information quality and peer review

On February 22, 2002, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Information Quality Guidelines to ''provide policy and procedural guidance to federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including statistical information) disseminated by federal agencies.'' (see www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible2.pdf)

The Department of the Interior developed its own information quality guidelines (May 24, 2002) and required Interior offices and bureaus to do the same. (see http://www.doi.gov/ocio/information_management/upload/515Guides.pdf)

In a Federal Register notice of November 13, 2002, the Office of Surface Mining announced the availability of guidelines to ensure that information quality within the Office of Surface Mining would be consistent with Office of Management and Budget and Interior requirements. (see http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=fr13no02-108.pdf )

Then, on January 14, 2005, the Office of Management and Budget published in the Federal Register an information quality bulletin that specifically addressed peer review of scientific information within the federal government. the Office of Management and Budget directed all federal agencies to develop agency-specific systems for scientific peer review that would be consistent with the Office of Management and Budget bulletin. (see http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/fedreg/2005/011405_peer.pdf)

To comply with the Office of Management and Budget's peer review bulletin, Interior offices and bureaus have created web sites providing the public with information about planned agency actions that meet the Office of Management and Budget's requirements for scientific peer review: (see http://www.doi.gov/ocio/information_management/iq.cfm)

Office of Surface Mining's Peer Review Agenda:

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive, Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review, dated December 15, 2004 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2005/m05-03.pdf), requires that there be a “systematic process of peer review planning” and access to a list of information products for official dissemination that will be peer reviewed as either influential scientific information or highly influential scientific assessments.

Based on the review it has conducted, the Office of Surface Mining has not identified any upcoming Influential Scientific Information, including Highly Influential Scientific Assessments, at this time.

Challenging the Accuracy of Information:

Under Office of Management and Budget information quality requirements, individuals may challenge the accuracy of information disseminated by a federal agency and seek to have the information corrected. The Office of Surface Mining's procedures for addressing challenges are found in our November 13, 2002, Federal Register Notice, Section III. A: How to Challenge Information Quality. (see http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=fr13no02-108.pdf )

Other Guidance and Policy