Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Notices 80339 

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(Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552b.) 

Dated: November 15, 2023. 

Stefanie Davis, 

Deputy General Counsel for Administrative 

and Regulatory Practice Legal Services 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25645 Filed 11–15–23; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 7050–01–P 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND 

BUDGET 

Office of Federal Procurement Policy 

Acquisition Data Management 

AGENCY: Office of Federal Procurement 

Policy, Office of Management and 

Budget. 

ACTION: Proposed new Office of 

Management and Budget Circular No. 

A–XXX, ‘‘Strategic Management of 

Acquisition Data and Information’’. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Federal 

Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) is 

proposing a new OMB Circular, 

Strategic Management of Acquisition 

Data and Information. The purpose of 

this Circular is to improve agency access 

to reliable data and information. Using 

relevant acquisition data throughout the 

acquisition lifecycle facilitates 

successful contracting outcomes. This 

Circular establishes a centralized data 

management strategy to create robust 

knowledge and data banks, develop 

standard data sharing processes, and 

improve agency access to tools and 

resources for acquisition-related 

decision-making. 

DATES: Interested parties should submit 

comments in writing to the address 

below on or before January 16, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions on the portal for submitting 

comments. Instructions: Please submit 

comments only and cite ‘‘Proposed New 

OMB Circular A–XXX’’ in all 

correspondence. All comments received 

will be posted, without change or 

redaction, to www.regulations.gov, so 

commenters should not include 

information that they do not wish to be 

posted (for example because they 

consider it personal or business 

confidential). Additionally, the OMB 

System of Records Notice, OMB Public 

Input System of Records, OMB/INPUT/ 

01 includes a list of routine uses 

associated with the collection of this 

information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kristen Wilson, +1 (202) 881–9426, 

kristen.h.wilson@omb.eop.gov or send 

your email to MBX.OMB.OFPPv2@

OMB.eop.gov, Office of Federal 

Procurement Policy, 725 17th Street 

NW, Washington, DC 20006, at 202– 

395–6805. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There are 

tens of billions of acquisition data 

points residing in over 170 contract 

writing systems (including legacy 

systems) and over 15 payment 

processing platforms across the Federal 

enterprise. Historically, much of this 

data has been collected and managed by 

agencies. Agencies have used their 

resources to build tools within their 

agency, harnessing internal data and 

databases, but this has often led to 

duplicative tools and efforts and a lack 

of coordination across agencies. This 

approach has limited Government-wide 

capacity for analytics, insights, and 

efficiency gains other than the System 

for Award Management and the Federal 

Procurement Data System, which 

generally provide aggregate data but 

very little pricing and best practices 

information. 

To address these challenges, the 

proposed Circular would establish a 

new acquisition data management 

policy of promoting Hi-Definition (HiDef) acquisitions where agencies are 

able to acquire supplies or services 

using acquisition data that is easily 

accessed and available at the time of 

need. To that end, OMB is creating a HiDef acquisition framework to promote 

data interoperability, sharing of 

acquisition data between agencies, and 

enterprise-wide data analysis. This 

framework is supported by a Hi-Def 

acquisition data environment that 

includes a scalable technical 

architecture and solution to store, 

access, utilize, share, and archive 

acquisition data without having to 

duplicate data, tools, or effort. Hi-Def 

acquisitions are a critical component of 

the acquisition community’s work to 

buy as an organized enterprise, as it will 

provide access to the breadth and depth 

of information needed to support the 

activities of the largest and most 

sophisticated buyer in the world. 

Achieving a Hi-Def environment will 

require greater transparency and 

collaboration in agency data systems 

planning and investment decisions 

where these activities would impact the 

Government’s ability to achieve data 

interoperability for information that is 

critical or can otherwise significantly 

improve acquisition decision-making at 

both the Government-wide and agencywide level. To this end, the Circular (1) 

establishes interagency governance, (2) 

defines agency roles and 

responsibilities, and (3) supports the 

design and development of solutions to 

drive interoperability, allowing systems 

to connect and share acquisition data 

wherever they reside within the Federal 

government without duplication. 

Of particular note, the proposed 

Circular would: 

Require agencies to prepare annual 

strategic plans. Agencies will report on 

steps to address general data 

management stewardship, governmentwide priority initiatives and 

individualized acquisition data hurdles 

or responsibilities that may impact other 

agencies. 

Build appropriate centralization. The 

Circular will support centralized 

standards, knowledge banks, and datasharing tools using established and 

strengthened governance. Existing 

standards and processes will be 

updated, modernized, and enforced 


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through greater transparency and 

interoperability. Data sharing tools will 

allow agencies to maintain existing 

systems but create the ability to pull 

data from the source where it resides for 

much improved analytics and insights. 

Shared solutions will increase efficiency 

across all agencies. 

Promote data-sharing technologies. 

The Circular prepares agencies for an 

interoperable future where all 

acquisition data can be shared and 

accessed. Current Hi-Def efforts are 

being conducted through pilots on a 

voluntary basis to address challenges in 

interoperability. The Circular 

anticipates that agencies will begin 

exploring, planning for, and building 

application programming interfaces 

(APIs) and other access points while 

and working within the governance 

structure to develop appropriate 

standards and processes. It provides a 

mechanism to enable agencies to ask for 

further direction and resources in these 

endeavors from OMB and through the 

budget process. Increased collaboration 

between agencies will facilitate 

knowledge and best practices sharing 

from agencies that have already 

explored the implementation of these 

tools internally, as well as the related 

pilots. 

Establish policies for agency 

collection and sharing of their 

acquisition data. Contract cost 

efficiencies increase when buyers are 

able to improve their negotiating 

posture with access to standardized 

transactional data that can give them 

insight into prices paid and favorable 

contract terms and conditions. 

Accordingly, with limited exception, 

agencies will be expected to centrally 

collect acquisition data, such as, but not 

limited to, market research, contract 

documents such as statements of work, 

performance work statements, 

statements of objective, terms, 

conditions, prices paid for commodities 

or services, and other data or 

information that a contracting official, 

program official or other member of the 

integrated product team would use 

during the acquisition lifecycle as part 

of their stewardship responsibility to 

obtain best value for the Federal 

government. Agencies should share 

their data with GSA and other agencies 

responsible for data collection so that 

the information may be analyzed by 

data and market experts and made 

available for agency use, including 

through on-demand tools that the 

agencies create. GSA and other data 

collection agencies will use data sharing 

agreements, as appropriate, with data 

protection and security protocols to 

prevent against the unauthorized 

disclosure of data. OMB will work with 

agencies to develop data sharing 

agreement templates to address how 

information is accessed, used, and 

shared. 

Establish an interagency working 

group. In order to determine the best 

implementation of data sharing, such as 

APIs, across contract writing systems, 

the working group would bring together 

contract writing system managers, 

computer engineers, and acquisition 

data experts. As an initial step, agencies 

would conduct an initial assessment of 

their contract pricing and invoicing data 

to establish an agency baseline and 

determine the variation of starting 

points between agencies. 

Facilitate other collaborative actions 

and workforce development with data 

management. Agencies would be 

expected to actively contribute to 

existing knowledge portals on 

innovative techniques and emerging 

technology and support expansion, 

implementation, and promotion of 

acquisition data management training 

and certification efforts for the 

acquisition workforce. 

Christine J. Harada, 

Senior Advisor, Office of Federal Procurement 

Policy. 

PROPOSED CIRCULAR NO. A–XXX 

TO THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE 

DEPARTMENTS AND 

ESTABLISHMENTS 

SUBJECT: Strategic Management of 

Acquisition Data and Information 

1. Purpose: The purpose of this 

Circular is to improve agency access to 

reliable data and information. Using 

relevant acquisition data throughout the 

acquisition lifecycle facilitates 

successful contracting outcomes. This 

Circular establishes a centralized data 

management strategy to create robust 

knowledge and data banks, develop 

standard data sharing processes, and 

improve agency access to tools and 

resources for acquisition-related 

decision-making. 

The Federal government has taken 

significant steps to improve the 

collection and use of data related to 

contracting transactions, including 

amounts obligated, information about 

how contracts are awarded, and the 

identity of the awardees. For example, 

the Integrated Award Environment 

(IAE), through the System for Award 

Management (SAM), provides important 

information to the acquisition 

community and the public and is 

integral to agencies’ management of 

contracting processes. 

However, other important acquisitionrelated data and information are not 

being shared Government-wide—or are 

underutilized. This is often because 

such information resides in disparate 

agency systems, include nonstandardized data elements and 

definitions, across public and 

commercial domains, and therefore are 

not generally interoperable across 

agencies. For example, line item pricing 

information may be kept in agencyspecific contract writing systems, in one 

or more payment platforms, or in 

internal or external databases that are 

not easily accessible. As a result, 

acquisition professionals across the 

Federal government may not have 

access to key information for contract 

negotiations or for critical contract 

management functions. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

seeks to promote Hi-Definition (Hi-Def) 

acquisitions where agencies are able to 

acquire supplies or services using 

relevant acquisition data that is easily 

accessed and available when it is 

needed. To that end, OMB is creating a 

Hi-Def acquisition framework to 

promote data interoperability, sharing of 

acquisition data between agencies and 

enterprise-wide data analysis. This 

framework is supported by a Hi-Def 

acquisition data environment that 

includes a scalable technical 

architecture and solution to store, 

access, utilize, share, and archive 

acquisition data without having to 

duplicate data, tools, or effort. Together, 

the Hi-Def framework and data 

environment will provide a coordinated, 

Government-wide approach to 

accessing, using, and managing 

acquisition data and developing and 

deploying innovative tools that use this 

information to better support the 

acquisition lifecycle, such as GSA’s 

Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) 

program which allows for improved 

pricing and related data analytics that 

support enhanced decision-making. The 

Hi-Def framework and data environment 

will be built around the following three 

management and organizing principles: 

(1) continuously identify areas of 

need through interagency governance 

structures including existing 

committees, such as the Procurement 

Committee for E-government (PCE) and 

other working groups; 

(2) assess agency compliance with 

existing standards, current data 

collection and interoperability efforts; 

and identify proper acquisition data 

subject matter experts for roles defined 

in section 3 and Appendix C; and 

(3) design and develop agency 

solutions using human-centered design 

principles to drive interoperability and 

scalability of acquisition data through 

existing technology inventories, data 


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1Such requirements and assessment criteria will 

be available at https://www.acquisition.gov. 

2Template will be provided on a yearly basis and 

found on https://www.acquisition.gov/ 

datainitiatives. 

3Federal Integrated Business Framework | Federal 

Shared Services, https://ussm.gsa.gov/fibf/. 

4Office of Mgmt. & Budget, Exec. Office of the 

President, OMB M–19–13, Category Management: 

Making Smarter Use of Common Contract Solutions 

and Practices (2019), available at https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ 

M-19-13.pdf. 

5FAI Home https://fai.gov/. 

6 DAU Home https://www.dau.edu/. 

7Office of Mgmt. & Budget, Exec. Office of the 

President, OMB M–15–19, Improving Government 

Efficiency and Saving Taxpayer Dollars Through 

Electronic Invoicing (2015), available at https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ 

M-19-15.pdf. 

8For purposes of this Circular, ‘‘agency’’ is 

defined in 41 U.S.C. 133. 

standards, data sharing agreements, as 

appropriate, and yearly acquisition data 

strategic planning to support the 

initiative. 

2. Policy: Agencies should utilize 

acquisition data management practices 

that promote interoperability, 

scalability, and usability across the 

Government.1 These practices should 

make acquisition data easily accessible 

when it is needed to inform decisionmaking throughout the acquisition 

lifecycle. 

3. Responsibilities: This policy will be 

implemented in accordance with the 

following responsibilities. 

a. OMB—With the support of the 

Government-wide governance structures 

identified in Appendix C, OMB is 

responsible for the following: 

i. Provide direction to agencies for the 

annual creation of a strategic plan to 

prioritize acquisition data management 

activities. OMB, in collaboration with 

the working group established pursuant 

to section 6a, will provide direction to 

agencies for the creation of strategic 

plans that adequately address the 

agency’s acquisition data resources and 

infrastructure and the status of the 

agency’s activities to implement 

Government-wide priorities and agencyspecific priorities. 

ii. Develop standards, as necessary, to 

support transactional pricing data or 

any other transactional activity 

requiring standardization. OMB will 

identify minimum transactional pricing 

data elements (e.g., CLIN standards) for 

collection and transmission that would 

minimize agency burden while 

providing insight at a government-wide 

level. OMB will consider the 

commonalities identified from the 

initial data assessment performed by 

agencies as a basis for standardization. 

iii. Require appropriate information 

sharing and collaboration. Agencies 

must share information using proper 

data security to support greater 

transparency, and inform buying 

decisions for the Federal enterprise. 

OMB will collaborate with governance 

groups and agencies to prioritize 

information sharing needs and 

capabilities and to develop appropriate 

data sharing agreement templates. 

b. Agencies—Agencies are responsible 

for taking the following actions in 

furtherance of the acquisition data 

management policies established by this 

Circular: 

i. Create a strategic plan to prioritize 

and resource their acquisition data 

management activities, consistent with 

direction from OMB. Agencies shall 

annually evaluate and document results 

of assessments along with any new 

agency policies and processes in an 

Annual Acquisition Data Strategic Plan 

as outlined in Appendix E, using the 

template provided 2 to support agency 

budget planning and investment 

discussions. 

ii. Integrate best business practices 

into agency data strategy for the 

generation, collection, use, sharing, and 

improvement of data. Agencies should 

utilize the Federal Integrated Business 

Framework (FIBF) 3 in developing their 

Annual Acquisition Data Strategic Plans 

and share best business practices with 

GSA who will make the information 

publicly available and easily accessible. 

iii. Collect data centrally and be 

prepared, upon request by OMB and the 

Category Manager, to share their 

acquisition data, as appropriate, and on 

an agreed upon cadence.4 Centralized 

data collection within the agency is 

critical to the agency’s ability to readily 

share their acquisition data 

governmentwide. Agencies that are 

responsible for collecting agency data 

must use appropriate protocols to 

prevent the unauthorized disclosure of 

data. Data sharing agreements may be 

used to establish how information is 

accessed, used, and shared. Agencies 

should not agree to terms and 

conditions with their contractors that 

broadly prohibit the sharing of their 

acquisition data with other Government 

agencies, except where sharing is 

prohibited by law or where the contract 

identifies the data or information is 

proprietary. OMB may request an 

explanation from the agency’s Senior 

Procurement Executive when the agency 

withholds requested acquisition data 

that is not otherwise legally prohibited 

from disclosure. Equally important, 

agencies must assume responsibility for 

making data-driven decisions and for 

providing their acquisition workforce 

with critical information needed to 

negotiate contracts in the best interest of 

taxpayers. Agencies should work with 

GSA on the development and adoption 

of Government-wide data analytics tools 

and taking steps to ensure members of 

the workforce with responsibilities for 

managing common spending are trained 

in using these tools. 

iv. Actively contribute to existing 

knowledge portals on innovative 

techniques and emerging technology. 

Agencies should actively collect and 

share information and data about their 

innovative activities through organized 

means, including but not limited to the 

Inventory of Emerging Technologies, the 

Periodic Table of Acquisition 

Innovations, and future knowledge 

management tools in the Hi-Def 

environment, that contribute to the 

collective advancement of a more 

effective acquisition system. 

v. Support expansion, 

implementation, and promotion of 

acquisition data management training 

and certification efforts for the 

acquisition workforce. Agencies should 

work with sources such as, but not 

limited to, the Federal Acquisition 

Institute (FAI) 5 and the Defense 

Acquisition University (DAU) 6 to build 

data analysis and related skills as a core 

acquisition workforce capability. 

c. Electronic Invoicing Providers— 

Electronic Invoicing Providers are 

responsible for providing electronic 

interfaces. Agencies shall ensure 

compliance with OMB Memorandum 

M–15–19 7 and successor policies, 

directing all Federal Shared Service 

Providers (FSSPs) and other electronic 

invoice solution providers to integrate 

with IAE and develop electronic 

interfaces. 

4. Authorities—OMB issues this 

Circular pursuant to the Office of 

Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 

U.S.C. Chapter 7); the Clinger Cohen Act 

(also known as ‘‘Information 

Technology Management Reform Act of 

1996’’); and 31 U.S.C. Ch. 5. 

5. Effective Date, Applicability and 

Scope: The Circular is effective upon 

publication in the Federal Register. The 

policies in this Circular apply to all 

Federal agencies 8 and shall only be 

used for unclassified data. 

6. Transition: The following phase-in 

actions shall be taken to help agencies 

prepare for the responsibilities 

enumerated in section 3. 

a. Within 90 days of the effective date 

of the Circular, OMB will establish a 

working group, that falls under the 

jurisdiction of the Procurement 

Committee for E-Government. OMB will 

require agencies, within 45 days of the 


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effective date of the Circular, to identify, 

in consultation with their PCE 

representative, one or more government 

acquisition system technical experts 

who are knowledgeable on making data 

machine-readable, in an open format, 

and available to computer applications 

to promote interoperability and system 

integration (i.e. exposing data through 

application programming interfaces 

(APIs)); the agency contract writing 

system(s) and associated interfaces; 

agency electronic invoicing solution; 

and information technology 

infrastructure. OMB will further require 

that working group members: 

i. have the requisite technical 

developmental expertise to focus on the 

technical solutions to support the 

identified areas of need and develop 

formal communications of technical 

requirements for software vendors; 

ii. collaborate with the Federal 

Acquisition Regulatory Council and 

other acquisition policy organizations 

identified by OFPP and with governance 

groups identified in Appendix C; and 

iii. review previous efforts, if any, to 

accomplish similar initiatives in these 

areas. Agencies shall identify a working 

group member as the lead for the initial 

assessment to take place in the first year 

after the release of this policy. 

The working group’s initial priority 

will be to support agencies in their 

individual assessments of the 

acquisition data environment, including 

through the hosting of workshops, and 

identify areas of need arising out of this 

assessment. 

b. Within one year of the effective date 

of this Circular, agencies shall perform 

an initial one-time baseline assessment 

of their acquisition data management 

capabilities. The assessment shall focus, 

at a minimum, on acquisition data 

principles, reduction of duplicative 

efforts, data sharing capabilities, and 

actions to exchange innovative practices 

and solutions. Agencies shall complete 

and submit an assessment of and a 

roadmap for acquisition data systems, 

structures, and elements involving 

invoicing, contract writing systems, and 

transactional pricing data. OMB will 

develop a template to support the 

assessment covering the following 

information: 

i. Analysis of the current collection of 

transactional pricing data (i.e., contract 

line-item data) including existing 

systems, analytical capabilities, 

reporting requirements, and, if not 

currently being collected by a vendor, 

their level of effort and required 

resources if changes are needed to 

collect that data; 

ii. Roadmap for making existing and 

new acquisition data machine-readable, 

in an open format, and available to 

computer applications to promote 

interoperability and system integration, 

following direction from the working 

group, governance, and policy while 

coordinating across agencies using the 

same or similar systems; 

iii. Adherence to the existing Federal 

Electronic Invoicing Data Elements 

Standards mandatory data elements; 

iv. The extent of unstructured 

acquisition data in contract writing 

systems that are not in a machinereadable format and would be unable to 

be transmitted via API (e.g. ‘‘flat’’ file 

PDFs, contract clauses, or additional 

scanned items that are not machine 

readable). The focus here is data that 

cannot easily be transformed to be 

machine readable. For example, line 

item pricing information may be kept in 

agency-specific contract writing 

systems, in one or more payment 

platforms, or in internal or external 

databases that are not easily accessible; 

and, 

v. Existing and planned capabilities to 

share data centrally within the agency 

and to share data with other agencies 

7. Attachments. 

a. Appendix A—Definitions 

b. Appendix B—Examples of Hi-Def 

Applications 

c. Appendix C—Governance 

d. Appendix D—Assuring Uniform 

Implementation and Data Integrity 

e. Appendix E—Documenting Agency 

Planning 

Appendix A. Definitions 

Acquisition—the acquiring by contract 

with appropriated funds of supplies or 

services (including construction) by and for 

the use of the Federal Government through 

purchase or lease, whether the supplies or 

services are already in existence or must be 

created, developed, demonstrated, and 

evaluated. Acquisition begins at the point 

when agency needs are established and 

includes the description of requirements to 

satisfy agency needs, solicitation and 

selection of sources, award of contracts, 

contract financing, contract performance, 

contract administration, and those technical 

and management functions directly related to 

the process of fulfilling agency needs by 

contract. (Source: FAR 2.101 5/26/2022). For 

the purposes of this Circular, acquisition and 

procurement are used interchangeably. 

Acquisition data—data or information that 

a contracting official, program official, or 

other member of the integrated product team 

would use during the acquisition lifecycle as 

part of their stewardship responsibility to 

obtain best value for the Federal Government, 

such as, but not limited to, market research, 

contract documents such as statements of 

work, performance work statements, and 

statements of objective, terms, conditions, 

and prices paid for commodities or services. 

Acquisition data sharing agreement—a 

document that creates an understanding 

between two or more agencies on how 

acquisition data will be accessed, used, and 

shared, including an understanding of the 

overall requirements, permissions, 

procedures, and limitations on sharing to 

ensure compliance with applicable law. 

Acquisition lifecycle—end-to-end 

management and execution of programs/ 

contract and projects. The lifecycle begins 

with the identification of a business need and 

ends with program/contract closeout. 

Data integrity—data integrity refers to the 

accuracy, entireness, and reliability of data 

both in its physical location and during 

transmission and throughout the stages of 

generation, collection, use, sharing, and 

improvement, which summarize the Federal 

Data Lifecycle. 

Hi-Definition (Hi-Def) acquisition—the 

acquiring of supplies or services using 

relevant acquisition data that is easily 

accessed and consumed at the time of need, 

supported by a governance framework of 

standards and policies that promote data 

interoperability, secure sharing of acquisition 

data between agencies, and enterprise-wide 

data analysis to inform government-wide and 

individual agency procurements, and a data 

environment that includes a scalable 

technical architecture and solution to store, 

access, utilize, share, and archive acquisition 

data without having to duplicate data, tools, 

or effort. 

Integrated Award Environment (IAE)—a 

government-wide initiative administered by 

the General Services Administration that 

consists of a suite of systems and processes 

supporting parts of the Federal awarding 

lifecycle. The IAE facilitates the awards 

processes in multiple online systems, 

including the System for Award Management 

(SAM), that each play a role in the awards 

lifecycle. Those systems are used for 

registering to do business with the Federal 

government, listing contract opportunities, 

reporting performance, analyzing contract 

data, and more. 

Transactional data reporting (TDR) 

program—a data collection and reporting 

system that simplifies the reporting process 

for contractors and improves the accuracy of 

pricing information. By collecting 

transactional data, the GSA can better 

analyze pricing trends and ensure that 

government customers are receiving fair and 

reasonable prices. 

Appendix B. Examples of Hi-Def 

Applications 

This appendix provides illustrative 

examples of how a future Hi-Def 

environment will benefit the acquisition 

lifecycle, agency planning and budgeting. 

The adoption and implementation of these 

and other applications shall be subject to 

execution of the responsibilities outlined in 

section 3 of this Circular including. input 

from the working group established pursuant 

to section 6 and existing governance bodies. 


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Acquisition lifecycle phase Examples of benefits from a hi-def environment 

Business Analysis and Acquisition Planning.• Find and compare information from different agencies on— 

Æ Requirements Documents (Statements of Work, Performance Work Statements, Statement of Objectives). 

Æ Subcontracting plans. 

Æ Labor prices. 

Æ Suppliers. 

Æ Contract Type(s). 

Æ Contract prices paid. 

Æ Transactional data. 

Æ Other relevant contract deliverables. 

• Use a script/code to read, index, and search unstructured data. 

• Customization using existing contract language. 

Package Preparation ........ • Utilize reusable and customizable tools and artifacts, such as templates and macros for items such as task orders, delivery orders and BPA calls. 

• Look at previous calls within an existing BPA or across other BPAs within separate packages. 

• Review terms and conditions. 

Source Selection .............. • View past performance data (e.g., Acq360). 

• See credit ratings, evaluate contractor responsibility, and view financial statements from a commercial subscription service. 

Performance ..................... • Linking SAM.gov registrations with invoice processing platforms. 

• Ability to perform contract modifications within the environment. 

• Enhanced performance evaluations that offer more targeted questions and can be tailored for product or service 

contracts. 

• Ability for CO to generate and communicate data needs for the COR to complete and use for invoice payment or 

building past performance. This feedback is then reincorporated into earlier phases of the acquisition lifecycle. 

• Review subcontract performance and small business utilization for subcontractors. 

• Purchase card data over the micro-purchasing threshold. 

Appendix C. Governance 

Creating and maintaining a Hi-Def data 

environment in a vast and complex 

acquisition ecosystem requires a strong 

governance structure that addresses all facets 

of the acquisition data lifecycle—i.e., 

generation, collection, use, sharing, and 

improvement. 

Acquisition governance, including that 

which falls outside of the scope of Hi-Def, 

shall be carried out using the structures 

described below. These groups below have 

previously been established between 

agencies through charters, but have not been 

officially acknowledged and defined in OMB 

policy. Agencies shall ensure that their 

current representatives selected for each 

governance structure listed below or 

established in support of the goals of the 

Circular possess the necessary skills and 

abilities to make recommendations and 

decisions that impact the generation, 

collection, use, sharing, and improvement of 

agency data. As Hi-Def areas grow, additional 

working groups may be established. 

I. The Award Committee for E-Government 

(ACE)—The ACE serves as the executive 

steering committee that collaborates with 

OMB in developing the vision, strategy, and 

scope for data management tools and 

capabilities supporting the Federal award 

process (both acquisition and financial 

assistance). 

A. Composition—the ACE consists of seven 

Departments identified by OMB. Three 

Departments represent the acquisition 

community, three represent the financial 

assistance community, and one has 

significant equity in both communities and is 

the liaison with the Chief Financial Officers 

Council (CFOC). Advisory members may be 

added based on the focus of the activities 

and/or strategies. OMB, OFPP, and the Office 

of Federal Financial Management (OFFM) are 

permanent advisory members (non-voting). 

B. Leadership—The ACE leadership 

consists of two Co-chairs, one of whom is 

from the Chief Acquisition Officers Council 

(CAOC) to represent the Federal acquisition 

community (primary focus on procurement), 

and one representing the financial assistance 

community. Co-chairs are responsible for 

organizing quarterly meetings, including 

location, logistics, and development of 

agenda with support from OMB or another 

agency. The Co-chairs are appointed by 

OMB. 

II. The Procurement Committee for EGovernment (PCE)—The PCE serves as the 

primary interagency body advising OMB on 

acquisition data with a particular focus on 

the procurement process. The PCE provides 

recommendations, priorities, and reaches 

implementation decisions that consider the 

policy, operational, technological, and 

change management aspects necessary to 

effect positive change in the efficiency and 

effectiveness of the use of technology and 

data in the Federal acquisition and 

procurement processes. 

A. Composition—The PCE consists of one 

member from each of the 24 Executive 

Branch Agencies as defined by the CFO Act 

as well as a member representing the Small 

Agency Council (SAC). OMB is a permanent 

advisory (non-voting) member. The 

membership will provide strategic advice 

and recommendations that may result in 

Federal-wide policy, regulatory, statutory, 

business process, or information technology 

changes per 41 U.S.C. 1122. As such, PCE 

members must be of sufficient seniority and 

experience levels to address matters in the 

context of the full Federal environment as 

well as speak with authority and 

commitment on behalf of their agency. There 

are various working groups under the PCE. 

B. Leadership—The PCE will be co-chaired 

by leaders from two executive branch 

organizations determined by OMB in 

collaboration with the PCE membership. A 

senior analyst from OFPP will serve as a 

senior advisor and ad-hoc co-chair, as 

needed. The PCE will nominate three 

members to represent the acquisition and 

procurement communities on the ACE, one 

as co-chair and two as voting members. 

III. Change Control Board (CCB)—The CCB 

serves as the tactical layer of governance to 

support the operations, maintenance, and 

modernization of the centralized fee-forservice systems. The CCB is responsible for 

serving as liaison between the agency and the 

IAE, articulating the agency’s position on 

requirements and changes to the IAE, 

understanding the relationship between 

agency systems and those in the IAE, 

understanding the functional aspects of all 

the applications in the IAE, and voting on 

behalf of their agency on proposed system 

changes. As the tactical layer of governance 

with the most familiarity with operations, the 

CCB is critical to ensuring the technology 

matches policy and operational needs. 

A. Composition—The CCB consists of 

voting members from the 24 CFO Act 

agencies and non-voting members from the 

SAC. Each CFO Act agency is asked to 

appoint up to three members (one primary 

voting member and two alternates if desired). 

The appointments must be made jointly by 

the agency SPE and the senior agency official 

responsible for financial assistance in order 

to facilitate robust representation. Each CCB 

member is responsible for voting on behalf of 

their agency and must: 

1. Understand how federal award 

regulations, policy, and proposed system 

changes will impact agency operations, 

systems, and workforce; 

2. Possess a high-level familiarity with the 

operational and functional aspects of all 

systems in the IAE; 

3. Understand the relationship between 

IAE and agency systems and how any 


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80344 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Notices 

changes will impact the agency and awarding 

processes; 

4. Ensure sufficient time and availability to 

appropriately prepare for and attend all CCB 

meetings and working groups; 

5. Appropriately and consistently 

communicate information and changes 

produced by the IAE throughout their 

agency. 

Appendix D. Ensuring Uniform 

Implementation and Data Integrity 

Data integrity refers to the accuracy, 

completeness, and reliability of data in its 

physical location, during transmission, and 

throughout the stages of generation, 

collection, use, sharing, and improvement, 

which support the Federal Data Lifecycle (see 

Figure 1). Data integrity is maintained 

through compliance with laws, policies, and 

standards established by governance. The 

integrity of the Federal acquisition process, 

including budgeting for, planning, managing, 

and closing out contracts that support 

programs, depends on the quality and 

availability of data. Innovation leads to 

ongoing business process improvements, 

requiring regular assessments of processes 

and data against established standards. The 

standardized processes and data will drive 

strong foundations across the Federal 

acquisition enterprise, while encouraging 

and enabling agency innovation and agility 

in acquisition planning, management, and 

operations. 

Data Roles 

This policy builds on the Federal Data 

Lifecycle by organizing its data roles into the 

five phases of the acquisition data lifecycle: 

Generate, Collect, Share, Use and Improve. In 

addition, privacy and security are roles that 

affect every aspect of acquisition data, and 

agencies should ensure that the most current 

data protection methodologies are being used 

and that all applicable laws and regulations 

are being followed. 

• Generate— 

Æ Define: Identify agency and stakeholder 

needs for acquisition data of sufficient 

quality for intended uses 

Æ Coordinate: Assess the ability of 

acquisition data resources and 

infrastructure to meet agency and 

stakeholder needs 

• Collect— 

Æ Collect: Organize, plan, and execute 

acquisition data collections and 

acquisitions to meet agency and 

stakeholder needs 

Æ Curate: Organize, refine, and maintain 

agency acquisition data resources with 

sufficient quality to meet agency and 

stakeholder needs 

• Share—Access: Identify and develop 

multiple acquisition data access methods 

for agency staff and stakeholders 

• Use— 

Æ Analyze: Optimize the ability of staff 

and stakeholders to use agency 

acquisition data to generate insights 

Æ Visualize: Present acquisition data 

insights for consumption by all users, 

stakeholders, and leaders for their 

intended needs 

Æ Disseminate: Provide multiple avenues 

for release of acquisition data and 

insights 

• Improve—Implement & Assess: Maximize 

the use of acquisition data for decisionmaking, accountability, and the public 

good by continuously improving the 

acquisition data process 

Vision for Data Integrity 

The governance model identified in 

Appendix C supports efforts to identify, 

develop, and implement common business 

processes, data, and standards that support 

the federated model. This includes assessing 

existing standards instituted at an agency 

level for their potential application to the 

broader federal acquisition community. The 

governance groups also regularly assess and 

provides recommendations for how shared 

tools or capabilities in the Hi-Def or 

regulatory-based environment (e.g., the IAE) 

are meeting agency operational needs. The 

future Hi-Def environment will make 

possible a seamless flow of data from 

authoritative sources to the point of need. 

Data will only need to be entered once and 

will be available for use at any point in the 

acquisition lifecycle consistent with 

applicable regulations and policies through 

implemented machine-readable data, in an 

open format, and available to computer 

applications to promote interoperability and 

system integration such as APIs. 

As new regulations or policies are 

developed, new data may be required; 

ongoing processes to review how best to 

collect this data from new or existing sources 

should be put into place, including a review 

of the quality, security, and integrity of those 

data. Business process re-engineering may be 

required to avoid manual or redundant 

processes, improve quality, and make data 

available at the time of need. Reporting 

requirements may need to be adjusted or 

integrated as a result of increased data 

availability. Agencies must strategically plan 

how various Federal-wide and agency 

specific efforts can be harmonized and 

leveraged to avoid duplication of effort, costs, 

and diminished data quality resulting from 

multiple instances of similar data across an 

agency. 

PCE Responsibilities—Quality Technology 

and Data 

The processes and measures for assessing 

the uniform implementation of standards that 

is core to this vision will be the 

responsibility of the PCE (Appendix C). The 

common technology tools supporting Federal 

acquisition and the resulting procurement 

data will be driven by the PCE. The PCE will 

ensure that applicable regulations and policy 

are reflected in any technologies, processes, 

systems, and data to reduce agency burden 

and ensure quality data are available for 

downstream use. 

Agency Responsibilities—Quality 

Technology and Data 

In the distributed procurement information 

technology environment, agencies have 

responsibilities to generate data consistent 

with procurement policy, standards for 

business processes, data, and 


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Figure 1: Federal Data Lifecycle 
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Notices 80345 

10 Improving Federal Procurement Data Quality— 

Guidance for Verification and Validation. 

11 Improving Small Business Procurement Data— 

Quality and Process. 12https://www.acquisition.gov/datainitiatives. 

interoperability. Federal agencies in the 

Executive Branch must manage data 

consistent with statutes, regulations, and 

OMB policies. Agency CAOs, Senior 

Procurement Executives (SPEs), CDOs, Chief 

Financial Officers (CFOs), CIOs, and Budget 

Officers must collaborate to: 

• Assess the feasibility of building and/or 

maintain appropriate and secure APIs to 

permit sharing and interoperability of 

procurement data and are developed through 

the working group and after the initial data 

assessment period; 

• Promote best business practices of 

appropriate data hygiene, data principles, 

and data standards as developed by the PCE; 

• Further innovation and efficiency in the 

Federal acquisition system by leading or 

actively participating in the development and 

implementation of emerging technology tools 

that align with policy; and, 

• Actively develop professionals with 

skills in Federal Acquisition Regulations 

(FAR)-based data analytics for decisionmaking. 

Data Security and Quality Control 

Building security and fraud protection 

aspects into the management of procurement 

data will ensure usable data. This is a 

responsibility across the Federal enterprise 

and requires due diligence at all levels. HiDef and IAE data will only be useful if it is 

accurate, timely, definable, and available in 

real-time. The maintenance of an Acquisition 

Data & Process Dictionary (ADD),9 managed 

by the PCE, will resolve discrepancies among 

models and support uniform implementation 

of policy-based terminology. Such a 

dictionary will provide consistency across 

the Federal Government and identify and fill 

in gaps if existing data models do not capture 

the full acquisition lifecycle. The dictionary 

helps to build a foundation against which 

agencies can map existing tools and 

processes throughout the acquisition 

lifecycle. Integrating the standards and 

processes identified by the PCE, for example 

those defined in the FIBF, provides a 

common starting place for all agencies. 

Common business process and data 

definitions can be made accessible and 

transparent for many users in accordance 

with PCE identified guidance. 

Validation and Verification (V&V) of the 

acquisition data is paramount to quality 

control. V&V aims to ensure both 

completeness and accuracy of select data. 

The PCE will update the existing parameters 

and methods for annual V&V every 5 years 

to align with policy, regulatory and agency 

needs. The most recent memoranda, stored: 

‘‘Improving Federal Procurement Data 

Quality—Guidance for Annual Verification 

and Validation,’’ 10 (May 2011), and 

‘‘Improving Small Business Procurement 

Data—Quality and Process,’’ 11 (November 

2011). This cadence of review and updates 

permits the longitudinal analysis and 

continuous improvement. 

Appendix E. Annual Agency Planning 

Requirements 

Strategic and operational planning by 

agencies, including budget planning, is 

essential to an interoperable environment 

where data are shared and available at the 

point of need. These activities provide 

opportunities for addressing gaps identified 

through assessments and innovation in 

business processes and technology, including 

lessons learned from pilots or shared 

activities. As such, agencies must include 

appropriate analyses of these considerations 

in agency annual strategic plans, as required 

by OMB Circular A–11 and any 

supplementary direction from OMB during 

the budget process. These plans will be 

reviewed by OMB to inform and shape 

actions necessary to support Hi-Def 

implementation and maintenance. 

Planning and Budgeting—To assist 

agencies in ensuring acquisition data 

interoperability is appropriately considered 

in agency-wide strategic planning and 

budgeting, each year, OFPP will provide a 

template with questions and structure for 

compiling the strategic plan. The template 

will include sections for responding to 

questions related to acquisition data 

resources and infrastructure, governmentwide priorities established by OMB and 

governance groups, and agency-specific 

priorities. The yearly priority areas will be 

posted with an updated template on the 

Acquisition.gov Data Initiatives Page.12 The 

acquisition data resources and infrastructure 

questions will generally address the 

following areas, though may include other 

areas of interest as appropriate: 

a. Appropriate resource management 

activities necessary to support innovative 

practices and alignment of data with statutes, 

regulations, policies, and standards to 

support interoperability. The identification of 

activities should be accomplished in 

coordination with the appropriate agency 

leaders directing the acquisition, 

information, security, data, finance, and 

human capital functions. 

b. Solutions identified by the agency 

workforce as the greatest opportunity for 

improving processes and leveraging 

technology to support innovation and reduce 

burden. Such ideas support agency 

operations and mission success by 

addressing issues, challenges, and best 

practices identified by those most impacted 

on a daily basis by access (or lack thereof) to 

data and information. 

c. Details on how agencies are assuring any 

new technologies at the agency level are 

aligned with policy and regulations, and how 

agency technology supports the 

interoperability of data in the federated 

model established through this Circular. 

d. Recommendations on any business 

processes that should be re-engineered to 

support innovation or just-in-time access to 

quality information or data. Re-imagining the 

process before applying emerging 

technologies or shared tools can lead to a 

more impactful change; this can be done by 

seeking workforce input, taking maximum 

advantage of FAR flexibilities, leveraging 

data and information technology as strategic 

assets, consulting with governance on how 

data is supposed to be used and displayed, 

and driving changes to agency-specific 

requirements. 

Initial projects. Initial projects will focus 

on electronic invoicing (e.g., Invoice 

Processing Platform (IPP) and G-Invoicing), 

and the collection of transactional pricing 

data. Additional and future Hi-Def projects to 

implement this policy will generally be 

identified through an annual strategic 

planning process, as described in section 3 of 

the Circular and this Appendix. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25370 Filed 11–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3110–01–P 

NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE 

ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES 

National Endowment for the Arts 

Arts Advisory Panel Meetings 

AGENCY: National Endowment for the 

Arts. 

ACTION: Notice of meetings. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 

notice is hereby given that 25 meetings 

of the Arts Advisory Panel to the 

National Council on the Arts will be 

held by teleconference or 

videoconference. 

DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for individual 

meeting times and dates. All meetings 

are Eastern time and ending times are 

approximate. 

ADDRESSES: National Endowment for the 

Arts, Constitution Center, 400 7th St. 

SW, Washington, DC 20506. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Further information with reference to 

these meetings can be obtained from 

David Travis, Office of Guidelines & 

Panel Operations, National Endowment 

for the Arts, Washington, DC 20506; 

travisd@arts.gov, or call 202–682–5001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

closed portions of meetings are for the 

purpose of Panel review, discussion, 

evaluation, and recommendations on 

financial assistance under the National 

Foundation on the Arts and the 

Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 

including information given in 

confidence to the agency. In accordance 

with the determination of the Chair of 

March 11, 2022, these sessions will be 

closed to the public pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

10. 

The upcoming meetings are: 

Arts Education (review of 

applications): This meeting will be 

closed. 


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