[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54269-54270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19007]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Request for Information; Equitable Data Engagement and 
Accountability

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

ACTION: Notice of request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 
(OSTP), on behalf of the Subcommittee on Equitable Data of the National 
Science and Technology Council, requests information on how Federal 
agencies can better support collaboration with other levels of 
government, civil society, and the research community around the 
production and use of equitable data. This RFI will support Federal 
equitable data efforts described in the Executive Order on Advancing 
Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the 
Federal Government (E.O. 13985), including the Vision for Equitable 
Data issued to the President in April 2022.

DATES: Interested persons and organizations are invited to submit 
comments on or before 5 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected], include Engagement and 
Accountability RFI in the subject line of the message. Email 
submissions should be machine-readable [PDF, Word] and should not be 
copy-protected.
     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 may 
answer as many or as few questions as they wish. Each individual or 
institution is requested to submit only one response. Electronic 
responses must be provided as attachments to an email rather than a 
link. Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question 
or topic if possible. Comments of seven pages or fewer (3,500 words) 
are requested; longer responses will not be considered. Responses 
should include the name of the person(s) or organization(s) filing the 
response. Responses containing references, studies, research, and other 
empirical data that are not widely published should include copies of 
or electronic links to the referenced materials. Responses containing 
profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate language or 
content will not be considered.
    Any information obtained from this RFI is intended to be used by 
the Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy 
development. OSTP will not respond to individual submissions. A 
response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to 
develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. 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). No business proprietary information, 
copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information should 
be submitted in response to this RFI. Please be aware that comments 
submitted in response to this RFI, including the submitter's 
identification (as noted above), may be posted, without change, on 
OSTP's or another Federal website or otherwise released publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denice Ross, U.S. Chief Data 
Scientist, at [email protected] or 202-456-6121.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of the President's Executive Order 
on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities 
Through the Federal Government (E.O. 13985), the Administration 
convened a Federal Equitable Data Working Group to study existing 
Federal data collection policies, programs, and infrastructure to 
identify inadequacies and provide recommendations that lay out a 
strategy for increasing data available for measuring equity and 
representing the diversity of the American people.
    In its final report in April 2022--Vision for Equitable Data--the 
Equitable Data Working Group emphasized the need for the Federal 
government to use equitable data to (1) encourage diverse 
collaborations across levels of government, civil society, and the 
research community and (2) be accountable to the American public. By 
equitable data, we mean data that allow for rigorous assessment of the 
extent to which government programs and policies yield consistently 
fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including those 
who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely 
affected by persistent poverty and inequality. Equitable data can 
illuminate opportunities for targeted actions that will result in 
demonstrably improved outcomes for underserved communities. One key 
characteristic of equitable data is that it is disaggregated by 
demographic information (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, language 
spoken, etc.), geographic information (e.g., rural/urban), or other 
variables, enabling insights on disparities in access to, and outcomes 
from, government programs, policies, and services.
    Durable, equitable data infrastructure requires fostering 
collaborations across all levels of government, as well as with a 
diverse community of external organizations to advance outcomes for 
underserved communities. Constructing such infrastructure will likely 
require new incentives and pathways, including to ensure greater data 
sharing and capacity building across different levels of government and 
to broaden the research community involved in producing and analyzing 
equitable data.
    Furthermore, providing tools that allow civil society organizations 
and communities to use and visualize Federal data and chart 
government's progress toward equitable outcomes is crucial for 
strengthening accountability and credibility with the American public. 
Such tools can encourage community participation in government equity 
efforts, but these tools must be designed and administered in ways that 
meet community members where they are in terms of data analysis 
capacity and resources. These tools should ideally enable members of 
the public to easily find meaningful and actionable data about the 
well-being of their communities and the services provided to them.
    In this notice, the White House OSTP is providing an opportunity 
for members of the public to provide perspectives on how to best to 
encourage collaborations between the Federal government and (a) state, 
local, territorial, and Tribal governments; (b) researchers and 
research institutions; and (c) local communities that facilitate 
producing, accessing, and using equitable data.
    Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will be used to 
inform the development of case studies, best practices, and new 
strategies for Federal agencies, including establishing:
    (1) mutually beneficial collaborations between Federal agencies and 
other levels of government, civil society, and

[[Page 54270]]

the research community around the production and use of equitable data, 
and
    (2) tools that allow civil society organizations and communities to 
use and visualize Federal data and chart government's progress toward 
equitable outcomes in order to strengthen accountability and 
credibility.
    Responses to this RFI will also inform development of the United 
States' Open Government Partnership National Action Plan that furthers 
the principles of open government.
    We invite members of the public to share perspectives on how the 
Federal government can better realize the objectives of collaboration 
between all levels of government, engagement of communities that access 
or participate in Federal programs in data collection and research, and 
create broader public access to equitable data. Responses may help 
inform the development of case studies, best practices, strategies, 
plans, and other tools for Federal agencies to pursue equitable data 
partnerships and collaboration, including Federal government plans 
around open government.
    OSTP seeks responses to one, some, or all of the following 
questions:
    1. What are examples of successful collaborations involving 
equitable data between the Federal government and (a) Tribal, 
territorial, local, and State governments, or (b) local communities?
    2. Among examples of existing Federal collaborations with (a) 
Tribal, territorial, local, and State governments or (b) local 
communities involving equitable data, what lessons or best practices 
have been learned from such collaborations?
    3. What resources, programs, training, or other tools can 
facilitate increased data sharing between different levels of 
government (Tribal, territorial, local, State, or Federal) related to 
equitable data?
    4. What resources, programs, training, or other tools can expand 
opportunities for historically underrepresented scholars and research 
institutions to access and use equitable data across levels of 
government?
    5. What resources, programs, training, or tools can increase 
opportunities for community-based organizations to use equitable data 
to hold government accountable to the American public?
    6. What resources, programs, training, or tools can make equitable 
data more accessible and useable for members of the public?
    7. In which agencies, programs, regions, or communities are there 
unmet needs, broken processes, or problems related to participation and 
accountability that could be remedied through stronger collaborations 
and transparency around equitable data?

    Dated: August 30, 2022.
Stacy Murphy,
Operations Manager.
[FR Doc. 2022-19007 Filed 9-1-22; 8:45 am]
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