Introducing the Data Quality Playbook
DATA ACT
The Leveraging Data as a Strategic Asset Working Group developed and issued this Playbook in collaboration with federal agencies to assist with developing Data Quality Plans in support of the DATA Act implementation. This playbook is a result of extensive collaboration between agencies, OMB, and the Department of the Treasury. The final document and subsequent versions will be posted to the CFOC website. The use of the playbook format is a practice to gather, define, and illustrate concepts in federal financial management.
The DATA Quality playbook joins a library of management resources developed for agency use to include the ERM Playbook and the Program Integrity; Anti-fraud Playbook. As with these playbooks, nothing in this Playbook should be considered prescriptive. All examples provided should be modified to fit the circumstances, conditions, and structure of each agency (or other government organization).
The cover memo of (M-18-16) of Appendix A of OMB Circular A-123, Management of Reporting and Data Integrity Risk requires DATA Act reporting agencies to implement a data quality plan (DQP) effective fiscal year (FY) 2019 through FY 2021 at a minimum. This Playbook represents a compilation of insights gained by multiple federal agencies, each with unique perspectives and lessons learned as DATA Act reporting agencies.
Agencies may find these scenarios useful to consider when developing a DQP. This Playbook is a collection of examples and use-cases agencies have proposed based on agency-specific risk assessments at a given time. This Playbook and accompanying appendices are designed to provide practical information and helpful scenarios for agencies. It is not an all-inclusive catalog of the only acceptable options for developing a DQP and does not address all potential situations an agency may face with respect to DATA Act implementation. Rather, the Playbook provides a compendium of potential approaches, solutions, and explanations that provide context aligned with policy and business operations to focus the conversation on the utility of the data submitted in accordance with the DATA Act rather than a compliance-focused exercise. Each agency will need to develop a DQP that is tailored to their unique operating environments challenges and risks to achieving missions. Our goal is to support agencies in making their own determinations about how best to meet the DATA Act reporting requirements and improve the quality of spending data submitted to USAspending.gov. Nothing in this Playbook supersedes or replaces existing regulations, policies, guidance, or the submission requirements outlined in the DATA Act Information Model Schema. The Playbook may be updated periodically, if helpful to federal agencies, as together we strive to accomplish the underlying objectives of the DATA Act.