Presidential Documents

8845 

Federal Register 

Vol. 86, No. 26 

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 

Title 3— 

The President 

Memorandum of January 27, 2021 

Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity 

and Evidence-Based Policymaking 

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies 

It is the policy of my Administration to make evidence-based decisions 

guided by the best available science and data. Scientific and technological 

information, data, and evidence are central to the development and iterative 

improvement of sound policies, and to the delivery of equitable programs, 

across every area of government. Scientific findings should never be distorted 

or influenced by political considerations. When scientific or technological 

information is considered in policy decisions, it should be subjected to 

well-established scientific processes, including peer review where feasible 

and appropriate, with appropriate protections for privacy. Improper political 

interference in the work of Federal scientists or other scientists who support 

the work of the Federal Government and in the communication of scientific 

facts undermines the welfare of the Nation, contributes to systemic inequities 

and injustices, and violates the trust that the public places in government 

to best serve its collective interests. 

This memorandum reaffirms and builds on the Presidential Memorandum 

of March 9, 2009 (Scientific Integrity), and the Director of the Office of 

Science and Technology Policy’s Memorandum of December 17, 2010 (Scientific Integrity). 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, I direct as follows: 

Section 1. Role of the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

Policy. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (Director) 

shall ensure the highest level of integrity in all aspects of executive branch 

involvement with scientific and technological processes. This responsibility 

shall include ensuring that executive departments and agencies (agencies) 

establish and enforce scientific-integrity policies that ban improper political 

interference in the conduct of scientific research and in the collection of 

scientific or technological data, and that prevent the suppression or distortion 

of scientific or technological findings, data, information, conclusions, or 

technical results. In implementing this memorandum, the Director shall, 

as appropriate, convene and confer with the heads of agencies and with 

personnel within the offices of the Executive Office of the President, including the Office of Management and Budget. 

Sec. 2. Task Force on Scientific Integrity. (a) The Director shall convene 

an interagency task force (the ‘‘Task Force’’) of the National Science and 

Technology Council (NSTC) to conduct a thorough review of the effectiveness 

of agency scientific-integrity policies developed since the issuance of the 

Presidential Memorandum of March 9, 2009. 

(b) The Task Force shall complete its review within 120 days of the 

date of the appointment of its members, and shall take the following actions 

when completing its review. 

(i) The Task Force shall ensure its review considers whether existing 

Federal scientific-integrity policies prevent improper political interference 

in the conduct of scientific research and the collection of scientific or 

technological data; prevent the suppression or distortion of scientific or 

technological findings, data, information, conclusions, or technical results; 

8846 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 10, 2021 / Presidential Documents 

support scientists and researchers of all genders, races, ethnicities, and 

backgrounds; and advance the equitable delivery of the Federal Government’s programs. 

(ii) The Task Force’s review shall include an analysis of any instances 

in which existing scientific-integrity policies have not been followed or 

enforced, including whether such deviations from existing policies have 

resulted in improper political interference in the conduct of scientific 

research and the collection of scientific or technological data; led to the 

suppression or distortion of scientific or technological findings, data, information, conclusions, or technical results; disproportionately harmed Federal scientists and researchers from groups that are historically underrepresented in science, technology, and related fields; or impeded the equitable 

delivery of the Federal Government’s programs. The scope of this review 

shall include the work of scientific and technological advisory committees, 

boards, and similar bodies. The existing policies examined by this review 

shall include those issued pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of 

March 9, 2009, and the Director’s Memorandum of December 17, 2010; 

any other scientific-integrity policies published on agency websites; and 

commonly accepted scientific-integrity practices. 

(iii) The Task Force shall identify effective practices regarding engagement 

of Federal scientists, as well as contractors working on scientific matters 

for agencies, with news media and on social media; effective policies 

that protect scientific independence during clearance and review, and 

that avoid improper political interference in research or data collection; 

effective approaches for handling any disagreements about scientific methods and conclusions; effective reporting practices that promote transparency in the implementation of agency scientific-integrity policies and 

in the handling of any allegations of misconduct; effective practices for 

educating and informing employees and contractors of their rights and 

responsibilities related to agency scientific-integrity policies; promising 

opportunities to address gaps in current scientific-integrity policies related 

to emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning, and evolving scientific practices, such as citizen science and community-engaged research; effective approaches to minimizing conflicts of interest in Federal Government science; and policies that support the professional development of Federal scientists in accordance with, and building 

on, section IV of the Director’s Memorandum of December 17, 2010. 

(iv) To inform the review, the Task Force shall gather input from stakeholders and the public regarding scientific-integrity practices. The Task 

Force shall consider obtaining such input through various means, which 

may include holding a virtual stakeholder summit hosted by the Office 

of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), issuing a public request for 

information, and conducting a virtual listening tour or open forums. 

(v) Upon the conclusion of its review, the Director shall publish a report 

on the OSTP website synthesizing the Task Force’s findings. The report 

shall include a description of agencies’ strengths and weaknesses regarding 

scientific-integrity policies, as well as a description of best practices and 

lessons learned. 

(c) Within 120 days of the publication of the Task Force’s initial 120- 

day review of existing scientific-integrity policies, the Task Force shall develop a framework to inform and support the regular assessment and iterative 

improvement of agency scientific-integrity policies and practices, to support 

the Director and OSTP in ensuring that agencies adhere to the principles 

of scientific integrity. This framework shall include assessment criteria that 

OSTP and agencies can use to inform, review, and improve the design 

and implementation of agency scientific-integrity policies. The Director shall 

publish this framework on the OSTP website. 

Sec. 3. Agency Scientific-Integrity Policies. (a) Heads of agencies shall ensure 

that all agency activities associated with scientific and technological processes are conducted in accordance with the 6 principles set forth in section 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 10, 2021 / Presidential Documents 8847 

1 of the Presidential Memorandum of March 9, 2009, and the 4 foundations 

of scientific integrity in government set forth in part I of the Director’s 

Memorandum of December 17, 2010. 

(b) Heads of agencies shall ensure that their agency scientific-integrity 

policies reflect the findings in the Task Force report produced under section 

(2)(b)(v) of this memorandum and apply to all agency employees, regardless 

of the nature of their appointment, as well as contractors who perform 

scientific activities for agencies. Heads of agencies shall coordinate with 

the Director in the development, updating, and implementation of any agency-specific policies or procedures deemed necessary to ensure the integrity 

of scientific decision-making. The following time frames shall apply when 

completing the activities described in this subsection: 

(i) The head of each agency with an existing scientific-integrity policy 

shall submit an updated policy to the Director within 180 days of the 

publication of the Task Force’s report. 

(ii) The head of each agency without an existing scientific-integrity policy 

shall submit a draft agency scientific-integrity policy to the Director within 

180 days of the publication of the Task Force’s report. 

(iii) The Director shall expeditiously review scientific-integrity policies 

submitted by the agencies to ensure that the policies respond to the 

Task Force’s analysis, adhere to the policy directives in this memorandum, 

and uphold the highest standards of scientific practice. 

(iv) The Director shall notify agencies of any deficiencies in the scientificintegrity policies and collaborate with agencies to expeditiously correct 

those deficiencies. 

(c) In implementing this section, heads of agencies shall: 

(i) Provide the Director with any information the Director deems necessary 

to conduct the Director’s duties under this memorandum; 

(ii) Publish the agency’s scientific-integrity policy on the agency’s website, 

and disseminate information about the policy through the agency’s social 

media channels; 

(iii) Develop and publish procedures, as appropriate and consistent with 

applicable law, for implementing the agency’s scientific-integrity policy, 

including establishing and publishing an administrative process for reporting, investigating, and appealing allegations of deviations from the agency’s 

policy, and for resolving any disputes or disagreements about scientific 

methods and conclusions; 

(iv) Review and, as needed, update within 60 days of the date of this 

memorandum any website content, and within 300 days of the date of 

this memorandum any agency reports, data, and other agency materials 

issued or published since January 20, 2017, that are inconsistent with 

the principles set forth in this memorandum and that remain in use 

by the agency or its stakeholders; 

(v) Educate agency employees, as well as contractors who perform scientific 

activities for the agency, on their rights and responsibilities related to 

scientific integrity, including by conducting routine training on the agency’s scientific-integrity policy for all employees, and by ensuring any 

new employees are made aware of their responsibilities under the agency’s 

scientific-integrity policy shortly after they are hired; and 

(vi) Publish, consistent with any requirements related to national security 

and privacy, as well as any other applicable law, an annual report on 

the agency’s website that includes the number of administrative investigations and appeals involving alleged deviations from the agency’s scientificintegrity policies, as described in section (3)(c)(iii) of this memorandum, 

for the year covered by the report, and the number of investigations 

and appeals pending from years prior to the year covered by the report, 

if any. 

8848 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 10, 2021 / Presidential Documents 

Sec. 4. Publication of Scientific-Integrity Policies and Ongoing Biennial Reporting. (a) The Director shall publish on the OSTP website, and disseminate 

via social media, information about this memorandum, related OSTP and 

NSTC reports on scientific integrity, and links to the scientific-integrity 

policies posted on agency websites, to ensure such information and policies 

can be easily accessed by the public. 

(b) The Director shall publish on the OSTP website, and disseminate 

via social media, a biennial report on the status of the implementation 

of this memorandum across the executive branch. This report shall include 

a review of the impact on scientific integrity of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices related to the Federal scientific and engineering workforce 

and scientific Federal advisory committees. 

Sec. 5. Evidence-Based Policymaking. (a) Heads of agencies shall ensure 

that the scientific-integrity policies of their agencies consider, supplement, 

and support their plans for forming evidence-based policies, including the 

evidence-building plans required by 5 U.S.C. 312(a) and the annual evaluation plans required by 5 U.S.C. 312(b). 

(b) Within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, after consultation 

with the Director, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) shall issue guidance to improve agencies’ evidence-building plans 

and annual evaluation plans. Specifically, the Director of OMB shall consider 

whether, consistent with, and building upon, Executive Order 13707 of 

September 15, 2015 (Using Behavioral Science Insights to Better Serve the 

American People), agencies’ evidence-building plans and annual evaluation 

plans shall include a broad set of methodological approaches for the evidence-based and iterative development and the equitable delivery of policies, 

programs, and agency operations. Relevant approaches might include use 

of pilot projects, randomized control trials, quantitative-survey research and 

statistical analysis, qualitative research, ethnography, research based on data 

linkages in which records from two or more datasets that refer to the same 

entity are joined, well-established processes for community engagement and 

inclusion in research, and other approaches that may be informed by the 

social and behavioral sciences and data science. 

(c) The statutory positions required to be designated by agencies by the 

Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law 115– 

435), which include the Evaluation Officer, the Chief Data Officer, and 

a senior statistical official, shall incorporate scientific-integrity principles 

consistent with this memorandum into agencies’ data governance and evaluation approaches. Similarly, the Chief Data Officers Council shall incorporate 

scientific-integrity principles consistent with this memorandum into its efforts to establish government-wide best practices for the use, protection, 

dissemination, and generation of data, and both the Chief Data Officers 

Council and the Evaluation Officer Council shall identify ways in which 

agencies can improve upon the production of evidence for use in policymaking. 

(d) Consistent with the provisions of the Foundations for Evidence-Based 

Policymaking Act of 2018, heads of agencies shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, expand open and secure access to Federal data 

routinely collected in the course of administering Federal, State, local, Tribal, 

or territorial government programs or fulfilling Federal, State, local, Tribal, 

or territorial government mandates, such as tax data, vital records, other 

statistical data, and Social Security Administration earnings and employment 

reports, to ensure governmental and non-governmental researchers can use 

Federal data to assess and evaluate the effectiveness and equitable delivery 

of policies and to suggest improvements. In implementing this provision, 

heads of agencies shall: 

(i) Make these data available by default in a machine-readable format 

and in a manner that protects privacy and confidential or classified information, and any other information protected from disclosure by law; 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 10, 2021 / Presidential Documents 8849 

(ii) Publish an agency data plan that provides a consistent framework 

for data stewardship, use, and access. If publishing such a plan is not 

feasible, then the head of the agency shall publish guidelines outlining 

how the data were collected, metadata on data use, any limitations on 

data use, and ways for researchers to provide feedback on data shared; 

(iii) Follow the mandates of the Information Quality Act (section 515 

of Public Law 106–554) in assessing and making available to researchers 

information on the quality of the data being provided; and 

(iv) Where possible, provide such data disaggregated by gender, race, 

ethnicity, age, income, and other demographic factors that support researchers in understanding the effects of policies and programs on equity and 

justice. 

(e) The Director of OMB shall review whether guidance to agencies on 

implementation of the Information Quality Act needs to be updated and 

reissued. 

(f) Heads of agencies shall review and expeditiously update any agency 

policies, processes, and practices issued or published since January 20, 

2017, that prevent the best available science and data from informing the 

agency’s evidence-based and iterative development and equitable delivery 

of policies and programs. 

Sec. 6. Agency Chief Science Officers and Scientific Integrity Officials. (a) 

Within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, the heads of agencies 

that fund, conduct, or oversee scientific research shall, to the extent consistent 

with applicable law, designate a senior agency employee for the role of 

chief science officer, science advisor, or chief scientist (‘‘Chief Science Officer’’), who shall: 

(i) Serve as the principal advisor to the head of the agency on scientific 

issues and ensure that the agency’s research programs are scientifically 

and technologically well-founded and conducted with integrity; and 

(ii) Oversee the implementation and iterative improvement of policies 

and processes affecting the integrity of research funded, conducted, or 

overseen by the agency, as well as policies affecting the Federal and 

non-Federal scientists who support the research activities of the agency, 

including scientific-integrity policies consistent with the provisions of 

this memorandum. 

(b) Because science, facts, and evidence are vital to addressing policy 

and programmatic issues across the Federal Government, the heads of all 

agencies (not only those that fund, conduct, or oversee scientific research) 

shall designate expeditiously a senior career employee as the agency’s lead 

scientific-integrity official (‘‘Scientific Integrity Official’’) to oversee implementation and iterative improvement of scientific-integrity policies and processes consistent with the provisions of this memorandum, including implementation of the administrative and dispute resolution processes described 

in section (3)(c)(iii) of this memorandum. For agencies with a Chief Science 

Officer, the Scientific Integrity Official shall report to the Chief Science 

Officer on all matters involving scientific-integrity policies. 

(c) To the extent necessary to fully implement the provisions of this 

memorandum, heads of agencies may designate additional scientific-integrity 

points of contact in different offices and components, who shall coordinate 

with the agency’s Scientific Integrity Official in implementing the agency’s 

scientific-integrity policies and processes. 

(d) Heads of agencies should ensure those designated to serve in the 

roles described in this section, along with their respective staffs, are selected 

based on their scientific and technological knowledge, skills, experience, 

and integrity, including experience conducting and overseeing scientific research and utilizing scientific and technological information and data in 

agency decision-making, prioritizing experience with evidence-based, equitable, inclusive, and participatory practices and structures for the conduct 

of scientific research and the communication of scientific results. 

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(e) The Director or a designee of the Director shall regularly convene 

Chief Science Officers and Scientific Integrity Officials to encourage the 

discussion and expansion of effective scientific-integrity policies and practices among agencies. 

Sec. 7. Scientific Advisory Committees. (a) Within 90 days of the date 

of this memorandum, heads of agencies shall review their current and future 

needs for independent scientific and technological advice from Federal advisory committees, commissions, and boards. The review should include an 

evaluation of those advisory bodies established by law, and should consider 

both current and anticipated needs. 

(b) This review shall assess which Federal scientific and technological 

advisory committees should be rechartered or recreated to ensure that relevant and highly qualified external experts, with proper safeguards against 

conflicts of interest, can contribute to critical Federal regulations and other 

agency actions and decision-making. The review shall also identify any 

agency policies, processes, or practices that may currently prevent or inhibit 

relevant and highly qualified external experts from serving on such committees. 

(c) In conducting this review, heads of agencies shall take steps to review 

the membership of scientific and technological advisory committees and, 

as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, ensure that members 

and future nominees reflect the diversity of America in terms of gender, 

race, ethnicity, geography, and other characteristics; represent a variety of 

backgrounds, areas of expertise, and experiences; provide well-rounded and 

expert advice to agencies; and are selected based on their scientific and 

technological knowledge, skills, experience, and integrity, including 

prioritization of experience with evidence-based, equitable, inclusive, and 

participatory practices and structures for the conduct of scientific research 

and the communication of scientific results. 

(d) Upon completion of their 90-day review, heads of agencies shall provide 

a summary report to the Director and the Director of OMB with recommendations on which Federal scientific and technological advisory committees 

should be rechartered or recreated in accordance with subsection (b) of 

this section; which scientific and technological advisory committees should 

be prioritized for membership appointments to ensure they provide wellrounded and expert advice reflecting diverse perspectives, in accordance 

with subsection (c) of this section; and which agency policies, processes, 

or practices, if any, should be updated to encourage relevant and highly 

qualified external experts to serve on such committees. 

Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, 

or the head thereof; or 

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable 

law and subject to the availability of appropriations. 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 10, 2021 / Presidential Documents 8851 

(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right 

or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by 

any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, 

its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, January 27, 2021 

[FR Doc. 2021–02839 

Filed 2–9–21; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3295–F1–P 


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