposed validation approach, including reconciliation methods, sampling approach, exception reporting, severity concepts, and the expected UAT process, at a level sufficient to support migration planning and readiness.
Migration Tier Assessment	Provides a recommended FOIA Data Migration tier based on the migration scope, complexity, assumptions, and other information reasonably available at the time of review.

Migration SKU Acceptance Criteria

Following ingestion and system-level validation, you execute UAT. A migration is ready for acceptance when the following criteria are satisfied:

Acceptance Area	Criterion
Data loaded	In scope data has been loaded into Relativity FOIA according to agreed specifications.
Record counts reconciled	Case, correspondence, document, and other in-scope record counts reconcile to your export manifest, subject to documented exceptions.
Documents accessible	Migrated documents are accessible in Relativity FOIA, except for files identified as missing, corrupted, unsupported, or password-protected during export, which will be documented in the exception report with the reason for exclusion.
Relationships preserved	In-scope relationships (case-to-document, case-to-correspondence, request-to-appeal, parent-child attachments) are preserved where the export provides sufficient identifiers, such as unique record IDs, parent-child linkage fields, request numbers, or other consistent keys needed to associate related records
Mapped fields populated	Fields included in the approved mapping specifications are populated in accordance with those specifications, including, where in scope, request number, request date, status, disposition, assigned component, requester information, and due dates.
Redactions preserved (if in scope)	Redacted versions, exemption codes, redaction layers, or release copies are migrated as agreed, provided they are in the export in a supported format.
Workflow history preserved (if in scope)	Workflow, processing history, notes, assignments, or status changes are loaded as agreed, provided they are in the export in a supported format.
Exception report delivered	Known exceptions, rejected records, unsupported fields, missing files, and other migration issues are documented.
UAT support provided	During the applicable validation window, Relativity provides reasonable support for UAT, including responding to implementation questions, reviewing reported issues, confirming if reported issues reproduce against the applicable Acceptance Criteria, and remediating Acceptance Defects.

If an acceptance criterion is not met during UAT, Relativity will evaluate the issue against the applicable Acceptance Criteria, approved mapping specifications, the Export Specification / Data Request Guide, the agency-provided export, and the results of system-level validation performed by Relativity in Phase 5. Each identified issue will be classified under the defect framework below, assigned a severity level based on its impact on the use of the migrated environment, and documented in the exception report. The exception report will identify the affected acceptance area, describe the issue, record its classification and severity, summarize the supporting evidence, and state if remediation is required before acceptance, or if the issue may remain as a documented exception.

Acceptance Defects vs. Export Defects

An Acceptance Defect is a reproducible issue caused by Relativity’s failure to load, map, associate, or validate in scope data per agreed specifications. Examples include mapping errors, load omissions, association errors, and metadata transformation errors.

An Export or Agency Defect is an issue arising from incomplete, inaccurate, malformed, corrupted, or non-conforming exports or from your decisions or scope changes. These are not Acceptance Defects and may require re-export or revised mapping.

Severity Levels

Severity is assigned by reference to the affected acceptance area, the scope of records or functionality impacted, and if the issue prevents UAT, blocks acceptance, or may remain as a documented exception.

Severity	Definition	Example	Acceptance Impact
Critical	Issue prevents UAT from being performed or prevents use of the migrated environment for the affected acceptance area	Failure to load records at all, inability to access migrated documents, or a defect that prevents validation of a required acceptance area	Must be resolved before acceptance
Major	Issue affects records within the affected acceptance area such that the migrated environment cannot be accepted without remediation	Incorrect mapping, missing relationships, or load omissions affecting multiple records or record groups within the affected acceptance area	Must be resolved before acceptance, or mutually waived in writing
Minor	Issue affects one or more records within the affected acceptance area and does not prevent use of the migrated environment for UAT or acceptance	Isolated mapping discrepancies, missing or mis-associated records, or formatting issues that do not prevent UAT or acceptance	Documented in the Exception Report and does not block acceptance
Export or Agency Defect	Issue results from incomplete, inaccurate, malformed, corrupted, unsupported, or otherwise non-conforming agency-provided exports, agency decisions, or agency-requested scope changes	Missing source records, unsupported redaction formats, inconsistent identifiers preventing relationship preservation, or changed mapping requirements after approval	Not an Acceptance Defect; handled through re-export, revised mapping, revised scope, or documented exception, as applicable

Remediation Review

Following remediation of Critical or Major Acceptance Defects, Relativity provides an updated validation report. You review remediated items and provide written confirmation of acceptance to Relativity within five (5) business days. If you do not provide written acceptance or rejection within that period, the remediated items are deemed accepted, unless deemed acceptance is prohibited by the applicable contract. If you provide a rejection and the parties cannot reach an agreement in writing, either party may terminate the solution, following which Relativity will provide a refund of 15% of the fees for the applicable Data Migration tier SKU. Relativity’s remediation obligation is limited to Acceptance Defects within the agreed migration scope and approved mapping specifications.

Completion

Services are complete upon the earliest of: (a) your written acceptance, (b) expiration of the UAT window without a written defect list, unless deemed acceptance is prohibited, or (c) Relativity’s remediation of all Critical and Major Acceptance Defects followed by acceptance or expiration of the remediation review period.

Upon completion, the migration solution closes. Your ongoing use of Relativity FOIA continues under your standard subscription and support terms.

Scope Limitations and Disclaimers

The FOIA Data Migration solution is separate from the FOIA Success Program (FSP). You may purchase the FSP independently of migration services.

Relativity’s involvement is limited to receiving, mapping, ingesting, and validating the data you provide within Relativity FOIA. Relativity does not:

Extract data from legacy systems
Determine migration scope
Perform FOIA processing
Determine whether data provided is complete relative to the source system
Determine legal sufficiency
Assume compliance, records management, or retention obligations
Interpret FOIA records, exemptions, or determinations
Cleanse or correct substantive source data, except for technical formatting required for ingestion
Develop custom software, custom connectors, or custom integrations as part of this solution. If you require these capabilities, please contact Relativity to discuss available options.

You agree to cooperate in good faith and understand that Relativity is not responsible for delays caused by you or third parties under your control or coordination, including legacy system vendors, agency contractors, or other service providers responsible for exports, access, approvals, or other migration dependencies. All decisions regarding implementation of Relativity’s advice and recommendations are your sole responsibility. Relativity’s advice does not constitute legal advice and is not a representation regarding compliance with any law or regulation. You are solely responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all data, materials, and information you provide to Relativity.

Relativity may update or refine aspects of this solution over time based on product evolution and operational learnings. No such updates will apply to customers that have already signed a contract for the Discovery and Strategy SKU. For customers that subsequently purchase the Data Migration solution, the documentation in effect when the Discovery & Strategy SKU was executed will continue to apply.