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Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency Seventh Edition (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Practice 6: Strong Internal and External Evaluation Processes for an Agency's Statistical Programs
Pages 75-78

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From page 75...
... Agencies should seek outside reviews not only of specific statistical programs but also of program priorities and quality practices across their entire portfolio. They should also consider ways to improve program cost-effectiveness by combining data from multiple sources, particularly because fewer people and organizations are responding to surveys than in the past.
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From page 76...
... Having a set schedule for research and development efforts will enable data collection managers to ensure that the quality and usefulness of their data are maintained and help prevent locking in less optimal procedures. As part of ongoing evaluation, the relevance of an agency's data collection programs and products needs to be continually assessed.
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From page 77...
... Independent external evaluations should also be conducted on a regular basis. The frequency of these external evaluations should depend on the importance of the data, how quickly the phenomena being measured change, and how quickly respondent behavior and data collection technology may adversely affect a program change.
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From page 78...
... 78 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FOR A FEDERAL STATISTICAL AGENCY source of outside review, because the members of such committees rarely have the opportunity to become deeply familiar with agency programs. External reviews can also take the form of a special committee or panel established by a relevant professional association, such as the American Statistical Association, or by some other recognized group, such as the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (also see NRC, 2009a)
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Key Terms

  • statistical programs
  • federal statistical
  • external evaluations
  • collection programs
  • external evaluation

  • independent external
  • regular statistical
  • generic statistical
  • statistical business
  • statistical production

  • statistical program
  • statistical data
  • production processes
  • sured change
  • reviews regular

  • improved accuracy
  • legitimate draw
  • respondent behavior
  • program priorities
  • professional standards

  • current procedures
  • regular basis
  • continuous assessments
  • prevent locking
  • adequate budget

  • properly called
  • informative models
  • collection technology
  • quality frameworks
  • enable data


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