Abstract

We present the results of a new effort to evaluate the health of the U.S. federal statistical system, summarizing a report written by a team of researchers from the American Statistical Association and George Mason University. We describe the methods and framing of the report, review the findings and recommendations (endorsed by the American Statistical Association Board of Directors), and describe how the report was received. We conclude by outlining our plans for a second year of research and assessment. We invite comments and suggestions from the HDSR readership. 

Keywords: official statistics, federal statistics, government statistics, public policy and statistics, trust, independence and autonomy

11/22/2024: To preview this content, click below for the Just Accepted version of the article. This peer-reviewed version has been accepted for its content and is currently being copyedited to conform with HDSR’s style and formatting requirements.

©2024 Jonathan Auerbach, Claire McKay Bowen, Constance F. Citro, Steve Pierson, and Zachary H. Seeskin. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) International license, except where otherwise indicated with respect to particular material included in the article.