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Effective Date: 4/21/83

Series: Information Resources Management

Part 381: Reports Management

Chapter 7: Managing Reporting Requirements Within the Department of the Interior

Originating Office: Office of Information Resources Management

7.1 Purpose and Authority. This chapter prescribes systems and procedures for the continuous operation of reports control and coordination for reporting requirements imposed internally within the Department. Authority for these activities is stated generally in 41 CFR 101-11.207.

7.2 Scope. The provisions of this Chapter apply to the following:

A. Congressional and interagency reporting requirements imposed on the Department.

B. Internal reports initiated within the Department and imposed on bureaus and offices of the Department.

7.3 Policies.

A. Reporting requirements within the Department of the Interior will be established only when a report is:

(1) Required by law.

(2) Contained in a request made by Congress, or any other agency of the Government.

(3) Necessary to the management of the initiating office in order to plan or appraise the programs it is required to administer.

B. Reporting requirements will be analyzed, controlled, documented, and approved in accordance with procedures and standards in this part.

C. The use of automatic data processing, source data automation, and micrographics is encouraged in the design and production of reports and in maintenance and production of reports control records and statistics.

7.4 Responsibilities. Each bureau will designate a reports control unit to apply the Departmental policies and standards established in this part. The bureau reports control unit will:

A. Maintain an updated inventory of reports initiated by the bureau headquarters.

B. Review every office request for the establishment of a new reporting requirement to be imposed on their field offices or another office.

C. Return to requesting officials any proposed reporting requirement which does not conform to the standards contained in this Chapter.

D. Approve, or recommend for approval, and assign identifying symbols to all proposed reporting requirements which conform to the standards.

E. Provide for periodic review of approved reports in order to confirm their continuing validity.

F. Maintain appropriate current records of report requests, approved reports, and related data.

G. Coordinate operational activities with field reports control units.

7.5 Origin of Reporting Requirements.

A. Statutory and Congressional. Public Laws often require that the Secretary of the Interior, or a particular bureau within the Department, report on action required or authorized by the law. Reporting requirements are also often imposed on the Department by individual committees or members of Congress. Notification of these reporting requirements will be made to the reports control unit by the recipient of the request.

B. Interagency. The office receiving reporting requirements directly from other agencies will send a copy of the request to their designated reports control unit for inclusion in the reports inventory. Interagency reporting requirements that do not have a reports control symbol, indicating that they have not been approved by the General Services Administration (GSA), will be challenged by the control unit. Action officials need not respond to unapproved requests unless:

(1) The report is exempt from GSA approval; or

(2) The approval was granted by GSA after the request for the report was initiated.

C. Internal. Although the development of a reporting requirement is largely the responsibility of the initiating office, coordination with the reports control unit in the development stage is encouraged. This coordination will assure an early review of reports, forms, and directives involved, and their analysis under standards prescribed for these programs. The designated reports control unit must review, analyze, approve, and assign identifying symbols to reporting requirements before the reports are imposed upon respondents.

7.6 Reports Control Operations. Reports control includes the operation of a designated reports control unit, review and analysis of proposed reporting requirements, establishment of official records, assignment of reports symbols, review of currency of reporting requirements; coordination of reporting system reviews, and compilation of reference aids.

A. Review Procedures. The procedures established for submission of reporting requirements for review, including specification of materials to be submitted, will be published in an appropriate directive by each bureau within the Department.

B. Reports Analysis. The reports control unit will review and analyze an internal reporting requirement before it is approved for issuance. Factors listed in Appendix 1 should be addressed in the analysis. While it is the most common practice to perform reports analysis during the initial development of a new report, it may also be included as an integral part of other management analysis projects, surveys, special studies, or systems analysis.

C. Assigning Report Symbols.

(1) Report symbols are assigned to individual reporting requirements to distinguish one report from another, to indicate reports control review and approval, to assist in handling management data and information on the reports program, and to help in compiling reference aids. Once assigned, a symbol applies to all submissions of the report, and is employed to identify the same reporting requirement at all organizational levels. Canceled symbols are not reused.

(2) Interagency report symbols assigned by the General Services Administration (GSA) will be used to identify interagency reporting requirements within the Department of the Interior.

(3) Internal report symbols will be assigned to the following reporting requirements:

(a) Interagency reports awaiting the assignment of a report symbol by GSA.

(b) Interagency reports exempt from GSA clearance.

(c) Reports required by statute or at the request of Congress.

(d) Reports required by the Department or its bureaus and offices.

(e) Reports required by one bureau of another bureau within the Department.

(f) Reports required by a bureau of its field offices.

D. Report Symbol Elements. Report symbol elements will be assigned to reporting requirements identified in 381 DM 7.6C(3) and will consist of the following three elements:

(1) The first element will be an alphabetic abbreviation identifying the organization of origin. Commonly accepted abbreviations for external organizations will be used, such as OPM, GAO, TD, DOL, GSA, etc. For reports originated within the Department, codes specified for major organizations of the Department are used (DOI, LW, FWS). The code ADOI@ will be used for all organizations of the Office of the Secretary, except the Program Assistant Secretaries and Other Departmental Offices responsible to them, for which the abbreviations of each Program Assistant Secretary will be used.

(2) The second element will be two digits for the fiscal year in which the report was initiated.

(3) The third element will be the numeric or alphanumeric description assigned to the report for control purposes. Within the third element, wide discretion is allowed to permit initiation of new schemes suited to bureau administrative requirements.

(4) Examples of report symbols developed according to this paragraph follow. Note that the three prescribed elements are separated by a dash.

E. Reports Control Records. Each reports control unit will maintain the control records listed below for all internal reports approved by the unit, regardless of origin.

(1) Historical Files. Normally, the information needed to establish a record of each reporting requirement is provided by the issuance of a directive, or through the establishment of a new form. Directives and forms establishing or changing a reporting requirement are to be submitted to the designated reports control unit in the preliminary stages of development. From this, a historical file should be created for each new report and revisions noted to previously established reports. Each file (manual or automated) should contain the following:

(a) Cognizant office (sponsor or requirer).

(b) Justification for the report.

(c) Who reports.

(d) What is reported.

(e) When report is due.

(f) To whom it is submitted. Via whom?

(g) How to prepare the report.

(h) Who gets copies.

(i) How the information is used.

(j) Exceptions or exclusions in reporting.

(k) The prescribing directive.

(l) Report symbol.

(m) The originating office=s estimate of staff hours used to develop the requirements and staff hours required to prepare the request.

(n) The originating office=s estimate of total dollar costs including the money value of the staff hours listed in 7.6E(1)(m) above plus the direct costs of equipment, supplies and machine time required. Information on detailed techniques for determining report costs is given in 41 CFR 101-11.207-3(c).

(2) Program Management Data. Each report control unit will maintain program management data on reports under its control:

(a) Number of reports in inventory at beginning of fiscal year.

(b) Number approved and added.

(c) Number canceled.

(d) Number revised to reduce cost.

(e) Number proposed, but not approved.

(f) Net number in inventory at end of fiscal year

(3) Inventories. Each reports control unit will maintain a current inventory of reports. At least annually, inventories are to be reviewed by offices requiring reports to evaluate the need for continuation of the requirement. The use of ADP equipment to maintain inventories is encouraged because it facilitates sorting of data elements and expedites updating. Inventories may be published through established directives systems. Inventories should be published and distributed to requirers and respondents, at least annually, showing the following for each report:

(a) Report symbol.

(b) Title.

(c) Frequency.

(d) Prescribing directive.

(e) Forms used

(f) Cognizant office.

(g) Respondents.

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381 DM 7

Appendix 1

1. Is the establishment of the reporting requirement within the authority of the originator?

2. Does the report duplicate any information already available? Could information from ADP data banks be used?

3. Does the information meet a demonstrable need?

4. What would be the consequences of doing without the report?

5. Could management objectives be met if the report were required:

6. Is the reporting requirement expressed in an official directive issued to respondents? Does the directive state clearly and definitely that a report is required, and:

7. If the probability of automation exists, has an ADP professional been involved in the early stages of development in order to insure optimum input and output design?

4/21/83 #2486

Replaces 7/22/76 #1905