[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52083-52084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18219]



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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Request for Information; Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ 
Equity

AGENCY: Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

ACTION: Notice of request for information.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy (OSTP) requests input from the public to help inform 
the development of the Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity. 
Executive Order 14075 on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, 
Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals (June 15, 2022) required 
the co-chairs of the Interagency Working Group on Equitable Data to 
establish a subcommittee on sexual orientation, gender identity, and 
variations in sex characteristics (SOGI) data. That body, now part of 
the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on 
Equitable Data, is tasked with the development and release of a Federal 
Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity, which will improve the Federal 
government's ability to make data-informed policy decisions that 
advance equity for the LGBTQI+ community.

DATES: Responses must be received by October 3 to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected], include ``Federal 
Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity RFI'' in the subject line of the 
message. Email submissions should be machine-readable [PDF, Word] and 
should not be copy-protected. Submissions received after the deadline 
may not be taken into consideration.
     Mail: Attn: NSTC Subcommittee on Equitable Data, Office of 
Science and Technology Policy, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, 
1650 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20504.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Respondents need 
not reply to all questions listed. Each individual or institution is 
requested to submit only one response. Electronic responses must be 
provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments 
do not exceed a file size of 25MB to ensure message delivery. Please 
identify your answers by responding to a specific question or topic if 
possible. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they 
wish. Comments of seven pages or fewer (3,500 words) are strongly 
recommended. We encourage all members of the public who are interested 
in this initiative to submit their comments. OSTP and the Subcommittee 
on SOGI Data will consider each comment thoughtfully, whether it 
contains personal narrative and experience with Federal programs, or 
more technical legal, research, or scientific content.
    OSTP will not respond to individual submissions. This RFI is not 
accepting applications for financial assistance or financial 
incentives. Comments submitted in response to this notice are subject 
to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Responses to this RFI may be 
posted without change online. OSTP therefore requests that no 
proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally 
identifiable information be submitted in response to this RFI. Please 
note that the United States Government will not pay for response 
preparation, or for the use of any information contained in a response.
    In accordance with FAR 15-202(3), responses to this notice are not 
offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding 
contract. Additionally, the U.S. Government will not pay for response 
preparation or for the use of any information contained in the 
response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meghan Maury, Senior Advisor for Data 
Policy at (202-456-6121) or by email at [email protected]. 
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf and hard of 
hearing (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-
8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Interagency Working Group on Equitable 
Data was established on January 20, 2021, by Executive Order 13985 on 
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through 
the Federal Government. Executive Order 14075 on Advancing Equality for 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals, 
requires the co-chairs of the Interagency Working Group on Equitable 
Data to establish a subcommittee on sexual orientation, gender 
identity, and variations in sex characteristics (SOGI) data. That body, 
now part of the NSTC Subcommittee on Equitable Data, is tasked with the 
development and release of a Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity, 
which will improve the Federal government's ability to make data-
informed policy decisions that advance equity for the LGBTQI+ 
community.
    The Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity described in 
Executive Order 14075 must:
    i. Describe disparities faced by LGBTQI+ individuals that could be 
better understood through Federal statistics and data collection;
    ii. Identify, in coordination with agency Statistical Officials, 
Chief Science Officers, Chief Data Officers, and Evaluation Officers, 
Federal data collections where improved SOGI data collection may be 
important for advancing the Federal Government's ability to measure 
disparities facing LGBTQI+ individuals; and
    iii. Identify practices for all agencies engaging in SOGI data 
collection to follow in order to safeguard privacy, security, and civil 
rights, including with regard to appropriate and robust practices of 
consent for the collection of this data and restrictions on its use or 
transfer.
    We invite members of the public to share perspectives on how 
requirements in the Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity should be 
addressed by the Subcommittee on SOGI Data. OSTP seeks responses to 
one, some, or all of the questions that follow.

Describing Disparities

    Section 11 of the Executive Order states that ``Advancing equity 
and full inclusion for LGBTQI+ individuals requires that the Federal 
Government use evidence and data to measure and address the disparities 
that LGBTQI+ individuals, families, and households face.'' With that 
charge in mind, OSTP seeks response to the following questions:
    1. What disparities faced by LGBTQI+ people are not well-understood 
through existing Federal statistics and data collection? Are there 
disparities faced by LGBTQI+ people that Federal statistics and other 
data collections are currently not well-positioned to help the 
Government understand?
    2. Are there community-based or non-Federal statistics or data 
collection that could help inform the creation of the Federal Evidence 
Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity? Are there disparities that are better 
understood through community-based research than through Federal 
statistics and/or other data collection?
    3. Community-based research has indicated that LGBTQI+ people 
experience disparities in a broad range of areas. What factors or 
criteria should the Subcommittee on SOGI Data consider when reflecting 
on policy research priorities?

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Informing Data Collections

    Ultimately, individual agencies decide what data to collect and 
publish through their forms and surveys, taking into account 
considerations like informed consent, privacy risk, statistical rigor, 
intended use of the data, budget, burden to respondents, and more. With 
that in mind, OSTP seeks response to the following questions about 
where potentially useful data is lacking:
    1. In some instances, there are multiple surveys or data 
collections that could be used to generate evidence about a particular 
disparity faced by the LGBTQI+ community. In addition to factors like 
sample size, timeliness of the data, and geographic specificity of 
related data publications, what other factors should be considered when 
determining which survey would best generate the relevant evidence? Are 
there data collections that would be uniquely valuable in improving the 
Federal Government's ability to make data-informed decisions that 
advance equity for the LGBTQI+ community?
    2. To protect privacy and maintain statistical rigor, sometimes 
publicly-released data must combine sexual and gender minority 
respondents into a single category. While this approach can provide 
valuable evidence, it can also obscure important details and 
differences. Please tell us about the usefulness of combined data, and 
under what circumstances more detailed data may be necessary.
    3. Are there any Federal surveys or administrative data collections 
for which you would recommend the Federal Government should not explore 
collecting SOGI data due to privacy risk, the creation of barriers to 
participation in Federal programs, or other reasons? Which collections 
or type of collections are they, and why would you make this 
recommendation?
    4. How can Federal agencies best communicate with the public about 
methodological constraints to collecting or publishing SOGI data? 
Additionally, how can agencies encourage public response to questions 
about sexual orientation and gender identity in order to improve sample 
sizes and population coverage?
    5. Data collection on vulnerable populations is often incomplete, 
creating challenges for creating data-informed decisions to advance 
equity for those populations. How can statistical techniques help 
identify missing SOGI data, and make statistically rigorous estimates 
for that missing data? How should qualitative information help agencies 
analyze what SOGI data might be missing?

Privacy, Security, and Civil Rights

    The Executive Order calls on the interagency SOGI data body to 
identify privacy, confidentiality, and civil rights practices agencies 
should follow when collecting SOGI data. Though members have expertise 
in how privacy, confidentiality, and civil rights practices apply to 
other marginalized groups, OSTP seeks input on privacy, 
confidentiality, and civil rights considerations that are unique to the 
LGBTQI+ community and/or are experienced differently by LGBTQI+ people, 
including in intersection with other marginalized experiences. 
Accordingly, OSTP seeks response to the following questions:
    1. While the confidentiality of data collected by the statistical 
system is protected by statute, OMB and other agency policies, and 
experience in protecting the confidentiality of respondents through 
data governance, privacy-preserving technology, and disclosure 
limitation practices, a wide range of privacy protections apply to data 
collected for programmatic purposes, such as applications for Federal 
programs or benefits, compliance forms, human resources data, and other 
data used to manage and operate Federal programs. What specific privacy 
and confidentiality considerations should the Subcommittee on SOGI Data 
keep in mind when determining promising practices for the collection of 
this data and restrictions on its use or transfer, especially in the 
context of government forms and other collections of data for 
programmatic use?
    2. Unique risks may exist when collecting SOGI data in the context 
of both surveys and administrative forms. Please tell us about specific 
risks Federal agencies should think about when considering whether to 
collect these data in surveys or administrative contexts.
    3. Once SOGI data have been collected for administrative or 
statistical purposes, are there considerations that Federal agencies 
should be aware of concerning retention of these data? Please tell us 
how privacy or confidentiality protections could mitigate or change 
these concerns.
    4. Where programmatic data is used to enforce civil rights 
protections, such as in employment, credit applications, or education 
settings, what considerations should the Subcommittee on SOGI Data keep 
in mind when determining promising practices for the collection of this 
data and restrictions on its use or transfer?

    Dated: August 19, 2022.
Stacy Murphy,
Operations Manager.
[FR Doc. 2022-18219 Filed 8-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3270-F2-P