[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54269-54270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19007]
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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Request for Information; Equitable Data Engagement and
Accountability
AGENCY: Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
ACTION: Notice of request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP), on behalf of the Subcommittee on Equitable Data of the National
Science and Technology Council, requests information on how Federal
agencies can better support collaboration with other levels of
government, civil society, and the research community around the
production and use of equitable data. This RFI will support Federal
equitable data efforts described in the Executive Order on Advancing
Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the
Federal Government (E.O. 13985), including the Vision for Equitable
Data issued to the President in April 2022.
DATES: Interested persons and organizations are invited to submit
comments on or before 5 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected], include Engagement and
Accountability RFI in the subject line of the message. Email
submissions should be machine-readable [PDF, Word] and should not be
copy-protected.
Mail: Attn: NSTC Subcommittee on Equitable Data, Office of
Science and Technology Policy, Eisenhower Executive Office Building,
1650 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20504.
Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Respondents may
answer as many or as few questions as they wish. Each individual or
institution is requested to submit only one response. Electronic
responses must be provided as attachments to an email rather than a
link. Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question
or topic if possible. Comments of seven pages or fewer (3,500 words)
are requested; longer responses will not be considered. Responses
should include the name of the person(s) or organization(s) filing the
response. Responses containing references, studies, research, and other
empirical data that are not widely published should include copies of
or electronic links to the referenced materials. Responses containing
profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate language or
content will not be considered.
Any information obtained from this RFI is intended to be used by
the Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy
development. OSTP will not respond to individual submissions. A
response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to
develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. This RFI is not
accepting applications for financial assistance or financial
incentives.
Comments submitted in response to this notice are subject to the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). No business proprietary information,
copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information should
be submitted in response to this RFI. Please be aware that comments
submitted in response to this RFI, including the submitter's
identification (as noted above), may be posted, without change, on
OSTP's or another Federal website or otherwise released publicly.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denice Ross, U.S. Chief Data
Scientist, at [email protected] or 202-456-6121.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of the President's Executive Order
on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities
Through the Federal Government (E.O. 13985), the Administration
convened a Federal Equitable Data Working Group to study existing
Federal data collection policies, programs, and infrastructure to
identify inadequacies and provide recommendations that lay out a
strategy for increasing data available for measuring equity and
representing the diversity of the American people.
In its final report in April 2022--Vision for Equitable Data--the
Equitable Data Working Group emphasized the need for the Federal
government to use equitable data to (1) encourage diverse
collaborations across levels of government, civil society, and the
research community and (2) be accountable to the American public. By
equitable data, we mean data that allow for rigorous assessment of the
extent to which government programs and policies yield consistently
fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including those
who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely
affected by persistent poverty and inequality. Equitable data can
illuminate opportunities for targeted actions that will result in
demonstrably improved outcomes for underserved communities. One key
characteristic of equitable data is that it is disaggregated by
demographic information (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, language
spoken, etc.), geographic information (e.g., rural/urban), or other
variables, enabling insights on disparities in access to, and outcomes
from, government programs, policies, and services.
Durable, equitable data infrastructure requires fostering
collaborations across all levels of government, as well as with a
diverse community of external organizations to advance outcomes for
underserved communities. Constructing such infrastructure will likely
require new incentives and pathways, including to ensure greater data
sharing and capacity building across different levels of government and
to broaden the research community involved in producing and analyzing
equitable data.
Furthermore, providing tools that allow civil society organizations
and communities to use and visualize Federal data and chart
government's progress toward equitable outcomes is crucial for
strengthening accountability and credibility with the American public.
Such tools can encourage community participation in government equity
efforts, but these tools must be designed and administered in ways that
meet community members where they are in terms of data analysis
capacity and resources. These tools should ideally enable members of
the public to easily find meaningful and actionable data about the
well-being of their communities and the services provided to them.
In this notice, the White House OSTP is providing an opportunity
for members of the public to provide perspectives on how to best to
encourage collaborations between the Federal government and (a) state,
local, territorial, and Tribal governments; (b) researchers and
research institutions; and (c) local communities that facilitate
producing, accessing, and using equitable data.
Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will be used to
inform the development of case studies, best practices, and new
strategies for Federal agencies, including establishing:
(1) mutually beneficial collaborations between Federal agencies and
other levels of government, civil society, and
[[Page 54270]]
the research community around the production and use of equitable data,
and
(2) tools that allow civil society organizations and communities to
use and visualize Federal data and chart government's progress toward
equitable outcomes in order to strengthen accountability and
credibility.
Responses to this RFI will also inform development of the United
States' Open Government Partnership National Action Plan that furthers
the principles of open government.
We invite members of the public to share perspectives on how the
Federal government can better realize the objectives of collaboration
between all levels of government, engagement of communities that access
or participate in Federal programs in data collection and research, and
create broader public access to equitable data. Responses may help
inform the development of case studies, best practices, strategies,
plans, and other tools for Federal agencies to pursue equitable data
partnerships and collaboration, including Federal government plans
around open government.
OSTP seeks responses to one, some, or all of the following
questions:
1. What are examples of successful collaborations involving
equitable data between the Federal government and (a) Tribal,
territorial, local, and State governments, or (b) local communities?
2. Among examples of existing Federal collaborations with (a)
Tribal, territorial, local, and State governments or (b) local
communities involving equitable data, what lessons or best practices
have been learned from such collaborations?
3. What resources, programs, training, or other tools can
facilitate increased data sharing between different levels of
government (Tribal, territorial, local, State, or Federal) related to
equitable data?
4. What resources, programs, training, or other tools can expand
opportunities for historically underrepresented scholars and research
institutions to access and use equitable data across levels of
government?
5. What resources, programs, training, or tools can increase
opportunities for community-based organizations to use equitable data
to hold government accountable to the American public?
6. What resources, programs, training, or tools can make equitable
data more accessible and useable for members of the public?
7. In which agencies, programs, regions, or communities are there
unmet needs, broken processes, or problems related to participation and
accountability that could be remedied through stronger collaborations
and transparency around equitable data?
Dated: August 30, 2022.
Stacy Murphy,
Operations Manager.
[FR Doc. 2022-19007 Filed 9-1-22; 8:45 am]
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