[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 198 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63452-63455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25932]


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NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION


Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Disseminated Information

AGENCY: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

ACTION: Final guidelines.

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SUMMARY: NCUA is issuing final guidelines for ensuring the quality of 
disseminated information. The guidelines are in response to Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) issued government-wide guidelines. The goal 
of the guidelines is to ensure that information disseminated by NCUA 
is: Useful to the intended user of the information; presented in an 
accurate, clear, complete and unbiased manner; and protected from 
unauthorized access or revision. The guidelines also provide an 
administrative mechanism for an affected person to request correction 
of information disseminated by NCUA.

DATES: Effective October 1, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The final guidelines are available at 
www.ncua.gov. For additional information contact Neil McNamara, Deputy 
Chief Information Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 
22314-3428 or telephone number: (703) 518-6440 or Mary F. Rupp, Staff 
Attorney, Office of General Counsel, at the above address or telephone 
number: (703) 518-6540.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 515 of the Treasury and General Appropriations Act for 
Fiscal Year 2001 (Pub. L. 106-554, 114 Stat. 2763) directs each agency 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) to issue 
customized guidelines for ensuring the quality of the information it 
disseminates. The agencies were to base their guidelines on final 
guidelines issued by OMB and to post proposed guidelines by May 1, 
2002. 67 FR 8452 (February 22, 2002).
    NCUA posted proposed guidelines on its Web site on May 1, 2002, and 
they were published in the Federal Register on May 8, 2002. 67 FR 30976 
(May 8, 2002). NCUA received no comments specific to its guidelines. It 
received two, generic comment letters sent to all federal agencies. 
Based on those comments, NCUA has amended its guidelines to address 
specifically whether administrative correction methods in rulemaking 
proceedings.
    The goal of these guidelines is to ensure that information 
disseminated by the NCUA Board is: useful to the intended users of the 
information; presented in an accurate, clear, complete and unbiased 
manner; and protected from unauthorized access or revision. Section 515 
also requires the agencies to include in their guidelines 
``administrative mechanisms allowing affected persons to seek and 
obtain correction of information maintained and disseminated by the 
agency.''

Guidelines

Policy

    NCUA will undertake to ensure that the information it disseminates 
to the public is objective (accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased), 
useful and has integrity. Most information disseminated by NCUA is 
subject to the basic standard described in these guidelines. Additional 
levels of quality standards are adopted as appropriate for specific 
categories of disseminated information. The OMB guidelines

[[Page 63453]]

require ``influential scientific, financial or statistical 
information'' to meet a higher standard of quality. OMB defines 
``influential'' to mean, ``the agency can reasonably determine that 
dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and 
substantial impact on important public policies or important private 
sector decisions.'' Id. at 8455. Influential information disseminated 
by NCUA is subject to a level higher than the basic standard. The 
NCUA's Chief Information Officer (CIO) serves as the agency official 
charged with overseeing the agency's compliance with OMB guidelines for 
the quality of information disseminated by NCUA.

Scope

    NCUA will review all information disseminated for its quality 
before it is disseminated. The agency's pre-dissemination review and 
the guidelines in this document will apply to information that the 
agency first disseminates on or after October 1, 2002. The agency's 
administrative mechanism for correcting information will apply to 
information that the agency disseminates on or after October 1, 2002, 
regardless of when the agency first disseminated the information.
    These guidelines apply to NCUA information dissemination in all 
media and formats, including print, electronic, audio/visual, or some 
other form. Information includes books, papers, CD-ROMs, electronic 
documents, or other documentary material disseminated to the public by 
NCUA. The guidelines apply to information disseminated by NCUA from a 
web page, but they do not apply to hyperlinks from NCUA's Web site to 
information that others disseminate. Nor do the guidelines apply to 
opinions if it is clear that what is being offered is someone's 
opinion, rather than fact or the agency's views. The guidelines do not 
apply to distribution limited to correspondence with individuals or 
persons, press releases, archival records, library holdings, public 
filings, subpoena, or adjudicative processes. Documents and information 
disseminated but neither authored by NCUA nor adopted as representing 
NCUA's views are not covered by these guidelines.
    Dissemination means agency initiated or sponsored distribution of 
information to the public. Dissemination does not include: distribution 
limited to government employees or agency contractors or grantees; 
intra-agency or inter-agency use or sharing of governmental 
information; or responses to requests for agency records under the 
Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act or other similar law.

Process for Ensuring Quality of Information at the Basic Standard

    The Section 515 guidelines issued by OMB focus primarily on the 
dissemination of substantive information, for example, reports, studies 
and summaries, rather than information pertaining to basic agency 
operations. NCUA reviews all information before dissemination to assure 
that it meets the basic quality standard. Most information disseminated 
by NCUA does not require the higher standard of review associated with 
influential information.
    As stated in the Policy section of these guidelines, NCUA's basic 
quality standard for information involves objectivity, utility, and 
integrity. Objectivity involves two distinct elements: presentation and 
substance. Objective presentation means the information is presented 
within a proper context to ensure an accurate, clear, complete and 
unbiased presentation. Objective substance means the data, the 
analytical process, and the resulting reports are accurate, reliable 
and unbiased. To the extent possible, and consistent with 
confidentiality protections, NCUA will identify the source of 
disseminated information so the public can assess whether the 
information is objective. The utility of information refers to its 
usefulness to its intended users, including the public. Integrity 
refers to the security of information, in other words, the protection 
of information from unauthorized access or revision.
    NCUA's CIO is charged with primary oversight responsibility for 
assuring that all disseminated information meets the basic quality 
standard. The CIO relies on the Office Director with primary 
responsibility for the disseminated information to ensure that the pre-
dissemination review process is performed and documented at a level 
appropriate for the type of information disseminated. The 
OfficeDirectors will use internal peer reviews and other review 
mechanisms to ensure that disseminated information is objective, 
unbiased, and accurate in both presentation and substance. The approval 
of information before dissemination will be documented. This 
documentation may include routing slips, clearance forms, e-mails and 
other approval mechanisms currently used to assure the quality of 
disseminated information.
    The Office Director with primary responsibility is also responsible 
for ensuring the utility and integrity of the information disseminated 
by his or her office. Information is useful only if it can be 
retrieved. Therefore, the Office Director should ensure that 
information published on the NCUA's Web site is retrievable by the 
public.
    For all proposed collections of information under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA), NCUA should demonstrate in its PRA clearance 
submissions to OMB that the proposed collection of information will 
result in information that will be collected, maintained and used in a 
way consistent with OMB and NCUA information quality guidelines.
    The security and integrity of agency information is addressed in 
NCUA Instruction No. 13500.04, ``Agency-Wide Information Security 
Policy & Procedures'' and the NCUA agency-wide electronic systems 
records retention schedule. Office Directors are responsible for 
ensuring that information is protected from unauthorized revision, 
falsification, corruption, and intentional or inadvertent destruction. 
In particular, the originating Office Director is responsible for 
ensuring that the record copy of information products is filed in the 
appropriate official record keeping system and included in an approved 
records retention schedule. All NCUA employees are responsible for 
following security procedures intended to safeguard sensitive 
information. The originating Office Directors are required to review 
and update the security plans for their systems each year. The CIO 
provides an ongoing security-training program for agency staff. NCUA 
also has a comprehensive internal control program, including 
management, operational and technical controls, designed to protect the 
integrity of agency systems and information. The CIO, the Information 
Security Officer, and the Records Officer of NCUA advise the Office 
Directors and other employees, as needed on the implementation of 
appropriate security and records management procedures.
    The originating Office Director is to review disseminated 
information on a regular basis, including information on the NCUA Web 
site, to ensure that information is current, timely, and correct.

Process for Ensuring Quality of Information at a Level Higher Than the 
Basic Standard

    Some of the information disseminated by NCUA is influential, 
meaning that the ``information will have or does have a clear and 
substantial impact on

[[Page 63454]]

important public policies or important private sector decisions.'' Id. 
at 8455.
    OMB has instructed the agencies to take into account their missions 
in determining whether the information they disseminate is influential. 
NCUA's primary mission is to ensure the safety and soundness of 
federally insured credit unions. NCUA collects financial data from 
credit unions and produces statistical reports based on that data. This 
information is potentially influential. Both the individual credit 
union data and the statistical reports are made available to the 
public. These reports assist the NCUA in its functions as regulator and 
insurer, as well as credit unions and the public in their financial 
decisions. The information is considered influential if important 
public policies or important private sector decisions are made based on 
it. To ensure the accuracy of the original data, NCUA staff or the 
appropriate state regulator reviews it for accuracy. The data is then 
collected by NCUA's Office of Examination and Insurance (E&I) and 
reviewed for discrepancies. E&I then prepares summary statistical and 
trend reports for distribution to the general public. The original data 
on which these statistical and trend reports are based is available to 
the public, making the statistical and trend reports reproducible. 
Every possible step is taken to ensure the accuracy of the underlying 
data. The computer program used by credit unions for their initial 
submission of the call report data is designed to detect errors before 
submission. Next, the credit union's examiner or the appropriate state 
regulator reviews the call report to assure that the information is 
accurate. Finally, the summary information for federally-insured credit 
unions is reviewed by E&I to detect any errors. With these steps in 
place, NCUA is assuring the accuracy and reproducibility of information 
that is potentially influential.

Administrative Correction Methods

Background

    NCUA has developed a procedure to seek correction of information 
under Section 515. These procedures are designed to be flexible, 
appropriate to the nature and timeliness of the information 
disseminated and incorporated into NCUA's information resources 
management and administrative practices. An affected person may request 
correction of information disseminated by NCUA. An affected person 
means anyone who may benefit or be harmed by the disseminated 
information. Documents and information disseminated but neither 
authored by NCUA nor adopted as representing NCUA's views are not 
covered by these guidelines.
    Certain disseminations of information include a comprehensive 
public comment process, e.g., notices of proposed rulemaking. The 
administrative correction method described in these guidelines does not 
apply to such documents. Persons questioning information disseminated 
in such a document must submit comments as directed in that document. 
In cases where NCUA disseminates a study, analysis, or other 
information prior to the final agency action, request for correction 
will be considered prior to the final agency action if NCUA has 
determined that an earlier response would not unduly delay issuance of 
the agency action and the complainant has shown a reasonable likelihood 
of suffering actual harm from NCUA's dissemination if NCUA does not 
resolve the complaint prior to the final agency action.

Procedure

    An affected person may submit his or her request to NCUA's CIO, and 
the CIO will forward it to the appropriate NCUA Office Director for a 
determination. All requests should be addressed to: Chief Information 
Officer, Office of Chief Information Officer, National Credit Union 
Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428.
    The request should state that the correction of information is 
submitted under section 515 of Public Law 106-554 and include the 
requester's name and mailing address. The request should describe the 
information asserted to be incorrect, including the name of the report 
or data product where the information is located, the date of issuance, 
and a detailed description of the information to be corrected. The 
request should also state specifically why the information does not 
comply with NCUA or OMB guidelines and should be corrected, and, if 
possible, recommend specifically how it should be corrected, and 
provide any supporting documentary evidence, such as comparable data or 
research results on the same topic to help in the review of the 
request.
    If the Office Director determines that a request does not 
reasonably describe the disseminated information the requester asserts 
to be incorrect, the Office Director will either advise the requester 
what additional information is needed to identify the particular 
information or otherwise state why the request is insufficient.
    The Office Director will coordinate with the appropriate NCUA 
officials to determine whether or not to correct information. The 
nature, influence, and timeliness of the information involved, the 
significance of the correction on the use of the information, and the 
magnitude of the correction will determine the level of review and the 
degree and manner of any corrective action.
    The Office Director will respond to a request within 60 calendar 
days. The response will explain the findings of the review and the 
actions NCUA will take. If NCUA denies the request, the response will 
explain the right to an appeal and how to apply for it. The Office 
Director may extend the 60 days for up to 30 more business days. If 
extended, the Office Director will send an interim response that states 
why more time is needed and when a response may be expected. The 60-day 
response period begins on the day the request is received by the CIO.
    A denial of a request to correct a record may be appealed to the 
CIO within 30 calendar days of the date of the denial letter. Appeals 
must be in writing, state the basis for the appeal, and provide any 
supporting documentation. Appeals must be addressed to the Chief 
Information Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, National 
Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-
3428. Appeals must be decided within 60 calendar days unless the CIO, 
for good cause, extends the period for an additional 30 calendar days. 
If extended, the CIO will send an interim response that states why more 
time is needed and when a response may be expected. The CIO will notify 
the appellant whether his or her request was granted or denied and what 
corrective action, if any, the NCUA will take.
    These procedures for correcting information will apply to 
information that NCUA disseminates on or after October 1, 2002, 
regardless of when the agency first disseminated the information.

Annual Reports to OMB

    NCUA will submit an annual fiscal year report to OMB providing 
information, both quantitative and qualitative, on the number, nature 
and resolution of complaints received by the agency regarding the 
accuracy of information it disseminates. The report is to be submitted 
on an annual fiscal year basis no later than January 1 of the following 
year. The first report will cover fiscal year 2003 and will be 
submitted to OMB by January 1, 2004.

[[Page 63455]]

Definitions

    1. Dissemination means NCUA initiated or sponsored distribution of 
information to the public. Dissemination does not include distribution 
limited to government employees or agency contractors or grantees; 
intra-agency or inter-agency use or sharing of government information; 
and responses to requests for agency records under the Freedom of 
Information Act, the Privacy Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act or 
other similar law.
    2. Influential means that NCUA can reasonably determine that 
dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and 
substantial impact on important public policies or important private 
sector decisions.
    3. Information means any communication or representation of 
knowledge such as fact or data, in any medium or form, including 
textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic, narrative or audiovisual 
forms, whether on paper, film or electronic media and whether 
disseminated via fax, recording, machine readable data or Web site. 
This definition includes information from NCUA's web page, but does not 
include the provision of hyperlinks to information that others 
disseminate. It also does not include distribution limited to 
correspondence with individuals or persons, press releases that 
announce or give public notice of information that the NCUA has 
disseminated elsewhere, archival records, public filings, subpoenas, 
adjudicative processes or opinions, unless that opinion is the NCUA's 
official point of view.
    4. Integrity refers to the security of information--protection of 
the information from unauthorized access or revision, to ensure that 
the information is not compromised through corruption or falsification.
    5. Objectivity involves two distinct elements, presentation and 
substance. Objectivity in presentation requires NCUA to present 
disseminated information in an accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased 
manner. To accomplish this, NCUA must assure that the information is 
presented within a proper context. NCUA will identify the sources of 
the disseminated information (to the extent possible, consistent with 
confidentiality protections) and, in a financial or statistical 
context, the supporting data and models, so that the public can assess 
for itself whether there may be some reason to question the objectivity 
of the sources. Where appropriate, data will have full, accurate, 
transparent documentation, and error sources affecting data quality 
will be identified and disclosed to users.
    Objectivity in substance requires NCUA to disseminate accurate, 
reliable and unbiased information. To accomplish this, in a financial 
or statistical context, NCUA must assure that sound statistical and 
research methods are used to generate the original and supporting data 
and the conclusions that flow from the data. If NCUA disseminates 
influential information, it must assure that its conclusions are 
capable of being substantially reproduced.
    6. Quality is an encompassing term comprising utility, objectivity, 
and integrity. Therefore, the guidelines sometimes refer to these four 
terms collectively, as ``quality.''
    7. Reproducibility means that information is capable of being 
substantially reproduced subject to an acceptable degree of 
imprecision.
    8. Utility refers to the usefulness of the information to its 
intended users, including the public. In assessing the usefulness of 
information that NCUA disseminates to the public, NCUA will consider 
the uses of the information not only from the perspective of the agency 
but also from the perspective of the public. As a result, when 
transparency of information is relevant for assessing the information's 
usefulness from the public's perspective, NCUA will take care to ensure 
that transparency has been addressed in its review of the information. 
Transparency refers to a clear description of the methods, data 
sources, assumptions, outcomes and related information that will allow 
a data user to understand how information was produced.

    Authorities: Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Pub. L. 106-554; H.R. 5658) 
and the Office of Management and Budget Final Guidelines, 67 FR 8452 
February 22, 2002.

    By the National Credit Union Administration Board on October 4, 
2002.
Becky Baker,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 02-25932 Filed 10-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7535-01-P