Section 1321.6 - [Effective 12/10/2024] Credibility and accuracy(a)Responsibilities of each Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit. Each Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit must uphold the responsibility to conduct credible and accurate statistical activities by carrying out its duties under this paragraph (a). The Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit must determine the appropriate methods, processes, policies, and general conduct of its statistical activities. Each Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit must:(1) Maintain publicly available policies and standards on the quality of the information used by the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit and the statistical products it disseminates, by:(i) Developing and making available to the public policies and standards to ensure the credibility and accuracy of all statistical products and data disseminated by the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit;(ii) Regularly reviewing, maintaining, and improving the policies in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section and the methods used to implement them to ensure they are current and effective; and(iii) Establishing policies and procedures, in consultation with the parent agency's Chief Data Officer and Evaluation Officer, for assessing the quality of data that is used by the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit but does not originate from the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit;(2) Publicly provide documentation for its statistical products, including:(i) Descriptions of methods and procedures used in designing, collecting, processing, editing, compiling, storing, analyzing, and disseminating information to users, as applicable;(ii) Indicators of data quality sufficient to allow data users to assess the fitness of the data for their own purposes;(iii) Descriptions of known limitations or sources of error in the data;(iv) Citation to source materials where feasible; and(v) Identification of errors in the statistical products discovered after their release;(3) Ensure that the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit lifecycle data management practices adhere to all applicable statutes and standards and guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget;(4) Adhere to all applicable statutes and current Office of Management and Budget peer review policies when submitting articles to refereed journals, presenting at professional conferences, and engaging in peer review activities, including OMB M-05-03, Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review, and any successor policies; and(5)(i) Determine the appropriateness of and process for providing professional autonomy to employees of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit, including allowing employee engagement in professional development activities such as participating in peer review, publication, or professional associations, and attending and presenting at professional conferences without review or approval from the parent agency, subject to applicable statutes.(ii) When implementing paragraph (a)(5)(i) of this section, ensure all statutory requirements, such as ethics, are met.(b)Responsibilities of each parent agency. Each parent agency must enable, support, and facilitate the Recognized Statistical Agency and Unit in carrying out its responsibility to conduct credible and accurate statistical activities. Each parent agency must:(1) Ensure the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit has sufficient autonomy to maintain its own standards for the quality of the data used and the statistical information it produces and to determine whether its statistical products are of sufficient quality for dissemination. Unless otherwise prohibited by statute, when a statute, rule, or policy authorizes any other agency official to make such determinations, that responsibility must be delegated to the head of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit;(2) Prohibit its employees, contractors, and agents, other than those designated by the releasing Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit head, from publicly commenting on any data released by the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit until after the official release of the data;(3) Permit the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit to determine whether statistical disseminations, including related statistical press releases or publicity materials not containing policy pronouncements, should be disseminated by or through the parent agency and, if so, ensure that statistical information attributable to the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit disseminated by or through the parent agency is not altered in any way not authorized by the head of such Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit; and(4) Allow the head of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit to determine the appropriateness of and process for providing professional autonomy to employees of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit to submit articles that do not address policy, management, or budget issues, and that do not contain legally privileged information or information legally prohibited from disclosure, to refereed journals; present at professional conferences; and engage in peer review activities without requiring approval from outside of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit, unless such approval is required by law. When approval outside of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit is required, such as ethics approval, the parent agency must either: (i) Assign the support component employee that will conduct these reviews to report to the head of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit; or(ii) Ensure that the support component employee conducting the review, in coordination with the liaison designated in § 1321.4, provides sufficient information and advice, including a recommendation if appropriate, to the head of the Recognized Statistical Agency or Unit so that such head may make an informed decision regarding approval.