[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8921-8922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02735]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2020-0043]


Request for Information: Evidence-Building Activities

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Request for Information; reopening and extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 
requires federal agencies to develop evidence-building plans to 
identify and address questions relevant to Agency strategy, programs, 
policies, regulations, management, and operations. On November 9, 2020, 
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a request for 
information (RFI) soliciting input from the public regarding potential 
priority questions that can guide evidence-building activities by. DHS 
is reopening and extending the comment period for the RFI.

DATES: Please send comments on or before March 31, 2021. Comments 
received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting 
comments via Docket No. DHS-2020-0043. All comments received, including 
any personal information provided, may be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this 
notice, please contact Michael Stough, Director, Program Analysis and 
Evaluation, (202) 447-0518, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Evidence Act and November 2020 RFI

    The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 
(Evidence Act, Pub. L. 115-435) requires each federal agency to 
develop, as part of the agency strategic plan issued every four 
years,\1\ a systematic evidence-building plan (or ``learning agenda'') 
to identify and address policy questions relevant to the strategies, 
programs, policies, and regulations of the agency.\2\ The plan must 
contain (1) a list of policy-relevant questions for which the agency 
intends to develop evidence to support policymaking; (2) a list of data 
the agency intends to collect, use, or acquire to facilitate the use of 
evidence in policymaking; (3) a list of methods and analytical 
approaches that may be used to develop evidence to support 
policymaking; (4) a list of any challenges to developing evidence to 
support policymaking, including any statutory or other restrictions to 
accessing relevant data; (5) a description of the steps the agency will 
take to accomplish items (1) and (2) above; and (6) any other 
information as required by guidance issued by the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).\3\ In developing the evidence-
building plan, the agency must consult with stakeholders, including the 
public, agencies, State and local governments, and representatives of 
non-governmental researchers.\4\
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    \1\ The latest such DHS strategic plan covers the years 2020-
2024, and preceded implementation of the Evidence Act. See DHS, The 
DHS Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2020-2024, available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0702_plcy_dhs-strategic-plan-fy20-24.pdf (last visited Jan. 28, 2020).
    \2\ See 5 U.S.C. 306, 312.
    \3\ See 5 U.S.C. 312(a).
    \4\ See, e.g., OMB Memorandum M-19-23, Phase 1 Implementation of 
the Foundations for Evidence Based Policymaking Act of 2018: 
Learning Agenda, Personnel, and Planning Guidance at 16-17 (July 10, 
2019), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/M-19-23.pdf (last visited Jan. 28, 2021) (``Agencies should 
gather input in the manner that best meets their needs, most 
effectively engages their specific stakeholders, and leverages 
existing activities and/or requirements whenever possible, in 
accordance with applicable law and policy. Potential models for 
doing so include: Requests for Information published in the Federal 
Register, listening sessions with groups of stakeholders, Technical 
Working Groups, and one-on-one consultations. OMB recognizes that 
agencies may use different approaches at different points in the 
process, and that it may not be feasible to engage all stakeholders 
for all updates to the learning agenda . . . .'').
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    On November 9, 2020, DHS published an RFI soliciting input from the 
public to inform the development of the Department's evidence-building 
plan. 85 FR 71353. On January 27, 2021, President Biden issued a 
Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific 
Integrity and

[[Page 8922]]

Evidence-Based Policymaking,\5\ which reinforces the importance of the 
evidence-building plan. DHS is now reopening and extending the comment 
period for the RFI to allow additional public engagement.
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    \5\ See Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through 
Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking (Jan. 27, 
2021), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/memorandum-on-resotring-trust-in-government-through-scientific-integrity-and-evidence-based-policymaking/ (last visited Jan. 28, 2021).
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DHS Background

    With the passage of the Homeland Security Act by Congress in 
November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became a 
Cabinet-level agency to unite the Nation's approach to homeland 
security. DHS combined functions of 22 different agencies with broad 
responsibilities that collectively prevent attacks, mitigate threats, 
respond to national emergencies, preserve economic security, and 
preserve legacy agency functions. DHS is committed to evaluating the 
effectiveness and efficiency of its programs, policies, and 
regulations. DHS will use its evidence-building plan to coordinate and 
communicate how evaluation, statistics, research, and analysis will be 
used to help the Department achieve its mission.

Request for Information

    Through this RFI, DHS is soliciting suggestions from a broad array 
of stakeholders across public and private sectors that may be familiar 
with or interested in the work of DHS and wish to volunteer suggestions 
for studies that could help DHS improve the effectiveness and 
efficiency of DHS strategy, programs, policies and regulations. DHS 
invites suggestions in many forms--such as questions to be answered, 
hypotheses to be tested, or problems to be studied--and focused on any 
area of Department's work, including strategy, policy, programs, 
regulations, management, and operations. Responses to this RFI will 
inform the Department's ongoing development of a set of questions that 
will guide direction and evidence-building activities, such as 
foundational research, policy analysis, performance measurement, and 
program evaluation.
    This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and should 
not be construed as a solicitation or as creating or resulting in any 
obligation on the part of DHS.

    Dated: February 5, 2021.
Michael Stough,
Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2021-02735 Filed 2-9-21; 8:45 am]
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