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Instructions for FY’07 Report pursuant to the Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review

As you prepare your report, please ensure that your agency’s Peer Review Agenda (the Agenda) includes agency plans for the foreseeable future and that each Agenda entry is up to date regarding both the timing of the review and whether the review has been completed.  Agenda entries should be updated whenever new information becomes available; every six months is the minimum for updating the Agenda. 

Once a peer review has been completed (that is, the final product has been edited to reflect the reviewers’ comments), the Agenda entry should be updated to include a link to the peer review charge, the reviewers’ names, and the peer reviewers’ comments, as well as the final version of the product.  For highly influential scientific assessments, the agency’s responses also should be posted.  Two examples of good practice are the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service  agenda and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agenda.

Please use the attached template to record peer reviews conducted pursuant to the Bulletin between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007.  This form has two parts:  1) A “department-level summary,” which should aggregate information across all of the agencies/bureaus/offices in the department and 2) an “agency report” that should be completed by each agency within a department.  A separate “agency report” should be completed for each agency that produces information subject to the Bulletin.  For those agencies that do not have any peer reviews to report for this fiscal year, it is necessary to complete only the General Information component of the “agency report.”  Agencies that are not part of departments do not have to complete the summary page; they should type “Not Applicable” on the “Department” line.

To ensure consistency across agencies, please use the guidance below to determine which peer reviews were “conducted” during the last fiscal year, and thus should be reported.

Agencies that reported last year that they do not produce information subject to the Bulletin do not need to fill out a report this year unless the disclaimer no longer applies.  Rather, those agencies should send an email to OMB_peer_review@omb.eop.gov with the agency’s current point of contact for the Bulletin and the current URL to the disclaimer.   The agencies to which this applies are listed in Appendix C-3 of OMB’s draft 2007 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations.  The template for the appropriate disclaimer is shown below: 

“based on the review it has conducted, the [AGENCY] believes that it does not currently produce or sponsor the distribution of influential scientific information (including highly influential scientific assessments) within the definitions promulgated by OMB.  As a result, at this time the [AGENCY] has no agenda of forthcoming influential scientific disseminations to post on its website in accordance with OMB's Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review.”

Agencies not listed in Appendix C-3 should submit a report this year.  Please send your draft Peer Review Bulletin Annual Report (Due December 17, 2007) to OMB_peer_review@omb.eop.govPlease do not post your draft report on your web-page until OMB review is complete.    Should you have any questions related to the Peer Review report, please contact Margo Schwab (202 395-5647) mschwab@omb.eop.gov.


Template for FY’07 Report pursuant to the
Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review

I.  Summary Page for Department (if Applicable)

Department ___________________________________________

Departmental Contact for Implementation of the Bulletin for Peer Review
Name and title:
Email address:
Phone number:

Provide theURL for Department’s portal for compliance with the Bulletin
____________________________________

Is this URL:
A  Department-wide Peer Review Agenda  (Y/N) or  
A set of links to each agency (bureau or office’s) agenda  (Y/N)?___

How would a member of the public locate this peer review portal if she/he did not have this URL?  Check all that apply:
A link from Department’s home page _____
A link from Department’s Information Quality home page ________
Other means, e.g., a link from a science page (please describe) __________________

Number of peer reviews conducted subject to the Bulletin in FY’07 (see instructions for what should and should not be included here). 

Number of influential scientific information peer reviews (ISI) (not including highly influential scientific assessments) _________

Number of highly influential scientific assessments (HISA)   ________
        
Number of Waivers, Deferrals, Exemptions, or Alternative Procedures used:  Total # ____   

Number of peer reviews that included at least one peer reviewer appointed pursuant to any exception to the applicable independence or conflict of interest standards of the Bulletin, including determinations by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary pursuant to Section III (3) (c).
Total # ____   

Number of peer review panels that held in conjunction with public meetings:  Total # ____   

Number of public comments provided on the Department’s peer review plans during FY 07, regardless of whether the peer review was actually completed during FY 07:      Total # ____   


 Template for FY’07 Report pursuant to the
Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review

II.Agency Report

GENERAL INFORMAITON

Agency __________________________

Agency Contact for Implementation of the Peer Review Bulletin

Name and title:
Email address:
Phone number:

URL for Agency’s Peer Review Agenda  ____________________________________

What pathway(s) can a member of the public use to find the Agency’s peer review agenda if she/he did not have this URL? 

Does the agenda provide links to peer review reports for all completed peer reviews?  ______________


INFORMATION ABOUT REVIEWS CONDUCTED

Number of peer reviews conducted subject to the Bulletin in FY07.  (see instructions for what should and should not be included here). 

Number of influential scientific information peer reviews (ISI) (not including highly influential scientific assessments)  _________

Number of highly influential scientific assessments (HISA)   ________  
List the title of each HISA. Indicate whether the Peer Review Report has been Completed (Y/N) add more lines as needed

Provide the titles of ISIs and HISIs for which Waivers (W), Deferrals (D), or Exemptions (E) were invoked or Alternative Procedures used (A).  If deferral is marked, please indicate the duration of the deferral.

Title of Document                                                      Type of Document          W, D, E, or A
ISI or HISA                (and duration)

Number of peer reviews that included at least one peer reviewer appointed pursuant to any exception to the applicable independence or conflict of interest standards of the Bulletin, including determinations by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary pursuant to Section III (3) (c)?

Number of ISIs (not including highly influential scientific assessments) ______

List titles

Number of HISAs  ______

List titles

Number of peer review panels that held public meetings:
Number of ISIs  (not including highly influential scientific assessments)_______
Number of HISAs  ________

Number of peer review panels that allowed public comment:
Number of ISIs  (not including highly influential scientific assessments)_______
Number of HISAs  ________

Number of public comments provided on the agency’s peer review plans during FY 07, regardless of whether the peer review was actually completed during FY 07 _________

Number of times agency specifically solicited peer reviewer nominations from professional societies.  ___________   
If such nominations were solicited, were any recommendations provided?  Yes ___    No ___

As stated in the November 28, 2005, memo from the Deputy Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,  the Agenda is not a six month forecast (i.e., it should not be limited to information (documents) that the agency plans to disseminate (or peer review) in the next six months). 

APHIS:  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/about_aphis/peer_review-agenda.shtml  External link disclaimer. 

CDChttp://www2a.cdc.gov/od/peer/peer.asp  External link disclaimer. 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/2007_cb/2007_draft_cb_report.pdf

 

Posted: December 14, 2007

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