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IPS55 Hermann H. et al.
CNSTAT found it important to specifically delineate the importance of
independence.
The use and value of federal statistics – including the decennial census –
depend on their being seen as accurate and unbiased. If statistics are seen to
be biased and inaccurate, they will not be used and therefore they will be of
little or no value. Statistics are trusted when the agencies that produce the
data are seen as making decisions based on professional not political
considerations. For their data to be credible, statistical agencies must gain and
hold the trust of the nation.
Professional independence is a foundation for building this trust and
ensures that decisions about statistical matters are free of any real or
perceived political interference. Professional independence is important not
5 6
only for the credibility of the statistics agency but also for the credibility of the
decisions made by political appointees.
The reason for professional independence is to ensure that decisions based
on statistical outputs are not tainted by real or perceived political
interference.

3. Characteristics of the US federal statistical system
In the United States there is not a single federal statistics agency that
collects and disseminates statistical information. Rather, the United States has
7
a decentralized statistical system with over 100 agencies that conduct
statistical activities, of which 13 are designated “principal statistical agencies”
by the Office of Management and Budget. These agencies are located in their
respective Departments (e.g. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Labor
Department, Census Bureau in the Commerce Department) with an oversight
and coordinating agency (the Statistical Policy Office) in the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). The head of each statistical agency may be
a career official (e.g. National Center for Health Statistics) or a Presidential
Appointee with Senate Confirmation (e.g. Census Bureau) who reports to

The Office of Management and Budget, which coordinates the federal statistical system, has
5
identified several fundamental responsibilities of federal statistical agencies, including that
they maintain both impartiality and the perception of impartiality. Office of Management &
Budget, Statistical Policy Directive No. 1: Fundamental Responsibilities of Federal Statistical
Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units, Federal Register Vol. 79, No. 231, pp. 71610-71616
(December 2, 2014).
6 The Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies of Sciences has also
identified independence from political and other undue external influence as a core principle
for federal statistical agencies. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
(2017). Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency, Sixth Edition, Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24810
7 Statistical information is that which can only be used for aggregate or summary purpose and
which protects the confidentiality of individuals information.
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