[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81179-81180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27489]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Request for Comments for the Advisory Committee on Data for 
Evidence Building

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Department 
of Commerce.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 
(Evidence Act) requires federal agencies to modernize their data 
management practices to develop and support evidence-based 
policymaking. The Act requires the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB), or the head of an agency designated by the Director, 
to establish the Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building 
(Advisory Committee). In a letter dated September 3, 2019, OMB 
delegated managerial and administrative responsibility for this Federal 
advisory committee to the Department of Commerce Office of Under 
Secretary for Economic Affairs (OUSEA).

DATES: Comments must be received by Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov.
    <bullet> By email directly to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5510233c31303b3630153730347b323a23"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ce8bb8a7aaaba0adab8eacabafe0a9a1b8">[email protected]</span></a>. Include the Docket 
ID; begin with the phrase ``Comments for the Advisory Committee on Data 
for Evidence Building;'' and indicate which numbered questions 
described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION of this notice your comments 
address. Comments by fax or paper delivery will not be accepted.
    Privacy Note: Comments submitted in response to this notice may be 
made available to the public through relevant websites. Therefore, 
commenters should only include information they wish to make publicly 
available on the internet. Do not submit confidential business 
information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    Please note the confidentiality of routine communication and 
responses to this public comment request are treated as public comments 
and may therefore be made publicly available, notwithstanding the 
inclusion of the routine notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lucas Hitt, Designated Federal 
Official, Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building, 4600 Silver 
Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233 by email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4a063f292b396402233e3e0a282f2b642d253c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="59152c3a382a7711302d2d193b3c38773e362f">[email protected]</span></a> or by phone 
(301) 278-9223.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    The Advisory Committee will review, analyze, and make 
recommendations on how to promote the use of data for evidence 
building. The Advisory Committee will evaluate and provide 
recommendations to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
on how to facilitate data sharing, data linkage, and privacy enhancing 
techniques in support of evidence building. As part of its evaluation, 
the Advisory Committee may consider best practices to improve the safe 
and appropriate access to data. The Advisory Committee will consider 
the coordination of data sharing and availability of data for evidence 
building across all agencies and levels of government. The FRN 
commentators may respond to any question and do not need to respond to 
all questions.
    This request for comments offers researchers, evaluators, 
contractors, government entities, and other interested parties the 
opportunity to inform the Committee's work. This is a general 
solicitation of comments from the public. The Advisory Committee will 
consider all feedback and recommendations on core topics and central 
issues such as:

<bullet> Capacity needs for secure data access and record linkage
<bullet> Areas for research and development on state-of-the-art data 
access and data protection methods
<bullet> How to protect privacy when using personally identifiable 
information or confidential business information in support of evidence 
building
<bullet> How to promote transparency and facilitate public engagement 
with the evidence building process
<bullet> Agency needs for data management and data stewardship services
<bullet> How to best facilitate the needs of researchers, evaluators, 
and other evidence builders through a national data service or similar 
approach

    Please clearly indicate which question(s) you address in your 
response and any evidence to support assertions, where practicable.

Round 1

Central Questions--
    1. What are the main challenges faced by national, state/
provincial, or local governments that are trying to build a basis for 
evidence-based policy? Briefly describe the bottlenecks and pain-points 
they face in the evidence-based decision-making process.
    2. What are examples of high-impact data uses for evidence-based 
policy making that successfully effected change, reduced costs, or 
improved the welfare of citizens?
    3. Which frameworks, policies, practices, or methods show promise 
in overcoming challenges experienced by governments in their evidence 
building?
    4. The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (See: www.cep.gov) 
recommended the creation of a National Secure Data Service (See 
Commission Report at www.cep.gov). Do you agree with this 
recommendation, and if so, what should be the essential features of a 
National Secure Data Service?
    5. How can federal agencies protect individual and organizational 
privacy when using data for evidence building? Recommend specific 
actions the Office of Management and Budget and/or other federal 
agencies can take when using data for evidence building, as well as 
suggested changes to federal laws, policies, and procedures.
Secure Data Access--
    6. If created, how should a data service be structured to best 
facilitate (1) research and development of secure data access and 
confidentiality technologies and methods, (2) and agency adoption of 
those technologies and techniques?
    7. Government agencies have argued that secure data access has 
value because it (1) improves service delivery, (2) improves efficiency 
(lowers costs), (3) produces metrics for performance measurement, and 
(4) produces new learnings/insights from the data. Which of these 
propositions do you agree holds value and why? Do you have examples 
that demonstrate these benefits? Do you

[[Page 81180]]

have other examples of the value of secure data access?
Data Services to Federal, State, Local Agencies and the Public--
    8. What are the most pressing data needs of state and local 
decision makers and how would making data accessible from federal 
agencies help meet those needs? To share data, what guarantees do data 
owners (or data controllers) need regarding privacy, data stewardship, 
and retention?
    9. What are the key problems and use cases where collaborative work 
between federal, state, and local authorities' data analysis can inform 
decisions? What are key decision support tools? How would greater 
communication about data and tools benefit expanded evidence building?
Infrastructure for Meeting Public and Evidence Building Needs--
    10. What basic public data services are essential for a data 
service to address existing capacity gaps and needs? What 
infrastructure or incentives can the federal government create that 
locals and states cannot?

    Dated: December 9, 2020.
Gianna Marrone,
Assistant Designated Federal Official, Advisory Committee on Data for 
Evidence Building.
[FR Doc. 2020-27489 Filed 12-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-MN-P


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