These general information quality guidelines
apply to all types of information disseminated by USDA agencies
and offices..
- USDA will strive to ensure and maximize the quality,
objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information
that its agencies and offices disseminate to the public.
- USDA agencies and offices will adopt a basic standard
of quality (including objectivity, utility, and integrity)
and take appropriate steps to incorporate information quality
criteria into their information dissemination practices.
- USDA agencies and offices will review the quality (including
objectivity, utility, and integrity) of information before
it is disseminated to ensure that it complies with the
standards set forth in these Guidelines.
- USDA agencies and offices will treat information quality
as integral to every step in their development of information,
including creation, collection, maintenance, and dissemination.
- In accordance with OMB guidance, when collecting information
that requires OMB clearance under the Paperwork Reduction
Act, USDA agencies and offices will demonstrate in the
clearance package submitted to OMB that the information
collection would result in information that will comply
with OMB and USDA information quality guidelines.
The following information quality criteria
comprise the general quality standards that USDA agencies
and offices will follow in developing and reviewing information
and disseminating it to the public.
Objectivity
- USDA agencies and offices will strive to ensure that
the information they disseminate is substantively accurate,
reliable, and unbiased and presented in an accurate, clear,
complete, and unbiased manner.
- To the extent possible, consistent with confidentiality
protections, USDA agencies and offices will identify the
source of the information so that the public can assess
whether the information is objective.
Utility
- USDA agencies and offices will assess the usefulness
of the information they disseminate to its intended users,
including the public.
- When transparency of information is relevant for assessing
the information's usefulness from the public's perspective,
USDA agencies and offices will ensure that transparency
is addressed in their review of the information prior to
its dissemination.
- USDA agencies and offices will ensure that disseminated
information is accessible to all persons pursuant to the
requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Integrity
- USDA agencies and offices will protect information they
maintain from unauthorized access or revision to ensure
that disseminated information is not compromised through
corruption or falsification.
- USDA agencies and offices will secure their information
resources by implementing the programs and policies required
by the Government Information Security Reform Act.
- USDA agencies and offices will maintain the integrity
of confidential information and comply with the statutory
requirements to protect the information it gathers and
disseminates. These include: The Privacy Act of 1974,
as amended; The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; The Computer
Security Act of 1987; The Freedom of Information Act; and
OMB Circulars A-123, A-127, and A-130.
http://www.ocio.usda.gov/qi_guide/index.html
Last Modified:
07/25/2007
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