Notice2022-18219
Request for Information; Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity
Primary source
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Published
August 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
Science and Technology Policy Office
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 163 (Wednesday, August 24, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52083-52084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9efbefebf7eafffcf2fbfaffeaffdef1edeaeeb0fbf1eeb0f9f1e8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="264357534f5247444a434247524766495552560843495608414950">[email protected]</span></a>, 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.
<bullet> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8aeffbffe3feebe8e6efeeebfeebcae5f9fefaa4efe5faa4ede5fc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f0958185998491929c9594918491b09f838480de959f80de979f86">[email protected]</span></a>.
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?
[[Page 52084]]
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
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