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RECONCILING THE VIEWS OF THE STAKEHOLDERS 86 Privatizing Roots Criteria for government agencies to discontinue data collection and purchase data from private-sector organizations include the following: ⢠A commercial capability for supplying the necessary data exists. ⢠The private sector is likely to provide a stable, long-term information supply. ⢠There is an effective process for conveying scientific or operational requirements to the private sector. ⢠The content and conditions of access to datasets (in particular, full and open access) would fulfill public-sector needs. ⢠There is an established process for ensuring quality assurance and quality control of the commercial data. ⢠A substantial commercial market for the data exists that would not be compromised by the full and open access provided to the government and could reduce costs to the government. If all of the above conditions are fulfilled for public-purpose information systems, it may well be in the public interest for the government to privatize data collection. In such a case, continued provision of data by a government agency will likely discourage private-sector organizations from building quality services that better meet the needs of the public. On the other hand, privatization is not without risk because it involves discontinuing government functions with proven value in favor of private-sector services for which benefits may never accrue. The risks are greatest in data collection because of the potential for gaps in the long-term record of environmental change. Nevertheless, under certain conditions, the collection of data and/or generation of data products can be transferred from the government to the private sector. Care must be taken to ensure that high-quality measurements and products needed by the public sector continue to be made, that data will continue to be made available on a full and open basis (i.e., without restriction and for no more than the cost of reproduction), and that the commercial vendors operate in a competitive market. Decisions concerning which functions should be public and which should be private must be made case by case, using criteria such as those
RECONCILING THE VIEWS OF THE STAKEHOLDERS 87 outlined above. Most decisions will involve the transfer of government functions to the private sector but some will concern the reverse situation. For example, if previous privatization efforts have led to a costly monopoly, a decline in data quality, or gaps in the long-term record, then re-entry by a government agency may be desirable. Of course, such decisions must be re- evaluated as circumstances change. Policy makers cannot expect to be able to write a single rule that applies to all cases or for all time. Recommendation. Before transferring government data collection and product development to private-sector organizations, the U.S. government should ensure that the following conditions will be satisfied: (1) avoidance of market conditions that will give any firms significant monopoly power; (2) preservation of full and open access to core data products; (3) assurance that a supply of high-quality information will continue to exist; and (4) minimized disruption to ongoing uses and applications.
RECONCILING THE VIEWS OF THE STAKEHOLDERS 88
