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Draft Policy for Data and Information Management Policy

N.B. The use of the acronym PIFSC and the pronoun our are used with the understanding that the
reorganization into a Pacific Islands Region and Center is a work in progress. Authorities for the definitions are
recorded elsewhere. Karen Sender

PIFSC Data and Information Management Policy

Purpose
a) Ensure that the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of our data and information fulfill
all mission and legislative requirements.
b) Establish the principals and philosophies guiding our effective management of
information and data.
c) Establish a Data Administration Plan to implement this policy.
d) Assign organizational responsibilities for our management of data and information.
e) Assure compliance with Federal laws, regulations and Agency guidelines relating to our
management of data and information.
Scope
a) This policy applies to Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and Pacific
Islands Region (PIR) employees involved in data and information management
activities.
b) This policy applies to our collaborators, partners and contractors involved in our data
and information management activities.
Authorities
Federal and Agency authorities include many laws and regulations implemented under
authority of legislative acts, Presidential Proclamations, and guidelines and policies issued by
NOAA Fisheries, NOAA, DOC, and OMB. The following are particularly relevant:
a) The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) as amended.
b) Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996: Information Technology Management Reform Act and the
Federal Acquisition Reform Act.

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c) Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information

Resources, 1996.
d) The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. & 552, As amended by Public Law No. 104231, 110 Stat. 3048, 1996.
e) SWR & SWFSC Data Confidentiality Handbook, Appendix I NAO 216-100 protection
of Confidential Fisheries Statistics, 1996.
f) Fisheries Information Technology for the 21st Century (FITS21), 1997.
g) Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of
Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies, 67 Fed. Reg. 8452, Feb. 22, 2002.
h) NOAAs Information Quality Guidelines, Draft May 29, 2002
Background
At NOAA Fisheries, our success is measured not only by our ability to provide informed
decisions on managing our natural marine resources, but also by our ability to defend the
science on which we base those decisions. This can only be achieved through sound
management of our data and information resources. Good data management should be the
foundation of our success.
In a research environment, data commonly are collected and processed by an individual or a
project, and various levels of raw, processed or final data are either turned over to a data
archive group for inventory and storage, or kept in an individuals desk or filing cabinet. A
given project may or may not have an inventory of all their research data but seldom does an
organization as a whole possess a comprehensive catalog of all of its data resources. A
project employee may be the single source of information for the where, what, when and how
of the data, ensuring that the value of those data is lost at the end of that persons tenure. All
too frequently, a project spends time and money gathering data and information that another
project already has in hand. In other cases, comparing or combining related data gathered by
different projects proves problematic due to a lack of standards in collecting, processing or
storing the data. In the worst cases, data from multiple sources is combined before validating
the accuracy or suitability of each data set, thus diminishing the quality of all those data and
the resulting science.

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These issues demonstrate that the value of a data resource depends on the ability to know it
exists, the ability to fully understand its meaning and quality, and the ability to effectively share
those data. Without a comprehensive inventory of our data resources, high quality data may
lie buried and forgotten and thus needlessly and wastefully require regeneration by another
project. Without the use of organization wide standards for managing and storing data, the
sharing of data becomes unnecessarily slow and difficult. Without complete documentation of
how a data resource was collected and processed, establishing the quality of data may be
impossible. Without sound data management practices for ensuring the validity and integrity
of data, poor quality data can result in poor decisions that could compromise our mission and
goals.
This policy establishes our philosophy and methods for ensuring that our investment in time,
people and money are spent efficiently and effectively in the generation of the data and
information required in fulfilling the mission and goals of NOAA Fisheries. This policy
recognizes the requirement of two key initiatives to ensure that quality data results in quality
decisions:
1. A PIFSC Data Administration Plan which will include procedures and guidelines for the
management of data and information.
2. A PIFSC Data Registry, which will both catalog and document our data and information
resources.
Policy
a) The quality and veracity of our Agency decisions can be no better than the quality of the
data on which those decisions are based, and as such, our data will be planned for,
collected, processed, managed and guarded as the valuable resource they comprise.
b) The management of our data will be based on best practices and standards in
information management, and the value of our data will not be compromised by the
inevitable and rapid changes in information technology or staffing.
c) Each data program will have documented procedures for reporting and correcting data
errors, and emphasis will be placed on identifying and eliminating data errors at their
source.

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d) While the collection, validation, storage and dissemination of our data depend on the
hard work and dedication of individuals, the data are owned by the Federal government.
e) Data quality will be managed through the clearly defined and documented roles and
responsibilities of the Director, Investigation Chiefs, Data Administrator, Data Managers,
and Data Stewards, recognizing that the individual or group that has the greatest vested
interest in the quality of the data will have the greatest responsibility to ensure the
quality and integrity of that data.
f) We will promote and facilitate the sharing and exchange of information and data, within
and outside the Agency, through the use of data and information management plans,
protocols, guidelines and standards.
g) Our data collection programs will adopt formal, approved Data Management Plans
which will be guided by this policy document and all requirements of Federal laws,
regulations, and policies governing data security, information technology, information
management, and information accessibility.
h) Our data and information resources and reporting requirements will be catalogued along
with formal and comprehensive metadata in a data registry and that data registry will be
complete, current, and searchable within and outside the Agency.
i) Our data and information products and reports will be derived from a single data source
that is legally defensible through the use of formal methods for user auditing, data
change management and access security.
j) Data will be both locatable and accessible to all appropriate users, in a timely and
efficient manner.
k) Our data generators, data managers, and data users will be adequately trained to
effectively collect, manage, access and use data resources, using the tools and
technologies that are mandated by NMFS, NOAA and DOC information technology
policies.
Role Commitments
a) The Director shall:

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1. Adopt this data management policy by establishing and supporting a Data

Administration Plan and appoint a PIFSC Data Administrator who shall be
responsible for the development and implementation of the DAP.
2. Promote the understanding that the quality and accessibility of our metadata - the
who, what, when, why and how data is collected, managed, stored, and
disseminated - are as necessary and valuable as the data are, to the mission and
goals of the PIFSC.
3. Ensure that current and future PIFSC strategic plans and budgets address
information management and the vital importance that the quality and integrity of
data play in the success of the PIFSC.
4. Support and budget for the information architecture, information technology, and
training required to effectively support the Data Administration Plan.
b) The Data Administrator shall:
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Administer the Data Administration Plan.

Participate in the writing and review of PIFSC data management policies.
Develop and manage the PIFSC Data Registry.
Lead and encourage investigation chiefs, program managers and data
collaborators to catalog their data, information, and reporting requirements and to
contribute these to the PIFSC Data Registry.
Coordinate the development of data and information processing standards.
Coordinate the adoption of standard data classes by data stewards.
Assist our Data Managers in the development of Data Management Plans for
every data set collected, managed or stored at PIFSC.
Prioritize and facilitate the integration of data and information into our data
repository.
Evaluate and recommend appropriate training for our employees in support of
data and information management.

c) Each Investigation Chief shall:

1. Ensure that the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of the data and information
managed under their authority are maximized and meets the requirements of our
missions and goals.

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2. Ensure that all data sets under their authority adhere to this data and information
management policy.
3. Unless otherwise formally delegated, assume both custodial and stewardship
responsibility for the data sets managed under their authority.
4. Assign operational responsibility for each data set to a Data Manager.
5. Ensure that each data set has a formal Data Management Plan as outlined in this
data management policy.
6. Ensure that information about each data program is contributed to the PIFSC
Data Registry in a timely and efficient manner.
7. Ensure that employees under their authority are appropriately trained to
effectively manage and use our data and information.
d) Each Data Manager shall:
1. Assume operational responsibility for the quality and integrity of the data under
their care.
2. Develop, maintain and follow a formal Data Management Plan for each data set
for which they are responsible.
3. Maintain and submit current and accurate metadata for their data to the PIFSC
Data Registry in a timely manner.
4. Work with the Data Administrator to coordinate the submission of data and
information to the PIFSC data repository.
e) Each Data Steward shall:
1. Compile and document the collection methods, business rules, structure, format
and proper usage of data classes and data elements assigned to them.
2. Register, manage and periodically review the methods, procedures and technical
information about their assigned data classes and data elements.
Definitions
a) Business Metadata. This is unstructured metadata. Describes things like how the data
are used, who uses it, what its used for, and what mission or function it supports. It
may describe how the information was calculated, the source, the business rules
applied, the access, the steward, and freshness of the data. It provides the roadmap
that helps users find, interpret, and share data of interest.

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b) Data. A representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formalized manner

suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or by automatic
means.
c) Data Administration. The responsibility for definition, organization, supervision, and
protection of data within an enterprise or organization.
d) Data Administration Plan. A document which defines the goals, milestones and
performance measurements for the organizations management of data and information
and the guidelines for achieving those goals.
e) Data Administrator. A person or group that ensures the utility of data within an
organization by defining data policies and standards, planning for the efficient use of
data, coordinating data structures among organizational components, performing logical
database design, and defining data security procedures.
f) Database Administrator. A person or group that provides technical support for one or
more databases, by defining database schemas and sub-schemas, by maintaining data
integrity and concurrence, providing physical database design for performance
optimization, and enforcing the policies, standards, and procedures set by the data
administrator.
g) Data Integrity. In information processing, the condition in which data is accurate,
current, consistent, complete, and secure.
h) Data Life Cycle. The stages through which data pass typically characterized as creation
or collection, processing, dissemination, use, storage, and disposition.
i) Data Management. The process of applying a standard methodology and readily
accepted principles and practices to the creation, collection, storage, retrieval and
conversion to usable business information of organizational data.
j) Data Management Plan. The document for controlling data management activities for a
given data system by defining the processes used to collect, process, store and
disseminate data and information.
k) Data Quality. The correctness, timeliness, accuracy, completeness, relevance, and
accessibility that make data appropriate for use. [www-datadmn.itsi.disa.mil]
l) Data Registry. A comprehensive information management system that supports the
cataloging of data and information resources and metadata and includes tools for
loading and accessing those data.
m) Data Standards. Common terminology and common data element definitions to
facilitate the integration of databases and to promote public access to commonly defined
data from disparate sources.

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n) Data Steward. The person or group that manages the development, approval, and use
of data within a specified functional area, ensuring that it can be used to satisfy data
requirements throughout the organization.
o) Data System. A combination of procedures, data codes, classifications, processes,
records, and reports used for the processing of records or to meet agency information
requirements.
p) Information. Any communication or representation of knowledge such as facts, data, or
opinions in any medium or form, including textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic,
narrative, or audiovisual form. Data that have been processed in such a way that it can
increase the knowledge of the person who receives it. Information is the output, or
finished goods, of information systems.
q) Information Resource. References, citations, reports, systems, or other published
materials that are sources for data items stored in the data registry.
r) Information Technology. As defined by the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, the term
information technology, with respect to an agency means any equipment or
interconnected system or subsystem of equipment that is used in the automatic
acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching,
interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information by the executive agency.
s) Technical Metadata. This is structured metadata. Describes the physical characteristics
of the data, such as the element name, size, numeric or alphanumeric, or steward.
Structured data consist of data entities, attributes, and relationships. It helps the
application access and manipulate the data. It provides a standard to allow for
interoperability of systems and information.

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