Shaping Trust: Navigating Federal Statistical Regulations for Evidence-Based Policy

Recording

Overview

In August 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued proposed regulations that provide guidance to federal statistical agencies and units to promote public trust as well as to federal agencies about supporting statistical agencies and units in their roles and responsibilities. These regulations, a crucial piece of Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act), are currently open for public comment. This forum provided stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback and hear from other members of the community ahead of the deadline for submitting formal comments.

These regulations are an opportunity to explore the ways in which federal statistical agencies fulfill their responsibilities to produce trusted official statistics and the role they play in creating data and evidence that policymakers and the public rely on to inform their decisions. This is an opportunity to consider the implications and importance of official statistics for those who use government data, including other agencies, state and local governments, researchers, private sector organizations, and the public. Speakers and attendees were encouraged to use this as an opportunity to learn from the community as they prepare their comments for the federal register notice.

Individuals from the data and evidence community, including from academic institutions, non-profit organizations, technology firms, and the general public were invited to participate in the event to discuss the proposed regulation.

Note: A transcript of speakers’ remarks at this event will be submitted to OMB as a part of the Federal Register Notice process. All speakers and attendees are encouraged to submit their own comments.

OMB is seeking feedback on all parts of the NPRM, including the following categories:

Shared Services

• Sharing services, such as IT, printing, or other contracting services, presents an opportunity to increase efficiency and cost savings for statistical agencies. The proposed regulation provides two options for approaching certain shared services and recognizes that statistical agencies at times have unique needs and demands for these shared services. What are some of the strategies to address specialized needs for the statistical system while realizing cost savings? Where are potential conflicts in using shared services and are there alternative solutions OMB should consider?

Compliance Review

• An essential consideration in every proposed regulation is the appropriate mechanisms for ensuring accountability and oversight. OMB proposed three options for compliance review, and this category is an opportunity to offer feedback on whether these options are adequate or if there are additional items to be considered. 

Submissions in these additional categories are also encouraged:

Coordination and Collaboration 

• Statistical agencies participate in the larger data ecosystem. What are some effective ways for statistical agencies and other Evidence Act officials - Chief Data Officers and Evaluation Officers - to collaborate and coordinate in order to maximize effectively leveraging government data assets? What are ways to share roles and responsibilities and reduce duplication across the entire data enterprise?

Strengthening Public Trust

• Official statistics play an important role in strengthening public trust, while also relying on public participation in order to produce accurate and reliable data. What are some factors that help reinforce a positive relationship between statistical agencies and the public? How can these regulations promote more accountability and transparency? 

Resources

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking