Data Management Policy
short descriptions of Data Management Policy and implications
USFWS Policy 274 FW 1 Data Management
The USFWS Data Management Policy was written to ensure that USFWS was a responsible public steward of data, managing it as a key strategic asset. The policy requires a data management plan, data description with an applicable metadata standard and maintained in a machine-readable open format,
This policy also applies when USFWS employees work in collaborative projects with other organizations, including non-FWS staffed Joint Ventures, where non-FWS staff may be engaged in activities that would fall under FWS data management policy as “contractors, and volunteers who collect, create, distribute, or manage data for the Service” (274 FW 1.2 A(2)). Therefore, data produced by these efforts are Service data assets.
Contracts and agreements awarded to "non-Service entities to collect, create, distribute, or manage data for the Service" are required to "ensure that Service maintains access to our data and incorporate any other applicable requirement in this policy" (274 FW 1.8 A(2)).
As stated in 274 FW 1.2 B, legacy data produced prior to October 1, 2020 does not fall under the current data management policy “unless used in an ongoing activity or provided to the public.”
Policy also requires that data should be made publicly accessible “to the extent possible and legally permissible” (274 FW 1.11), including when sensitive data has been integrated or manipulated in such a way that the product can be safely distributed to the public. Restrictions to public access requires a legal justification such as a FOIA exemption.
Data must also be available internally. Custodians "must store data in a repository that will allow the appropriate Service employees to access it in a timely manner". This location must be documented as part of the metadata (274 FW 1.8 D).
Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act (S. 760/H.R. 1770); Title II of Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018)
This law is the legal requirement for DOI agencies to share data assets with the public as open data, using standardized, non-proprietary formats, and are data machine-readable, cataloged under open license in a comprehensive inventory with appropriate metadata, administered by GSA (currently Data.gov).
Memo: Open Data Policy-Managing Information as an Asset
OMB M-13-13 states "Open data are published in primary forms (i.e., as collected at the source), with the finest possible level of granularity that is practicable and permitted by law and other requirements. Derived or aggregate open data should also be published but must reference the primary data"
This means that raw data and the cleaned data, both, are required to be openly published.
National Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (NGDA)(43 U.S.C. Chapter 46, 2801-2811)
This law codified the Federal Geographical Data Committee that is responsible for developing, implementing, and reviewing the policies, practices, and standards relating to geospatial data; establish standards for NGDA data themes, including rules, conditions, guidelines, and characteristics, and also establishes content standards for metadata, consistent with international standards; establishes GeoPlatform required to be made available through the Internet, be accessible through a common interface, include metadata for all geospatial data collected, directly or indirectly, by covered agencies, and include a set of programming instructions and standards that would provide an automated means of accessing geospatial data.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as amended (5 U.S.C. 552)
This law gives any person the right to request and access federal agency records except when the records, or portion of the records, are protected from public disclosure by a FOIA exemption and are as follows:
Classified national defense and foreign relations information.
Internal agency rules and practices.
Information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.
Trade secrets and other confidential business information.
Inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges.
Information involving matters of personal privacy (protected under the Privacy Act or containing sensitive personally identifiable information).
Information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those records:
Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.
Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication.
Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source.
Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement, investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions.
Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.
Information relating to the supervision of financial institutions.
Geological information on wells.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource.
under development
OMB Memorandum M-19-18, Federal Data Strategy –A Framework for Consistency
under development
updated August 2022
Last updated