THE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS AND THIS REPORT

THE Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) was established in 1972 at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide an independent review of federal statistical activities. The mission of CNSTAT is to provide advice to the federal government and the nation grounded in the current best scientific knowledge and practice that will lead to improved statistical methods and information upon which to base public policy. CNSTAT seeks to advance the quality of statistical information, contribute to the statistical policies and coordinating activities of the federal government, and help provide a forward-looking vision for the federal statistical system and national statistics more broadly in service of the public good. Over its 49-year history, CNSTAT has produced more than 275 reports on federal statistical programs, surveys, and statistical methods.

This report is the seventh edition of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency (P&P), first published in 1992 by CNSTAT. The publication draws on CNSTAT’s many studies of specific statistical and research agencies, programs, and topics. Previous editions have proven helpful to Congress, OMB, federal statistical agencies, and others about what constitutes an effective and credible statistics entity.¹⁸ Beginning with the second edition in 2001, CNSTAT has updated the document every 4 years to provide a current edition to newly appointed cabinet

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¹⁸ See, e.g., U.S. Office of Management and Budget (2007, 2014); U.S. General Accounting Office (1995); U.S. Government Accountability Office (2007, 2012); see also Citro (2014b).

secretaries and other personnel at the beginning of each presidential administration or second term.¹⁹

CNSTAT believes that P&P should continue to play an important role going forward in the new environment of enhanced roles for statistical agency heads and statistics to inform policy making. It provides an important independent perspective that spans departments and administrations. Since the first edition of P&P, other statistical organizations, such as the United Nations Statistical Commission, Eurostat, and a number of national statistical offices of foreign governments have issued fundamental principles or codes of practice that reinforce and echo many of the same themes (see Appendix C).

Previous editions of P&P focused on federal statistical agencies but noted that many of the principles and practices also apply to statistical activities in federal policy, evaluation, research, and program agencies, in state and local government agencies, in nongovernmental organizations, and in other countries. The past few years have also witnessed greater attention to using administrative and private-sector data sources, not only for national statistics (see NASEM 2017b, 2017c, 2017d), but also more broadly for program evaluation and evidence-based policy making (Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, 2017). This has been a growing theme in recent editions of P&P and continues in this edition. There are also parallels to related efforts to identify principles and practices for federal evaluation²⁰ and the broader federal data strategy.²¹

The committee distinguishes between “principles,” which are fundamental and intrinsic to the concept of a federal statistical agency, and “practices,” which are ways and means of making the basic principles operational and facilitating an agency’s adherence to them. The current edition of P&P expands the list of principles from four to five, adding a principle for continual improvement and innovation—an underlying theme in previous editions, which, on considered reflection, merits elevation to a principle in and of itself. The practices have been streamlined down to 10 (from 13) by combining some practices that are

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¹⁹ The Committee on National Statistics had the following statement of work for this seventh edition: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to develop a seventh edition of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency. The report will take into account changes in laws, regulations, and other aspects of the environment for federal statistical agencies that have taken place since the release of the sixth edition.

²⁰ See OMB M-20-12 in Appendix A.

²¹ See Strategy.data.gov and Federal Data Strategy in Appendix A.

tied together. The principles and practices in this report remain guidelines, not prescriptions. CNSTAT intends them to assist statistical agencies and units, as well as other agencies engaged in statistical activities, and to inform legislative and executive branch decision makers, data users, and others about the characteristics of statistical agencies that enable them to serve the common good.

Following this Introduction, Part II of the seventh edition presents five basic principles that statistical agencies must embody to carry out their mission fully:

Part III discusses 10 important practices that provide the means for statistical agencies to implement the five principles. The first four practices pertain to an agency’s operations, internally and within the federal government, while practices 5 through 7 bridge internal operations and external relations with the professional statistical and research communities, and practices 8 through 10 focus externally on an agency’s key constituents: data users and data providers. The 10 practices are

1. A Clearly Defined and Well-Accepted Mission
2. Necessary Authority and Procedures to Protect Independence
3. Commitment to Quality and Professional Standards of Practice
4. Professional Advancement of Staff
5. An Active Research Program
6. Strong Internal and External Evaluation Processes for an Agency’s Statistical Programs
7. Coordination and Collaboration with Other Statistical Agencies
8. Respect for Data Providers and Protection of Their Data
9. Dissemination of Statistical Products That Meet Users’ Needs
10. Openness about Sources and Limitations of the Data Provided

Parts II and III include commentary on each principle and practice. The online version of the report contains hyperlinks to related discussions and to references. The three appendices update material included in previous editions and add new information to help orient readers; their contents are listed in this document, and they are available in full in the on-line edition. Appendix A summarizes the history and current status of key legislation and regulations that affect federal statistical agencies, OMB statistical policy directives, relevant memoranda for the Evidence Act, and other relevant guidance. Appendix B reviews the organization of the U.S. federal statistical system, providing information about each recognized statistical agency and statistical unit and the coordinating function in OMB. Appendix C provides information on some key international frameworks for national statistics promulgated by the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Statistical System, and the United Kingdom. These appendices are intended to serve as a useful reference for statistical agency staff and stakeholders seeking to understand how the federal statistical system operates and the guiding principles and quality frameworks for other national statistical offices.