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| Federal Data Access and Management Policy | |
|---|---|
| Name | Federal Data Access and Management Policy |
| Established | 2013 |
| Jurisdiction | United States |
| Key documents | Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-13-13, Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 |
| Agencies | Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy, General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Administration |
Federal Data Access and Management Policy Federal Data Access and Management Policy coordinates how Federal agencies collect, store, share, and preserve data to support program evaluation, research, and public services, aligning agency practices with statutory mandates from Congress, executive guidance from the White House, and archival responsibilities at the National Archives and Records Administration. It integrates standards from the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and cross-agency initiatives to promote interoperability, reproducibility, and evidence-based decision-making across federal entities. The policy shapes agency data stewardship, infrastructure investments, and compliance mechanisms that interact with laws and authorities such as the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act and the Privacy Act.
The policy's purpose is to enable Congress-mandated evidence development and to facilitate research use while protecting individual privacy, coordinating implementation among Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Archives and Records Administration, General Services Administration, and program offices such as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Social Security Administration. It establishes expectations for data inventories, metadata standards, access protocols, and retention schedules to support auditing by Government Accountability Office and reporting to United States Congress. The policy also supports public transparency goals reflected in initiatives from the Federal Data Strategy and aligns with technology procurement practices influenced by General Services Administration IT Schedule and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.
Implementation rests on statutes and executive branch guidance including the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002, and appropriations riders that affect data sharing. OMB memoranda, such as M-13-13 and later directives, tie to oversight from the Office of Inspector General networks and adjudication in courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit when disputes invoke procurement or records issues. Agencies must reconcile policy with sectoral statutes like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 enforced by the Department of Health and Human Services and confidentiality rules under the Bureau of the Census governed by the United States Census Bureau authorities and the Department of Commerce.
Core principles require appointed data stewards and chief data officers modeled after roles defined by OMB and the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, with stewardship plans coordinated across program offices such as Department of Defense components, Department of Education units, and Environmental Protection Agency divisions. Standards emphasize persistent identifiers, machine-readable metadata aligned with schemas promoted by National Institutes of Standards and Technology and interoperability frameworks championed by Department of Homeland Security and National Science Foundation. Lifecycle management incorporates retention and disposition schedules overseen by National Archives and Records Administration and preservation collaborations with institutions like the Library of Congress and research repositories associated with Smithsonian Institution collections for scientific and historical datasets.
Access rules balance broad research and operational use with confidentiality obligations under the Privacy Act of 1974 and conditions required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and sectoral statutes such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act administered by the Department of Education. Security baselines reference frameworks from National Institute of Standards and Technology including risk management and baseline controls used by Department of Defense environments and cloud authorizations granted through Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and procurement vehicles managed by the General Services Administration. Privacy-preserving methods include de-identification, differential privacy techniques developed in collaboration with National Science Foundation grantees and research at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with oversight by agency Chief Privacy Officers and Inspectors General.
Agencies implement policy through designated roles—Chief Data Officers, Chief Information Officers, and Records Officers—coordinated by OMB and cross-agency councils such as the U.S. Chief Data Officers Council and advisory panels including stakeholders from United States Digital Service and 18F. Implementation plans require inventories, data management plans, and training programs referencing standards from National Institutes of Health data sharing policies and repositories like National Center for Biotechnology Information where applicable. Budgeting and acquisitions for data programs involve the Office of Management and Budget, Congress appropriations committees, and procurement frameworks overseen by the General Services Administration.
Technical requirements promote use of cloud services vetted through Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, common data models informed by projects at National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, and shared services provisioned via General Services Administration schedules and the U.S. Digital Service. Interoperability leverages open formats, APIs, and identifier systems with contributions from standards bodies such as National Institute of Standards and Technology, international coordination with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and partnerships with research institutions like Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University. Data preservation and access infrastructures engage repositories such as National Archives and Records Administration, domain repositories like Protein Data Bank, and federated catalog efforts inspired by the Digital Public Library of America.
Compliance mechanisms include policy reviews by Office of Management and Budget, audits by the Government Accountability Office, investigations by agency Inspectors General, and legal challenges adjudicated in federal courts including the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Accountability is enforced through agency reporting requirements to Congress, performance metrics linked to budget processes managed by Office of Management and Budget, and public transparency tools promoted by Data.gov and oversight from advocacy groups and academic partners such as Harvard University and University of California. Persistent governance relies on interagency coordination with entities like the National Science and Technology Council and continual refinement informed by peer-reviewed research published through venues including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Category:United States federal policy