Integrating Administrative Records into the Federal Statistical System 2.0: A Vision Paper

• Activity Number: 164
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 2, 2010 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Government Statistics
• Author(s): Rochelle (Shelly) Wilkie Martinez*+
• Companies: Office of Management and Budget
• Keywords: administrative records ; federal statistical system ; legal issues ; data quality

Abstract

Administrative data provide an unparalleled opportunity for strengthening the Nation's Statistical System, potentially allowing statistical agencies to efficiently produce high quality data needed to address many critical policy issues. However, significant legal and structural barriers often prevent the use of administrative data for many statistical purposes including policy and program evaluation. Barriers include access constraints; inadequate infrastructure; underdeveloped methodologies to ensure data quality; and limitations on access to merged data. The Federal Statistical System must develop a systematic strategy for lowering these barriers and lay the foundation for the future. This paper describes the vision and strategies for expanded statistical uses of administrative records developed by the leaders of the Nation's principal statistical agencies.