Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public

K. Office of the Secretary

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Office Mission
Scope and Applicability of Guidelines for Agency
Types of Information Disseminated by the Agency to the Public
Types of Dissemination Methods
Quality Assurance Policies, Standards and Processes for Ensuring the Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public
Administrative Complaint Procedures
Influential Scientific, Financial and Statistical Information

Office of the Inspector General

Office of Public Health and Science

Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Planning and Evaluation

Office Mission

The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) advises the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on policy development in health, disability, human services, and science, and provides advice and analysis on economic policy. ASPE leads special initiatives, coordinates the Department's evaluation, research and demonstration activities, and manages cross-Department activities such as strategic planning, legislative planning and review of regulations. Integral to this role, ASPE conducts research and evaluation studies, develops policy analyses and estimates the cost and benefits of policy alternatives under consideration by the Department or Congress.

Scope and Applicability of Guidelines

ASPE will ensure that disseminated information meets the standards of quality set forth in the OMB, HHS and ASPE guidelines. It is ASPE�s goal to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information that it disseminates to the public. We strive to provide information that is accurate, reliable, clear, complete, unbiased, and useful. We are committed to integrating the principle of information quality into every phase of information development, including creation, collection, maintenance, and dissemination. The pre-dissemination review described in the guidelines only applies to information disseminated on or after October 1, 2002. The administrative mechanism for correction applies to information that the agency disseminates on or after October 1, 2002, regardless of when the agency first disseminated the information. The guidelines apply to the following kinds of information that the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) disseminates: (1) the reports of research and evaluation projects that ASPE sponsors. These reports are usually the results of research that has been conducted for ASPE by contractors under our direction. (2) The final reports of projects supported by grants from ASPE may also be disseminated by ASPE. (3) ASPE staff occasionally write papers for publication and distribution. These reports are formal documents which have gone through several reviews within both within the author's organization and within ASPE. The Office also produces materials that are not distributed externally. These materials are intended to inform the policy-making process. These materials consist of briefing papers and technical analyses concerning proposed legislative changes, the requirements of new legislation or descriptions of programs or initiatives. While these papers may eventually be distributed externally after the policy-making process is concluded, as required by the Freedom of Information Act, they are not intended to be disseminated widely and consequently are not covered under these guidelines. Further, the guidelines do not apply to press releases that support the announcement or give public notice of information that ASPE has disseminated elsewhere.

Types of Information Disseminated

Research and evaluation reports
Annual plans
Lists of projects in progress or completed
Project summaries
Annotated bibliographies
Lists of sources of data
Reports to Congress
Data files for public use
Tabulations and charts of data relevant to particular topics, such as welfare dependence and child well-being

Types of Dissemination Methods

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation provides both printed copies and electronic copies of the reports it selects for dissemination. The individual components of ASPE have responsibility for the dissemination of the products of their research and evaluation efforts. Each component maintains mailing lists and conducts direct mailings that are limited to the intended audience of the publication. In addition, some components have developed extensive electronic mailing lists that notify subscribers of the availability of new reports on the ASPE website. In some circumstances, a plan for the dissemination of a specific product may be developed to ensure widespread dissemination to a particular audience. Such a plan might include notices to appropriate media outlets, interviews, and presentations at conferences and other meetings.

Agency Quality Assurance Policies, Standards and Processes for Ensuring the Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public

From their inception, research and evaluation projects and any other information developmental efforts that are undertaken by ASPE are subjected to a quality assurance process. Further, ASPE reviews the quality (including the objectivity, utility, and integrity) of information before it�s disseminated and treats information quality as integral to every step of the development of information, including its creation, collection, maintenance and dissemination. Each project is developed with the knowledge that the purpose, proposed methodology and work plan will have to be defended before a peer review panel. The members of the panel are appointed for at least a year at a time and are technically qualified by their professional training and experience. The process for conducting this peer review has been established for many years and refined as circumstances have changed. Requests for changes in the design of proposed projects are not infrequent. Projects are not approved for funding until the peer review panel is satisfied that the project design and work plan have a reasonable expectation of providing a useful product. All projects involving original large scale data collected from the public undergo an exacting, rigorous multi-level review process in connection with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Further, ASPE is committed to demonstrating in its PRA clearance packages that each draft information collection will result in information that will be collected, maintained, and used in a way that is consistent with OMB, HHS and ASPE information quality guidelines.

Reports that are selected for dissemination to the public undergo the following processes: Every report that is received as the result of a grant or contract is reviewed by the project officer and that person�s supervisor. If necessary, a technical expert may be asked to review the report and offer an opinion. A decision is made whether the report may be distributed or not. A further decision is made whether to seek support for a more extensive dissemination effort.

If a more extensive dissemination effort is recommended, a more thorough review process involving other organizations is initiated. This will usually follow formal clearance procedures controlled by the Executive Secretariat in the Office of the Secretary. Offices outside of ASPE, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and one or more operating divisions with an interest in the report�s contents are asked to concur in the release of the report and provide comments. Editorial changes may be made as a result of this review.

Agency Administrative Complaint Procedures

ASPE has developed administrative mechanisms to allow affected persons to seek and obtain correction of disseminated information that does not comply with OMB, HHS and ASPE guidelines. Complaints about the quality or accuracy of the information being disseminated in a report or other document should be addressed in writing, by mail to:

Coordinator of Information Dissemination
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
200 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201 or

e-mail your complaint to: Infoquality.aspe@hhs.gov

A. Responsibility of the Complainant

To seek correction of information disseminated by the agency, individuals should follow the procedures described below.

1. A complaint or request for review and correction of information shall be in written hard copy or electronic form;

2. it shall be sent to the agency by mail or electronic-mail(e-mail); and

3. it shall state that an information quality request for correction is being submitted.

4. a detailed description of the specific material that needs to be corrected including where the material is located, i.e. the publication title, date, and publication number, if any, or the Web site and Web page address (url), or the speech title, presenter, date and place of delivery; and

5. the specific reasons for believing the information does not comply with OMB, HHS or ASPE guidelines and is in error and supporting documentation, if any;

6. the specific recommendations for correcting the information;

7. a description of how the person submitting the complaint is affected by the information error; and

8. the name, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, and organizational affiliation, if any, of the individual making the complaint.

9. Complainants should be aware that they bear the �burden of proof� with respect to the necessity for correction as well as with respect to the type of correction they seek.

B. Responsibility of the Agency

Based on a review of the information provided, the agency will determine whether a correction is warranted and, if so, what action to take. The agency will respond to the requestor by letter or e-mail. The agency�s response will explain the findings of the review and the actions that the agency will take, if any. The response will consider the nature and timeliness of the information involved and such factors as the significance of the correction on the use of the information and the magnitude of the correction. The response will describe how the complainant may request reconsideration. The agency will respond to all requests for correction within 60 calendar days of receipt. If the request requires more than 60 calendar days to resolve, the agency will inform the complainant that more time is required and indicate the reason why and an estimated decision date.

C. Appeals

If the individual submitting the complaint does not agree with the agency's decision (including the corrective action, if any), the complainant may send a written hard copy or electronic request for reconsideration within 30 days of receipt of the agency's decision. The appeal shall state the reasons why the agency response is insufficient or inadequate. Complainants shall attach a copy of their original request and the agency response to it, clearly mark the appeal with the words, Information Quality Appeal and send the appeal to the specific agency appeals address. The agency official who resolved the original complaint will not have responsibility for the appeal. The agency will respond to all requests for appeals within 60 calendar days of receipt. If the request requires more than 60 calendar days to resolve, the agency will inform the complainant that more time is required and indicate the reason why and an estimated decision date.

Influential Scientific, Financial and Statistical Information

ASPE prepares revisions to the poverty guidelines that are published each year by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The guidelines are a simplification of the poverty thresholds (published by the Census Bureau) and are used for a variety of administrative purposes for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. The methodology for calculating these amounts is well-established and documented. The accuracy can be independently verified. At times individual reports of the kind described above may contribute to decisions having major national impacts. In all such instances, the methods, measures, procedures, data sources, limitations and assumptions are described in the report itself to assure that the findings are substantially reproducible. In some instances, the data itself is available to researchers as public use data file. In addition, these reports contain the name of an ASPE contact person.

Last revised: November 12, 2003

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