Steven B. Cohen, RTI International, and Paul Schroeder, COPAFS

The primary goal of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS) is to advance excellence in federal statistics. It accomplishes this supporting role by acting as a facilitator, coordinator, and disseminator and connecting producers of official statistics with essential stakeholders. These prominent users of federal statistics include policymakers, program planners, researchers, and businesses.

COPAFS’ efforts were highlighted in an invited session at the recent Joint Statistical Meetings, “How the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics Advances Excellence in Federal Statistics.” Below are highlights of that session.

Engaging Federal Statistical Agencies with Stakeholders and Users: Roles of COPAFS Quarterly Meetings, Monthly Updates, Workshops, and Seminars

Paul Schroeder, COPAFS executive director, gave a presentation about engaging federal statistical agencies with stakeholders and users. Specifically, COPAFS’ quarterly meeting includes its members and representatives from statistical agencies. COPAFS also prepares a monthly update to inform members of pressing issues confronting the federal statistical system and to disseminate information regarding forthcoming workshops and seminars on special topics that involve statistical agencies with their stakeholders.

For the past several decades, COPAFS has used this model to educate users of official federal statistics about their capacity and limitations. Their forums have also served to expose leaders of federal statistical agencies to stakeholder perspectives not vocalized in other venues.

These related efforts summarize the roles COPAFS has taken on as a facilitator, coordinator, and disseminator serving to connect producers of official statistics with their prominent statistical, research, and policymaker user communities.

Collaboration to Enable the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology Conferences

Rochelle Wilkie Martinez of the Office of Management and Budget gave a presentation about collaborations with COPAFS to enable the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) conferences. FCSM is an interagency committee dedicated to improving the quality of federal statistics. It was founded in 1975 by the Office of the Chief Statistician of the US. Its statistical policy and research conferences are well-attended, essential, large-scale meetings that engage the entire federal statistical community and its partners in academia and the private sector. These events are contributing factors that help advance coordinating the work of the statistical system.

Over several decades, it was noted that COPAFS has been a valued and essential partner to FCSM in the conduct and implementation of these statistical policy and research meetings. It was also noted that the sustainability and broad, large-scale participation of these FCSM conferences have significantly benefited from the role played by COPAFS.

The presentation also served to give recognition to the demands the FCSM conferences have continued to place on COPAFS in light of its own limited resources. Attention was also given to the growing recognition by the federal statistical system and its stakeholders of the benefits of these events. The need to identify creative solutions was noted to permit the periodicity, scope, and scale desired to meet the needs of a large and diverse statistical system community and its partners.

The Role of Policy and Advocacy

Katherine Smith Evans of the American Economic Association gave a presentation about the role of policy and advocacy, addressing the challenges the federal statistical system is confronting in these areas. Attention was given to the need for more knowledge by core stakeholders regarding legislation affecting statistical programs. Consideration was also given to the actions and efforts undertaken by COPAFS to achieve its organizational goals, including lessons learned, current strategies, and a look toward future policy challenges with potential strategies to help address them.

Discussion

Steven B. Cohen, vice president at RTI International, served as the discussant for the session. Attention was given to demands placed on the federal statistical system by its core stakeholders and the interconnected roles played by COPAFS, FCSM, and the statistical community at large to advance excellence in federal statistics. It is recognized that timely, accurate, and relevant statistical data are the foundation of evidence-based decision-making. Federal statistical programs need to be reviewed and assessed continuously to determine the statistical data being acquired and disseminated are appropriate, accurate, objective, accessible, useful, understandable, and timely.

Responsibilities include ensuring the implementation of sound data security practices that protect individual privacy, maintaining promised confidentiality, and permitting appropriate access and use. Attention to sound fiscal management of resources is also essential. New data collection efforts should be undertaken after careful reviews and assessments of existing capacities indicate visible gaps in necessary data content.

In this framework, COPAFS remains devoted to educational activities and preserving the public good represented by federal statistical collections. Its activities—encouraging discussion within and among professional organizations to respond to important issues in federal statistics and facilitating the views of professional associations that impact decisions affecting federal statistical programs—help increase the level and scope of knowledge about developments affecting federal statistics. COPAFS has also worked closely with FCSM to assist in the conduct and implementation of the FCSM statistical policy and research meetings. As noted, these meetings serve as contributing factors that help advance coordinating the work of the statistical system with its partners in university settings and the private sector.

In addition to all the roles and responsibilities of the federal statistical system to advance excellence in federal statistics, the system is continuously confronting new challenges. Several challenges that are particularly salient and commanding attention include the following:

• Addressing obstacles incurred as a consequence of COVID-19 to maintain the function and integrity of the federal statistical system
• Advancing the Federal Data Strategy to implement best practices and data innovations that drive more value for the public and in support of the efforts of the Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building (innovations include those in artificial intelligence/machine learning, estimation, modeling, and computational advances; cloud computing; and the nexus of data science and statistics)
• Adopting innovative approaches to data integration while ensuring data security and advancing enhancements in disclosure avoidance methodology
• Leveraging available funding to best preserve the availability of relevant, accurate, and objective data to inform crucial decisions that impact our well-being while maintaining data quality and integrity

In summary, through their efforts, COPAFS assists professional associations and other stakeholders by acquiring and disseminating information about developments affecting federal statistical programs. It serves to inform congressional offices with respect to impending issues affecting the federal statistical system, help plan hearings related to federal statistical programs, and identify experts to provide testimony. Furthermore, COPAFS serves as a vehicle to brief the public about the activities of the federal statistical agencies, convey the views of data users concerning federal statistical activities, and help clarify the implications and effects of policy and budget initiatives on the availability of federal statistics.