using, protecting, disseminating, and generating data to ensure that the data needs of the agency are met; manag[ing] data assets of the agency, including the standardization of data format, sharing of data assets, and publication of data assets in accordance with applicable law; ensur[ing] that, to the extent practicable, agency data conforms with data management best practices; and engag[ing] agency employees, the public, and contractors in using public data assets and encourage[ing] collaborative approaches on improving data use” (Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, 2019 § 3520).

CFO Act agencies

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Act of 1990 gave OMB new authority and responsibility for directing federal financial management, modernizing the government’s financial management systems, and strengthening financial reporting. The 24 CFO Act agencies include: Agency for International Development*; Department of Agriculture; Department of Commerce; Department of Defense*; Department of Education; Department of Energy; Department of Health and Human Services; Department of Homeland Security*; Department of Housing and Urban Development*; Department of the Interior*; Department of Justice; Department of Labor; Department of State*; Department of Transportation; Department of the Treasury; Department of Veterans Affairs*; Environmental Protection Agency*; General Services Administration*; National Aeronautics and Space Administration*; National Science Foundation; Nuclear Regulatory Commission*; Office of Personnel Management*; Small Business Administration*; and Social Security Administration. The Evidence Act added representation of all CFO Act agencies to the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) and created the role of Statistical Official in each of these agencies where a statistical agency was not already present (denoted here by *).¹

CIPSEA

The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA), initially adopted in 2002, was reauthorized and expanded as Title III of the Evidence Act (see below; Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, 2019).

Confidentiality

“Data or information acquired by an agency under a pledge of confidentiality and for exclusively statistical purposes shall be used by officers, employees, or agents of the agency exclusively for statistical purposes”

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¹ https://www.cio.gov/handbook/it-laws/cfo-act/

(Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act, 2002 § 102(a)).

Data holders

Organizations that hold information of possible use in a national data infrastructure. These include federal, state, local, and tribal agencies, as well as other public and private-sector organizations (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM], 2023b).

Data infrastructure

This term includes data assets; the technologies used to discover, access, share, process, use, analyze, manage, store, preserve, protect, and secure those assets; the people, capacity, and expertise needed to manage, use, interpret, and understand data; the guidance, standards, policies, and rules that govern data access, use, and protection; the organizations and entities that manage, oversee, and govern the data infrastructure; and the communities and data subjects whose data is shared and used for statistical purposes and may be impacted by decisions that are made using those data assets (NASEM, 2023d).

Data subjects

The people, entities, or organizations described by data files (NASEM, 2023b). In the prior edition of this publication, these were referred to as “data providers.” Increasingly in new sources of data, the people, entities, and organizations described by the data do not directly provide the data themselves. Instead, these data may come from data holders (see data holders).

Evaluation Officers

Evaluation Officers are “designated without regard to political affiliation and based on demonstrated expertise in evaluation methodology and practices and appropriate expertise to the disciplines of the agency;” their responsibilities include “continually assess[ing] the coverage, quality, methods, consistency, effectiveness, independence, and balance of the portfolio of evaluations, policy research, and ongoing evaluation activities of the agency; assess[ing] agency capacity to support the development and use of evaluation; and establish[ing] and implement[ing] an agency evaluation policy” (Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, 2019 § 313).

Evidence Act

Also referred to as the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. This law requires agency data to be accessible and requires

agencies to plan to develop statistical evidence to support policymaking (Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, 2019). Title II of the Evidence Act is referred to as the OPEN Government Data Act (see below). Title III of the Evidence Act is referred to as CIPSEA 2018 (see above).

Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM)

“Founded in 1975 by the Statistical and Science Policy Branch (formerly, the Office of Statistical Policy) in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the FCSM assists in carrying out SSP/OMB’s role in setting and coordinating statistical policy. The FCSM serves as a resource for OMB and the federal statistical system to inform decision making on matters of statistical policy and to provide technical assistance and guidance on statistical and methodological issues.”² Members of FCSM are federal staff who contribute their professional expertise to advancing the coordination of federal statistical policy in addition to meeting their leadership responsibilities at their respective ICSP agencies.

Federal statistical system

The federal statistical system comprises the Office of the U.S. Chief Statistician, recognized federal statistical agencies, recognized federal statistical units, federal Statistical Officials in other CFO agencies, and over 100 other federal statistical programs. It is supported by state, local, and other federal agencies that provide data to produce federal statistics and the groups that provide guidance to connect the system, including the FCSM.

Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP)

“Formed in 1989, the ICSP was created to improve communication among the heads of the principal statistical agencies, and later was charged with advising and assisting the CSOTUS [Chief Statistician of the United States]. The Evidence Act expanded membership to include the newly established Statistical Officials across major cabinet agencies, 11 of which are also heads of recognized statistical agencies. Led by the CSOTUS, the ICSP supports implementation of the statistical system’s vision to operate as a seamless system. The 30 members of ICSP include 13 recognized statistical agencies, 3 recognized statistical units, 13 Statistical Officials of other CFO agencies (those not with a statistical agency), and the CSCOTUS.”³

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² https://www.fcsm.gov/about/

³ https://www.statspolicy.gov/about/#icsp

apply for permission to use protected data from any of the 16 federal statistical agencies and designated units for evidence building⁴ (Office of Management and Budget, 2022a). The current portal is at: https://www.researchdatagov.org

Statistical activities

“[… T]he collection, compilation, processing, or analysis of data for the purpose of describing or making estimates concerning the whole, or relevant groups or components within, the economy, society, or the natural environment; and […] includes the development of methods or resources that support those activities, such as measurement methods, models, statistical classifications, or sampling frames” (Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act, 2002 § 2 (7)).

Statistical agency or unit

“[… A]n agency or organizational unit of the executive branch whose activities are predominantly the collection, compilation, processing, or analysis of information for statistical purposes” (Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act, 2002 § 2 (8)).

Statistical Official

“The head of each [Chief Financial Officer Act] agency shall designate the head of any statistical agency or unit within the agency, or in the case of an agency that does not have a statistical agency or unit, any senior agency official with appropriate expertise, as a statistical official to advise on statistical policy, techniques, and procedures. Agency officials engaged in statistical activities may consult with any such statistical official as necessary” (Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, 2019 § 314). At the 11 CFO Act agencies that contain a recognized statistical agency or unit (RSAU), the head of that RSAU has been designated the Statistical Official, as required by M-19-23.

Statistical purpose

“[… T]he 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 the purposes” (Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act, 2002 § 2 (9)).

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⁴ https://ncses.nsf.gov/about/standard-application-process

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