[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 231 (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71610-71616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28326]



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Vol. 79

Tuesday,

No. 231

December 2, 2014

Part III





Office of Management and Budget





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Statistical Policy Directive No. 1: Fundamental Responsibilities of 
Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / 
Notices

[[Page 71610]]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Statistical Policy Directive No. 1: Fundamental Responsibilities 
of Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units

AGENCY: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and 
Budget.

ACTION: Notice of final decision.

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SUMMARY: Under the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 (31 
U.S.C. 1104 (d)) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3504 (e)), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is issuing 
Statistical Policy Directive No. 1, Fundamental Responsibilities of 
Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units. This 
Directive affirms the fundamental responsibilities of Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units in the design, 
collection, processing, editing, compilation, storage, analysis, 
release, and dissemination of statistical information. On May 21, 2014, 
OMB published a Notice of solicitation of comments on a draft of this 
Directive in the Federal Register (79 FR 29308, May 21, 2014). Eight 
respondents sent comments in regard to the notice. Careful 
consideration was given to all comments. The disposition of the 
comments as well as the final Directive are presented in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.
    In its role as coordinator of the Federal statistical system under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB, among other responsibilities, is 
required to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the system as 
well as the integrity, objectivity, impartiality, utility, and 
confidentiality of information collected for statistical purposes. OMB 
is also charged with developing and overseeing the implementation of 
Government-wide principles, policies, standards, and guidelines 
concerning the development, presentation, and dissemination of 
statistical information. The Information Quality Act (Pub. L. 106-554, 
Division C, title V, Sec. 515, Dec. 21, 2000; 114 Stat. 2763A-153 to 
2763A-154) requires OMB, as well as all other Federal agencies, to 
maximize the objectivity, utility, and integrity of information, 
including statistical information, provided to the public.
    To operate efficiently and effectively, the Nation relies on the 
flow of objective, credible statistics to support the decisions of 
individuals, households, governments, businesses, and other 
organizations. Any loss of trust in the accuracy, objectivity, or 
integrity of the Federal statistical system and its products causes 
uncertainty about the validity of measures the Nation uses to monitor 
and assess its performance, progress, and needs by undermining the 
public's confidence in the information released by the Government. 
Although the Federal Government has taken a number of legislative and 
executive actions, informed by national and international practice, to 
maintain public confidence in Federal statistics, the actual 
implementation in the form of standards and practices can involve a 
wide range of managerial and technical challenges.
    Therefore, to support the quality and objectivity of Federal 
statistical information, OMB is issuing a new Statistical Policy 
Directive to affirm the long-acknowledged, fundamental responsibilities 
of Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical units in the 
design, collection, processing, editing, compilation, storage, 
analysis, release, and dissemination of statistical information. 
Additional discussion of the Directive, together with the Directive 
itself, may be found in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of this Directive is December 
2, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Please send any questions about this Directive to: Katherine 
K. Wallman, Chief Statistician, Office of Management and Budget, 10201 
New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, telephone number: 
(202) 395-3093, FAX number: (202) 395-7245. You may also send questions 
via Email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a0e4c9d2c5c3d4c9d6c5eecf91e0cfcdc28ec5cfd08ec7cfd6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="91d5f8e3f4f2e5f8e7f4dffea0d1fefcf3bff4fee1bff6fee7">[email protected]</span></a>. Because of delays in the receipt 
of regular mail related to security screening, use of electronic 
communications is encouraged.
    Electronic Availability: This document is available on the Internet 
on the OMB Web site at www.omb.gov/inforeg/ssp/DirectiveNo1Final.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Park, 10201 New Executive 
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, Email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#274d5746554c67484a450942485709404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9cf6ecfdeef7dcf3f1feb2f9f3ecb2fbf3ea">[email protected]</span></a> 
with subject Directive No. 1: Fundamental Responsibilities of Federal 
Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units, telephone 
number: (202) 395-9046, FAX number: (202) 395-7245.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Nation relies on the flow of credible 
statistics to support the decisions of individuals, households, 
governments, businesses, and other organizations. Any loss of trust in 
the relevance, accuracy, objectivity, or integrity of the Federal 
statistical system and its products can foster uncertainty about the 
validity of measures our Nation uses to monitor and assess performance, 
progress, and needs.
    Definitions: The terms, Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units, statistical activities, statistical purpose, 
relevance, objectivity, accuracy, and confidentiality, as used in this 
section, are defined within the text of the Statistical Policy 
Directive in the subsequent section.
    Scope: The Federal statistical system comprises over 100 programs 
that engage in statistical activities. However, this Directive 
specifically applies to the following Federal statistical agencies and 
recognized statistical units:

--Bureau of Economic Analysis (Department of Commerce);
--Bureau of Justice Statistics (Department of Justice);
--Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor);
--Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Department of Transportation);
--Census Bureau (Department of Commerce);
--Economic Research Service (Department of Agriculture);
--Energy Information Administration (Department of Energy);
--National Agricultural Statistics Service (Department of Agriculture);
--National Center for Education Statistics (Department of Education);
--National Center for Health Statistics (Department of Health and Human 
Services);
--National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (National 
Science Foundation);
--Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social Security 
Administration);
--Statistics of Income Division (Department of the Treasury);
--Microeconomic Surveys Unit, Federal Reserve Board;
--Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse 
and Mental Health Services Administration (Department of Health and 
Human Services);
--National Animal Health Monitoring System, Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (Department of Agriculture); and
--Federal statistical agencies and statistical units newly recognized 
by OMB after the issuance of this Directive as agencies or 
organizational units of the Executive Branch whose principal missions 
are statistical activities.

    Background: The Federal Government has taken a number of 
legislative and

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executive actions, informed by national and international professional 
practice, to maintain public confidence in the relevance, accuracy, 
objectivity, and integrity of Federal statistics. Documents that 
provide or inform a common foundation for core statistical agency 
functions are outlined in the paragraphs below. Taken as a whole, these 
complementary documents contribute to an integrative framework guiding 
the production of Federal statistics, encompassing design, collection, 
processing, editing, compilation, storage, analysis, release, and 
dissemination.
    The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) makes OMB responsible, among 
other requirements, for coordination of the Federal statistical system. 
The purpose of this coordination is to ensure the integrity, 
objectivity, impartiality, utility, and confidentiality of information 
collected for statistical purposes.
    Title V of the E-Government Act of 2002, the Confidential 
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA) 
(Pub. L. 107-347, title V; 116 Stat. 2962, Dec. 17, 2002) establishes 
uniform data protection requirements for Federal statistical 
collections, sets minimum standards for safeguarding confidential 
statistical information, and ensures the confidentiality of information 
collected exclusively for statistical purposes. OMB's Implementation 
Guidance for Title V of the E-Government Act, Confidential Information 
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA 
Implementation Guidance) (72 FR 33362, June 15, 2007) supports public 
trust by standardizing the pledge Federal statistical agencies and 
recognized statistical units use when collecting information for 
statistical purposes from the public. It provides a uniform approach to 
protecting confidential information any time an agency pledges to keep 
confidential the information it collects exclusively for statistical 
purposes. This guidance also requires the application of sound 
scientific and statistical disclosure limitation techniques to minimize 
the risk of re-identification of survey respondents in statistical data 
products. Additional legislation requires maintaining the 
confidentiality of responses to agency-specific data collections.\1\
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    \1\ Examples of such laws are the Food Security Act of 1985 Sec. 
1770, 7 U.S.C. 2276, as amended in Pub. L. 105-113 (Nov. 21, 1997) 
(National Agricultural Statistics Service), 13 U.S.C. 9 (Census 
Bureau), 42 U.S.C. 1873 (National Center for Science and Engineering 
Statistics), and the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 
107-279, Nov. 5, 2002) (National Center for Education Statistics).
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    The Privacy Act of 1974 and the Privacy Act Implementation: 
Guidelines and Responsibilities (5 U.S.C. 552a; 40 FR 28948, Jul. 9, 
1975) establish a series of requirements to ensure that personal 
information about individuals collected by Federal agencies is limited 
to that which is legally authorized and necessary and is maintained in 
a manner that precludes unwarranted intrusions upon individual privacy. 
Section 208 of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347, 44 U.S.C. 
Ch 36, Dec. 17, 2002) requires agencies to conduct privacy impact 
assessments when they develop, procure, or use information technology 
to collect, maintain, or disseminate personally identifiable 
information. OMB's Circular A-130 (revised Nov. 28, 2000) establishes 
policy for the management of Federal information resources, including 
certain privacy reporting and publication requirements. These statutes 
and policies promote public trust by establishing a common code of fair 
information practices that applies to all Federal agencies that collect 
information about individuals.
    Pursuant to the Information Quality Act, OMB has established 
guidelines that require each Federal agency to institute procedures to 
ensure the objectivity, utility, and integrity of information, 
including statistical information, provided to the public. OMB 
Government-wide Information Quality Guidelines (67 FR 8453, Jan. 3, 
2002) define objectivity, utility, and integrity in a manner consistent 
with use of these terms in the PRA. Each Federal agency, through the 
adoption or adaptation of these guidelines, maintains its commitment to 
use the best available science and statistical methods; subjects 
information, models, and analytic results to independent peer review by 
qualified experts, when appropriate; disseminates its data and analytic 
products with a high degree of transparency about the data and methods 
to facilitate their reproducibility by qualified third parties; and 
ensures that the presentation of information is comprehensive, 
informative, and understandable.
    OMB's Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys (71 FR 
55522, Sept. 22, 2006) describes specific practices that support the 
quality of design, collection, processing, production, analysis, 
review, and dissemination of information from statistical surveys.
    OMB's Statistical Policy Directive No. 3, Compilation, Release, and 
Evaluation of Principal Federal Economic Indicators (50 FR 38932, Sept. 
25, 1985) establishes requirements for Federal agencies regarding the 
compilation, release, and evaluation of economic activity measures that 
are relied upon by the public as Principal Federal Economic Indicators.
    OMB's Statistical Policy Directive No. 4, Release and Dissemination 
of Statistical Products Produced by Federal Statistical Agencies (73 FR 
12622, Mar. 7, 2008) establishes requirements for Federal statistical 
agencies and recognized statistical units on the release and 
dissemination of statistical products. Agencies are required to follow 
specific guidance to ensure that their release of information is 
equitable across all users, policy neutral, transparent and 
understandable to the public, and timely to the needs of data users.
    The President's Memorandum on the Preservation and Promotion of 
Scientific Integrity (March 9, 2009) articulates six principles central 
to the preservation and promotion of scientific integrity. A central 
theme of the President's memorandum is that the public must be able to 
trust the science and scientific processes informing public policy 
decisions. The Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
Agencies (December 17, 2010) issued by the Director of the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy provides guidance for implementing the 
President's policy on scientific integrity. That memorandum directs 
Executive departments and agencies to develop policies that ensure a 
culture of scientific integrity, strengthen the actual and perceived 
credibility of Government research, facilitate the free flow of 
scientific and technologic information, and establish principles for 
conveying scientific and technologic information to the public.
    Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency 
(Principles and Practices), issued by the National Research Council of 
the National Academy of Sciences, has guided managerial and technical 
decisions made by national and international statistical agencies for 
decades. Four principles are identified.\2\
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    \2\ Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency, 
National Research Council of the National Academies, Fifth edition, 
Committee on National Statistics, Constance F. Citro and Miron L. 
Straf, Editors, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and 
Education. Washington, DC The National Academies Press (2013).
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    1. Relevance to Public Policy Issues. A Federal statistical agency 
must be in a position to provide objective, accurate,

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and timely information that is relevant to issues of public policy.
    2. Credibility Among Data Users. A Federal statistical agency must 
have credibility with those who use its data and information.
    3. Trust Among Data Providers. A Federal statistical agency must 
have the trust of those whose information it obtains.
    4. Independence from Political and Other Undue External Influence. 
A Federal statistical agency must be independent from political and 
other undue external influence in developing, producing, and 
disseminating statistics.
    The United States is not alone in identifying statistical 
principles. The European Statistics Code of Practice guides European 
statistical systems by affirming the European Union member nations' 
commitment to ensuring high quality in the statistical production 
process, protecting the confidentiality of the information they 
collect, and disseminating statistics in an objective, professional, 
and transparent manner.\3\ Fifteen principles are identified.
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    \3\ European Statistics Code of Practice for the National and 
Community Statistical Authorities, European Statistical System, 
Adopted September 28, 2011.
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    1. Professional independence of statistical authorities from other 
policy, regulatory or administrative departments and bodies, as well as 
from private sector operators, ensures the credibility of European 
Statistics.
    2. Statistical authorities have a clear legal mandate to collect 
information for European statistical purposes. Administrations, 
enterprises and households, and the public at large may be compelled by 
law to allow access to or deliver data for European statistical 
purposes at the request of statistical authorities.
    3. The resources available to statistical authorities are 
sufficient to meet European Statistics requirements.
    4. Statistical authorities are committed to quality. They 
systematically and regularly identify strengths and weaknesses to 
continuously improve process and product quality.
    5. The privacy of data providers (households, enterprises, 
administrations and other respondents), the confidentiality of the 
information they provide, and uses only for statistical purposes are 
absolutely guaranteed.
    6. Statistical authorities develop, produce and disseminate 
European Statistics respecting scientific independence and in an 
objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are 
treated equitably.
    7. Sound methodology underpins quality statistics. This requires 
adequate tools, procedures and expertise.
    8. Appropriate statistical procedures, implemented from data 
collection to data validation, underpin quality statistics.
    9. The reporting burden is proportionate to the needs of the users 
and is not excessive for respondents. The statistical authorities 
monitor the response burden and set targets for its reduction over 
time.
    10. Resources are used effectively.
    11. European Statistics meet the needs of users.
    12. European Statistics accurately and reliably portray reality.
    13. European Statistics are released in a timely and punctual 
manner.
    14. European Statistics are consistent internally, over time and 
comparable between regions and countries; it is possible to combine and 
make joint use of related data from different sources.
    15. European Statistics are presented in a clear and understandable 
form, released in a suitable and convenient manner, available and 
accessible on an impartial basis with supporting metadata and guidance.
    The United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics 
affirm ten fundamental principles that promote and build the 
``essential trust of the public in the integrity of official 
statistical systems and confidence in statistics.'' \4\ These 
principles ensure that national statistical systems in United Nations 
member states produce high quality and reliable data by adhering to 
certain professional and scientific standards.
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    \4\ Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, United 
Nations Statistical Commission, adopted April 11-15, 1994. Revised 
preamble adopted February 26-March 1, 2013; adopted July 24, 2013 by 
the United Nations Economic and Social Council; adopted January 29, 
2014 by the United Nations General Assembly (with sponsorship by the 
United States).
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    1. Official statistics provide an indispensable element in the 
information system of a democratic society, serving the Government, the 
economy and the public with data about the economic, demographic, 
social and environmental situation. To this end, official statistics 
that meet the test of practical utility are to be compiled and made 
available on an impartial basis by official statistical agencies to 
honour citizens' entitlement to public information.
    2. To retain trust in official statistics, the statistical agencies 
need to decide according to strictly professional considerations, 
including scientific principles and professional ethics, on the methods 
and procedures for the collection, processing, storage and presentation 
of statistical data.
    3. To facilitate a correct interpretation of the data, the 
statistical agencies are to present information according to scientific 
standards on the sources, methods, and procedures of the statistics.
    4. The statistical agencies are entitled to comment on erroneous 
interpretation and misuse of statistics.
    5. Data for statistical purposes may be drawn from all types of 
sources, be they statistical surveys or administrative records. 
Statistical agencies are to choose the source with regard to quality, 
timeliness, costs and the burden on respondents.
    6. Individual data collected by statistical agencies for 
statistical compilation, whether they refer to natural or legal 
persons, are to be strictly confidential and used exclusively for 
statistical purposes.
    7. The laws, regulations, and measures under which the statistical 
systems operate are to be made public.
    8. Coordination among statistical agencies within countries is 
essential to achieve consistency and efficiency in the statistical 
system.
    9. The use by statistical agencies in each country of international 
concepts, classifications and methods promotes the consistency and 
efficiency of statistical systems at all official levels.
    10. Bilateral and multilateral cooperation in statistics 
contributes to the improvement of systems of official statistics in all 
countries.
    Although these principles and policies provide a common foundation 
for core statistical agency functions, their actual implementation in 
the form of standards and practices can involve a wide range of 
managerial and technical challenges. Therefore, to support agency 
decision-making in a manner that fosters statistical quality, OMB 
developed this Statistical Policy Directive. This Directive provides a 
unified articulation of Federal statistical agency responsibilities. 
The framework requires Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units to adopt policies, best practices, and appropriate 
procedures to implement these responsibilities. Such a framework also 
recognizes and identifies the essential role of Federal Departments in 
supporting Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical 
units as they implement these responsibilities.
    Disposition Of Comments Received: On May 21, 2014, OMB published in 
the Federal Register (79 FR 29308, May 21, 2014) a notice seeking 
comments on a draft of this Directive. Eight respondents

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sent comments in regard to the notice. All commenters encouraged OMB to 
issue the Directive, some as drafted and others with suggested changes 
designed to strengthen various provisions of the Directive. After 
careful consideration, the draft Directive was modified in response to 
comment and is issued as final by this notice. A general discussion of 
the comments as they pertain to sections of the Directive and their 
disposition follows.
    Authority and Purpose. One comment suggested adding implementation 
guidance to the Directive. We agree that implementation guidance may be 
valuable. However, this Directive is intended to provide a concise, 
stable, and unified articulation of Federal statistical agency 
responsibilities. As such, the framework is intended to be a foundation 
document, with minimal changes anticipated over time. In contrast, we 
anticipate that the policies, practices, and procedures needed to 
implement these responsibilities will necessarily change over time, as 
particular data needs, forms of data, and information technology 
applications evolve. Therefore, the Directive is limited to 
articulating core principles; implementation guidance, if developed, 
would be issued separately.
    A comment called for a provision requiring Federal Departments to 
report within a specified period of time how their current structures 
and procedures support Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units in achieving their responsibilities. We agree this 
information would be beneficial, but see reporting requirements as an 
activity related to the implementation of the Directive, rather than as 
a function of the Directive itself. The Directive is intended to be 
brief and including reporting requirements is not well-suited for its 
scope as a foundation document. Therefore, we may request this or 
similar information upon issuance of the final Directive.
    Background. One comment requested clarification as to the 
definition of ``participating countries'' referenced in the Directive's 
discussion of the United Nations' Fundamental Principles of Official 
Statistics. We have modified the text to clarify that our reference 
pertains to United Nations' member states, of which there are currently 
193.
    Responsibility 1. Four comments suggested that the Directive 
clarify Federal statistical agencies' roles and responsibilities 
regarding data archiving and data access for future secondary analysis, 
as recommended in Principles and Practices. Such guidance would 
describe which data should be retained, how the data should be archived 
and for what period of time, and how data should be accessed 
responsibly. One comment placed this request within a broader request 
for leadership in navigating ``big data'' conceptualization and 
management. A related comment suggested Federal statistical agencies 
and recognized statistical units employ a common metadata 
classification system to better enable interoperability and utility of 
data. In response, as stated above, we agree that data storage is an 
important element in the data life cycle responsibilities assigned to 
Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical units, and have 
included that activity more explicitly within the Directive. However, 
the purpose of this Directive is to provide a concise, stable, and 
unified framework for previously established responsibilities. 
Therefore, inclusion of current best practices relating to data 
archives and access is outside the scope of this Directive and, if 
developed, would be issued under separate guidance.
    Responsibility 3. One comment recommended that the Directive 
include a statement describing how autonomy relates to the other three 
responsibilities, since doing so would underscore the importance of 
autonomy in achieving each responsibility. We agree that the 
responsibility of objectivity is strongly related to each of the 
fundamental responsibilities identified in this Directive. We think 
emphasizing the importance of achieving all four responsibilities in 
concert would underscore the value and relationship of each 
responsibility toward the overall goal of supporting the quality of 
Federal statistics. We have added language to that effect.
    One comment requested that explicit language be added to clarify 
and harmonize this Directive and other legislation, regulations, and 
policies. In particular, the comment urged OMB to address how this 
Directive intersects with provisions of the Education Sciences Reform 
Act (ESRA) of 2002, wherein an agency external to a Federal statistical 
agency could be interpreted to have authority to determine when and how 
to disseminate the statistical products of a Federal statistical 
agency. In response, we believe this circumstance should not impede the 
implementation of the Directive. Thus, when a statute authorizes an 
external agency to make determinations that this Directive assigns as 
the proper responsibility of a Federal statistical agency, the 
authorized agency should delegate those determinations to the Federal 
statistical agency. Doing so benefits both the Federal statistical 
agency and its Department. Both parties have a clear, vested interest 
in preserving the actual and perceived objectivity of Government data. 
Indeed, implementation of policy recommendations could be profoundly 
undermined should there be public distrust in the statistical estimates 
used as the basis for the decisions made by policy-makers. If the 
Department believes the Federal statistical agency or recognized 
statistical unit does not have capacity to carry out the 
responsibilities set forth in this Directive, then the Department 
should make the necessary resources available to the Federal 
statistical agency or recognized statistical unit.
    Another comment recommended that OMB include ``information 
technology systems'' among the items that should not be permitted to 
affect the autonomy of Federal statistical agencies, since these can 
affect the release, transparency, integrity, and confidentiality of 
official Federal statistics. We interpret this comment as a 
recommendation to emphasize that a Federal statistical agency or 
recognized statistical unit has authority over the processing, storage, 
and maintenance of the data that it collects. We agree and have added 
text referencing CIPSEA Implementation Guidance.
    Accordingly, OMB hereby adopts and issues the attached final 
Statistical Policy Directive No. 1, Fundamental Responsibilities of 
Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units.

Howard Shelanski,
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Statistical Policy Directive No. 1: Fundamental Responsibilities of 
Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units

    Authority And Purpose: This Directive affirms the fundamental 
responsibilities of Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units and defines the requirements governing the design, 
collection, processing, editing, compilation, storage, analysis, 
release, and dissemination of statistical information by Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units. The Directive is 
issued under the authority of the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act 
of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 1104 (d)) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3504 (e)).
    Scope: This Directive applies to Federal statistical agencies and 
recognized statistical units--defined in the Implementation Guidance 
for Title V of the E-Government Act, Confidential Information 
Protection and Statistical

[[Page 71614]]

Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA Implementation Guidance) (72 FR 33362 at 
33368, June 15, 2007), as well as Federal statistical agencies and 
statistical units newly recognized by OMB after the issuance of this 
Directive, as agencies or organizational units of the Executive Branch 
whose principal missions are statistical activities.
    Definitions: As defined in Title V of the E-Government Act, 
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 
2002 (CIPSEA) (Pub. L. 107-347, title V; 116 Stat. 2962, Dec. 17, 
2002), statistical activities are the collection, compilation, 
processing, analysis, or dissemination of data \1\ for the purpose of 
describing or making estimates concerning the whole, or relevant groups 
or components within, the economy, society, or the natural environment, 
including the development of methods or resources that support those 
activities, such as measurement methods, models, statistical 
classifications, or sampling frames. CIPSEA defines statistical purpose 
as the description, estimation, or analysis of the characteristics of 
groups, without identifying the individuals or organizations that 
comprise such groups; and includes the development, implementation, or 
maintenance of methods, technical or administrative procedures, or 
information resources that support such purposes. As defined in 
Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency (Principles 
and Practices), relevance means measuring processes, activities, and 
things that matter to policy makers, and public and private sector data 
users.\2\ Objectivity, as defined in Government-wide Information 
Quality Guidelines (Information Quality Guidelines) (67 FR 8453, Jan. 
3, 2002), refers to disseminating information in an accurate, clear, 
complete, and unbiased manner. As defined in Principles and Practices 
(p. 11), accuracy refers to generating statistics that consistently 
match the events and trends being measured. Confidentiality refers to a 
quality or condition of information as an obligation not to disclose 
that information to an unauthorized party.\3\
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    \1\ Statistical activities implicitly but necessarily involve 
the design, editing, and storage of statistical data as instrumental 
to collection, compilation, processing, analysis, release, and 
dissemination of statistical information. Therefore, for clarity, 
this Directive explicitly refers to each of these as statistical 
activities.
    \2\ Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency, 
National Research Council of the National Academies, Fifth edition, 
Committee on National Statistics, Constance F. Citro and Miron L. 
Straf, Editors, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and 
Education. Washington, DC The National Academies Press, (2013), p. 
11.
    \3\ Private Lives and Public Policies: Confidentiality and 
Accessibility of Government Statistics. Committee on National 
Statistics, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and 
Education, National Research Council and the Social Science Research 
Council, Washington, DC National Academy Press (1993) p. 22.
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    Introduction: This Directive delineates the fundamental 
responsibilities of Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units. The responsibilities in this Directive are built 
upon and are consistent with the goals and principles of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3504 (e)), the Information Quality Act 
(Pub. L. 106-554, Division C, title V, Sec. 515, Dec. 21, 2000; 114 
Stat. 2763A-153 to 2763A-154), Government-wide Information Quality 
Guidelines (Information Quality Guidelines) (67 FR 8453, Jan. 3, 2002), 
Title V of the E-Government Act, Confidential Information Protection 
and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA) (Pub. L. 107-347, title 
V; 116 Stat. 2962, Dec. 17, 2002), Implementation Guidance for Title V 
of the E-Government Act, Confidential Information Protection and 
Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA Implementation Guidance) (72 
FR 33362 at 33368, June 15, 2007), the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a), the Privacy Act Implementation(PB): Guidelines and 
Responsibilities (40 FR 28948, Jul. 9, 1975), Section 208 of the E-
Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347, 44 U.S.C. Ch 36, Dec. 17, 
2002), OMB's Circular A-130 (revised Nov. 28, 2000), the President's 
Memorandum on the Preservation and Promotion of Scientific Integrity 
(March 9, 2009), the Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments 
and Agencies (December 17, 2010) issued by the Director of the Office 
of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP Memorandum of December 17, 
2010), Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys (71 FR 55522, 
Sept. 22, 2006), Statistical Policy Directive No. 3, Compilation, 
Release, and Evaluation of Principal Federal Economic Indicators 
(Directive 3) (50 FR 38932, Sept. 25, 1985), Statistical Policy 
Directive No. 4, Release and Dissemination of Statistical Products 
Produced by Federal Statistical Agencies (Directive 4) (73 FR 12622-
12625, Mar. 7, 2008) and Principles and Practices for a Federal 
Statistical Agency (Principles and Practices). The responsibilities in 
this Directive are also consistent with the European Statistics Code of 
Practice \4\ and the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official 
Statistics.\5\ This Directive is not intended to replace current 
guidance; agencies must continue to comply with all applicable laws, 
regulations, and policies.
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    \4\ European Statistics Code of Practice for the National and 
Community Statistical Authorities, European Statistical System, 
Adopted September 28, 2011.
    \5\ Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, United 
Nations Statistical Commission, adopted April 11-15, 1994. Revised 
preamble adopted February 26-March 1, 2013; adopted July 24, 2013 by 
the United Nations Economic and Social Council; adopted January 29, 
2014 by the United Nations General Assembly (with sponsorship by the 
United States).
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    The responsibilities delineated in this Directive provide a 
framework that supports Federal statistical policy and serves as a 
foundation for Federal statistical activities, promoting trust among 
statistical agencies, data providers, and data users. Data users rely 
upon an agency's reputation as an objective source of relevant, 
accurate, and objective statistics, and data providers rely upon an 
agency's authority and reputation to honor its pledge to protect the 
confidentiality of their responses and to use them exclusively for 
statistical purposes. Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units must adhere to these responsibilities and adopt 
policies, best practices, and appropriate procedures to implement them. 
Federal departments must enable, support, and facilitate Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units as they implement 
these responsibilities.
    Responsibilities: It is the responsibility of Federal statistical 
agencies and recognized statistical units to produce and disseminate 
relevant and timely information; conduct credible, accurate, and 
objective statistical activities; and protect the trust of information 
providers by ensuring confidentiality and exclusive statistical use of 
their responses as described below.\6\ The benefits to Federal 
statistical data users and the Nation of maintaining and enhancing the 
quality of official Federal statistics envisioned by this Directive 
become fully realized when Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units, with enabling support and facilitation from their 
Departments, achieve these mutually-reinforcing responsibilities 
concurrently.
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    \6\ Although the responsibilities of statistical agencies and 
recognized statistical units are numbered here for ease of 
reference, no ranking of importance is implied.
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    Responsibility 1: Produce and disseminate relevant and timely 
information. The core mission of Federal statistical agencies and 
recognized statistical units is to produce

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relevant and timely statistical information to inform decision-makers 
in governments, businesses, institutions, and households. Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units must be 
knowledgeable about the issues and requirements of programs and 
policies relating to their subject domains. This requires communication 
and coordination among agencies and within and across Departments when 
planning information collection and dissemination activities. In 
addition, Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical units 
must seek input regularly from the broadest range of private- and 
public-sector data users, including analysts and policy makers within 
Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies; 
academic researchers; private sector businesses and constituent groups; 
and non-profit organizations. Program and policy-relevant information 
may be directly collected from individuals, organizations, or 
establishments through surveys; administrative records collected and 
maintained by the agency, or other government agencies; datasets 
available from the private sector; or publicly available information 
released on Internet Web sites that meets an agency's quality 
standards. Statistical agencies should be innovative in applying new 
technologies in their methods for designing, collecting, processing, 
editing, compiling, storing, analyzing, releasing, and disseminating 
data to improve the accuracy and timeliness of their information and 
the efficiency of their operations. (Principles and Practices, pp. 17 
and 53)
    Responsibility 2: Conduct credible and accurate statistical 
activities. Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical 
units apply sound statistical methods to ensure statistical products 
are accurate. Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical 
units achieve this by regularly evaluating the data and information 
products they publicly release against the OMB Government-wide 
Information Quality Guidelines as well as their individual agency's 
information quality guidelines. Where appropriate, information about 
how the data were collected and any known or potential data limitations 
or sources of error (such as population or market coverage, or 
sampling, measurement, processing, or modeling errors) should be 
described to data users so they can evaluate the suitability of the 
data for a particular purpose. Errata identified after data release 
should be described to data users on an ongoing basis as verified. 
Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical units must be 
vigilant in seeking new methods and adopting new technologies to ensure 
the quality and efficiency of the information they collect and produce. 
(Principles and Practices, pp. 42-43) Data derived from outside sources 
must be described in information products and communication materials 
so that users can employ exogenous information appropriately. Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units must provide 
complete documentation of their dissemination policies and ensure that 
all users have equitable access to data disseminated to the public 
(Statistical Policy Directive No. 4, 73 FR 12622 at 12625). 
Additionally, Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical 
units must periodically review the techniques and procedures used to 
implement their information quality guidelines to keep pace with 
changes in best practices and technology.
    Responsibility 3: Conduct objective statistical activities. It is 
paramount that Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical 
units produce data that are impartial, clear, and complete and are 
readily perceived as such by the public. The objectivity of the 
information released to the public is maximized by making information 
available on an equitable, policy-neutral, transparent, timely, and 
punctual basis. Accordingly, Federal statistical agencies and 
recognized statistical units must function in an environment that is 
clearly separate and autonomous from the other administrative, 
regulatory, law enforcement, or policy-making activities within their 
respective Departments. Specifically, Federal statistical agencies and 
recognized statistical units must be able to conduct statistical 
activities autonomously when determining what information to collect 
and process, the physical security and information systems security 
employed to protect confidential data, which methods to apply in their 
estimation procedures and data analysis, when and how to store and 
disseminate their statistical products, and which staff to select to 
join their agencies. In order to maintain credibility with data 
providers and users as well as the public, Federal statistical agencies 
and recognized statistical units must seek to avoid even the appearance 
that agency design, collection, processing, editing, compilation, 
storage, analysis, release, and dissemination processes may be 
manipulated. The actual and perceived credibility of Federal statistics 
requires assurance that the selection of candidates for statistical 
positions is based primarily on their scientific and technical 
knowledge, credentials, experience, and integrity. Moreover, Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units must maintain and 
develop in-house staff who are trained in statistical methodology to 
properly plan, design, and implement core data collection operations 
and to accurately analyze their data. (OMB Government-wide Information 
Quality Guidelines; CIPSEA Implementation Guidance, 33362 at 33371; 
OSTP Memorandum of December 17, 2010; Principles and Practices, p. 70)
    Responsibility 4: Protect the trust of information providers by 
ensuring the confidentiality and exclusive statistical use of their 
responses. Maintaining and enhancing the public's trust in a Federal 
statistical agency's or recognized statistical unit's ability to 
protect the integrity of the information provided under a pledge of 
confidentiality is essential for the completeness and accuracy of 
statistical information as well as the efficiency and burden of its 
production. Providers of information, such as survey respondents, must 
be able to trust and rely upon the information and confidentiality 
pledges that Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical 
units provide about the need to collect information and its intended 
use for exclusively statistical purposes. Maintaining consistent and 
effective protection reduces public confusion, uncertainty, and concern 
about the treatment and use of reported information. (Order Providing 
for the Confidentiality of Statistical Information, 62 FR 35044 (June 
27, 1997)) In addition, adopting this protection reduces the cost and 
reporting burden imposed by programs of Federal statistical agencies 
and recognized statistical units. Fostering trust among data providers 
about a statistical agency's authority and ability to protect the 
confidentiality and exclusive statistical use of responses promotes 
higher participation in surveys and accurate reporting of information 
from respondents. Federal statistical agencies and recognized 
statistical units build and sustain trust with data providers by 
maintaining a strong organizational climate that safeguards and 
protects the integrity and confidentiality of the data collected, 
processed, and analyzed to ensure that the information is secure 
against unauthorized access, editing, deletion, or use. Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units must fully adhere 
to legal requirements and follow

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best practices for protecting the confidentiality of data, including 
training their staffs and agents, and ensuring the physical and 
information system security of confidential information. (CIPSEA 
Implementation Guidance, 33362 at 33374)
    These responsibilities provide a framework for Federal statistical 
policy and the foundation upon which core functions of Federal 
statistical agencies and recognized statistical units are grounded. 
Adherence to these responsibilities ensures that the Federal 
statistical system continues to provide relevant, accurate, objective 
statistics in a manner that honors and maintains the public's trust.

[FR Doc. 2014-28326 Filed 12-1-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110-01-P


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