Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Human Nutrition Information Service's (HNIS) 1987-88 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey (NFCS), focusing on the: (1) methodological soundness of the 1987-88 survey; and (2) effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture's management of the contractor hired to conduct the survey.

GAO found that: (1) flaws in the methodology of the 1987-88 survey, deviations from the survey's original design, and lax collection and processing controls raised doubts about the quality of the data in the 1987-88 survey; (2) results from the survey were not representative of the U.S. population, since only 34 percent of the households in the basic sample provided individual intake data; (3) some households may have been discouraged by the length and complexity of the NFCS questionnaire and the absence of incentives to participate; (4) poor contract management contributed to cost overruns, delays, and the contractor's failure to complete certain contract tasks; (5) contract costs increased from $6.2 million to $7.6 million and contract completion was delayed by 2 years; (6) the contracting officer's representative frequently exceeded his authority by directing the contractor to forego certain contract requirements and undertake unspecified work, and the contracting officer did not monitor the contract; and (7) the contractor did not complete key procedures required by the contract, which violated internal controls designed to protect the government from fraud, waste, and abuse.