expected to be feasible without significant reorganization. In some areas, reorganization and centralization of certain activities will enhance the feasibility of achieving suggested improvements. Specific reorganization proposals are expected to come from the President's Reorganization Project. They will be incorporated in the 1979 revision.

This Framework is presented in the context of the 1980's. Whereas a number of ideas in the Framework are provocative, they are not presented as a "futuristic" view of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. Rather, this planning Framework represents a practical, evolutionary approach to building upon the ongoing programs of the 1970's and the unresolved issues associated with those programs. A perspective on the 50 years of evolution in methodology and program development which occurred between 1926 and 1976 is presented in a companion volume entitled Revolution in United States Government Statistics, 1926-1976.

Planning Is A Participatory Process

The development of the Framework for Federal statistics is a highly participatory process involving many important users and producers of statistics. The planning process itself was designed to include soliciting agency views, building on existing agency planning programs, and utilizing readily available resources in the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards (which has overall responsibility for planning and coordinating the Federal Statistical System). The ultimate resolution of statistical issues involves an important collaboration among the providers of the information (the respondents to various Federal inquiries), the collectors and analyzers of that information (the statistical and analytical agencies), and the private and public decisionmakers who incorporate that information into their decision processes. All three sectors the providers, the statistical agencies, and the decisionmakers-are essential to the development of the Federal Statistical System. Obviously, no statistics would be available if respondents failed to cooperate in surveys. The statistical agencies, in their central role of creating effective collection mechanisms, providing quality control, and compiling and analyzing results, have important creative contributions to make as a result of this direct involvement in the statistical process. Finally, the decisionmakers who utilize the information are able to provide important insights into the level of quality and timeliness required to assure appropriate policy use of statistical information. Further, in many cases, the decisionmakers directly influence the allocation of

statistical programs. In recognition of the critical role of all three of these groups, therefore, the development of the Framework continues to involve, in an active and dynamic way, all of these groups.

Though all three groups have been involved in the process of preparing and reviewing the Framework, it is recognized that there will be many issues and problems which are not addressed in the Framework. The major general-purpose statistical programs, especially those with interagency implications, are given greatest priority since the most significant contribution of the Framework itself is to enhance the coordination process among these agencies.

Thus, the Framework concerns itself with areas of overlapping interest among Federal statistical agencies. It is recognized that there also exist many areas of concern which fall entirely within one agency's sphere of interest, but these areas have not been included in the Framework, in order to provide reasonable limits to its scope.

It is expected that, as a result of the participatory process utilized in developing this Framework, there will be a number of related documents prepared offering alternative views, more detail concerning specific proposals, and consideration of issues which are not treated fully in this document. The Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards will continue to serve as a focal point for identifying such documents, but users of this Framework are encouraged to seek out these alternative views on the specific issues discussed in this report.

Keys to Integrated Statistical Systems

While Section V provides a summary of the major sections of the Framework, it may be helpful to identify several keys to an integrated statistical system at the outset.

Brief comments on each of these areas are presented as an introduction to the detailed discussion which is contained later in this report.

Standard Concepts and Classifications

In the highly decentralized statistical system of the United States, it is evident that there are many data collection efforts which use differing definitions, time periods, and sample populations for various important statistical series. While variation is inevitable, especially in narrow-purpose statistical programs, the basic recommendations in this Framework are designed to extend the idea of standard concepts and classifications into a broad set of general-purpose, large-scale statistical efforts which have interagency

implications and uses. The development of standard concepts and classifications is a complex process involving compromise and considerable technical ingenuity. Recommendations for achieving this are presented in appropriate sections throughout this report.

General-Purpose Collection Efforts

In an attempt to enhance the implementation of standard concepts and classifications and to extend the usefulness of individual collection efforts, considerable attention is focused throughout this report on the development of general-purpose data collection efforts which meet multiple needs. A basic premise of this Framework is that extended generalpurpose collection efforts can increase the quality of U.S. statistical information in a cost-effective manner. This cost-effectiveness is directly related to replacing costly, narrow-purpose statistical efforts with general-purpose collection efforts whose total cost may often be less than the combined cost of the discontinued programs and which may simultaneously yield improvements in the quality of the data provided.

Policy Committees

The Framework is viewed as a starting point for considering individual statistical programs and developing responses to the priority problems identified. It is therefore essential to have a set of government decisionmakers who are able to accurately reflect the policy concerns of the various agencies and who can articulate the priorities for statistical data in the individual subject areas. A number of policy committees with this purpose are identified in the discussions presented in Section III. Recommendations for creating and improving several policy committees are also set forth in appropriate sections.

Technical Interagency Working Groups

The key to a strong Federal Statistical System is the people involved in the day-to-day design, collection, processing, and analysis of Federal statistics. The interagency working groups that bring these talented individuals together are essential for

implementing improvements in statistical programs. Recommendations for extending and improving the existing network of technical interagency working groups are made throughout the report in recognition of the vitality of this mechanism in the creative evolution of the Federal Statistical System.

Public Advice

With the emphasis in this Framework on the needs for and uses of statistical information, it is evident that the Federal Statistical System benefits greatly from public advice received from those individuals who utilize Federal statistics in their analytical and decisionmaking processes and who provide the essential data to the Federal Government by completing the various reporting requirements. In some agencies the advisory mechnism is well established and effectively utilized. In other agencies important user groups should be involved more directly and effectively than is presently the case. Consequently, several recommendations for improving the relationship between public suppliers and users of information and statistical collection and analytical agencies are presented.

Central Policy Agency

For over 40 years there has been a centralized office with responsibilities for improving the planning and coordination of Federal statistical activities. The present document has been developed by the organization with that continuing responsibility, the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards in the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is evident as a consequence of developing this planning document that the interagency perspective provided by such an agency is an essential component in ensuring the appropriate development of statistical programs of high utility. Several recommendations are presented for assignments which should be undertaken by interagency groups under the leadership of this Office. Even though the control function of the central statistical planning agency is limited in its directive aspects, the leadership which

be provided through careful working relationships with the agencies is especially important to the continued development and implementation of improvements in the U.S. Federal Statistical System.

Introduction

In recent decades there has been considerable debate concerning the organization of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. The debate, which is summarized in Revolution in United States Government Statistics, 1926-1976, has focused on the degree to which the U.S. Federal Statistical System should be centralized or decentralized.

A discussion of the organization of Federal statistics is especially difficult since there are a wide variety of agencies and/or activities generating numerical series which are viewed by many users as "statistics." Certain Federal statistical series are used widely by persons with greatly varying information needs; these are frequently called general-purpose statistics. However, with a few exceptions such as the decennial census and the estimation of the national income accounts, most statistical programs are, in fact, special purpose in character; they focus on a particular function of Government and are designed primarily to aid in policymaking in clearly specified areas. The bulk of these statistics relate to specific Federal programs, and are essentially a byproduct of administering or monitoring these activities.

All executive requests for information, except for those of regulatory agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, a few bank regulatory agencies, and certain data collection activities in the health manpower field are subject to review and clearance by the Office of Management and Budget under authority of the Federal Reports Act of 1942. The agencies, when requesting clearance, classify their information. requests by type. One category, "statistical reports," is defined as follows: "those used in obtaining general-purpose statistics, collected without primary reference to specific governmental needs." In March 1976, 107 separate agencies were conducting information inquiries which they labeled as statistical. A subsequent review established that some of the inquiries were not actually statistical in character, but well over 90 agencies were undertaking or sponsoring statistical programs. A number of these agencies had only one or two reports included, and frequently the reports were not designed to yield

a time series or a continuing statistical report. For purposes of this discussion of the organization of U.S. Federal statistics, the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards has identified 38 agencies which have a key role in developing and using statistical inquiries. These agencies have been selected primarily on the basis of their impact on the statistical system using measures such as their budget level (generally $3 million or more), number of statistical personnel, and the volume of burden (generally 50,000 man-hours or more) which they place on the American public in collecting their statistical information. The 38 agencies are listed in Table 1.

TABLE 1: MAJOR AGENCIES IN THE
FEDERAL STATISTICAL SYSTEM

General Coordination Agency

Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards, Department of Commerce

Core Multipurpose Collection Agencies

Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service (statistics units), Department of Agriculture Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor Subject Matter Multipurpose Collection Agencies National Center for Education Statistics, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare National Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development

Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice

Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Department of Justice