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Research draft

government agency

vr.tr.government-agency · SOC.ORG

Let an agent identify government agencies by jurisdiction, mandate, legal basis and accountability, and know where to direct a request.

Thing Registry Society, people and institutions

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify

Researched by: Claude

Purpose and description

Let an agent identify government agencies by jurisdiction, mandate, legal basis and accountability, and know where to direct a request.

A permanent or semi-permanent organisation in the machinery of government, responsible for administering specific functions such as regulation, services, statistics or diplomacy, under the executive or with defined independence.

What it is for: Carrying out particular public functions under law.

It can be contact it, through official channels; apply to it, for licences, benefits or decisions; appeal its decisions; request its records, under freedom of information law.

Distinguishing features

Part of the state, created by law or executive order

Has a defined mandate and jurisdiction

Some are independent regulators, others ministerial departments

Its decisions are subject to review

What it looks like

Offices, websites on official domains, logos and published decisions; delegations and chanceries are its presence abroad.

How it is recognised

Official government domain and branding

Legal basis cited in its founding act

Public register of bodies

Related models

is part of - most agencies

executive branch

is a kind of - inherits identity and governance

organization

applies - administers statutes

law

is confused with - contractors act for agencies but are not agencies

private contractor

In practice

Families and kinds

ministerial departments

executive agencies

independent regulators

local administrative offices such as a Landratsamt

diplomatic delegations and chanceries

Identifiers

public body register code jurisdiction-specific official registers of agencies

official domain for example .gov or .gov.uk online identity

Standards and regulation

Founding acts and statutes defining mandates

Administrative procedure law

Freedom of information and data protection law

Failure modes and hazards

Impersonation of agencies in scams

Sending requests to the wrong agency

Out-of-date information after reorganisations

Also called

Rubber soldiersMulkajiSweden's delegationsMalaysian delegationBelgian delegationschanceryLandratsamtregister officeChancellery of BrittanyStandesamtRegisters IcelandDistrict Office (Thailand)bugyōshopolice officeJōsaku castleJobcentermunicipal district of Bulgariatransit districtpolice zonepassenger transport executiveTayside and Central Regional Transport PartnershipBezirksamtforest rangeforestryforest circleforestry agencyProvincial Administrative Organization (Thailand)kmetstvo of BulgariaRegional State Administrative Agencycounty office of education in Californiaschool division of the Philippinesmunicipal authority in Pennsylvaniapark districtprobation serviceCourt of Audithealth directorateNational Commission for UNESCOIndependent Monitoring Boardfood safety organizationpublic funding agency

+550

Where this came from

wikidata · CC0 1.0

Source repository Registry entry point

Drafted structure

Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.

Identity and mandate Which agency and what it does.

Mandate decides whether an agency can help.

Identity

Name, jurisdiction, parent.

Identity

Official identity.

  1. What is the agency official name, jurisdiction and parent body? provenance
  2. Has it been renamed or merged? provenance

Mandate

Functions and powers.

Mandate

Functions under law.

  1. What is the agency responsible for, under which law? provenance
  2. What is outside its mandate? boundary
Services What people can do with it.

Most contact with agencies is to get a service or decision.

Services

Applications and decisions.

Services

Services offered.

  1. Which services or decisions does it provide? definition
  2. How is an application made? action

Contact

Official channels.

Contact

Verified contact details.

  1. What are its verified official contact channels? provenance
  2. How can a message claiming to be from it be verified? action
Accountability Checks and appeals.

People must be able to challenge decisions.

Appeals

Review of decisions.

Appeal route

How decisions are challenged.

  1. How can a decision of this agency be appealed? action
  2. Within what time? boundary

Oversight

Ministers, parliament, ombudsman.

Oversight

Who oversees it.

  1. Who oversees this agency? provenance
  2. Where are its reports published? provenance
Records Information held.

Agencies hold public and personal data under rules.

Public records

Freedom of information.

FOI route

How to request records.

  1. How can records be requested? action
  2. What exemptions apply? boundary

Personal data

Data protection.

Data rights

Rights over personal data.

  1. What personal data does it hold, and how can it be accessed? action
  2. Who is its data protection officer? provenance

What the second pass must settle

  • Should agencies be instances linked to jurisdictions and parent ministries?
  • How should reorganisations and successor bodies be tracked?
  • How should agents verify an agency identity against scams?
Draft as JSON