The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) is a government-wide law to provide strong confidentiality protections to Federal agencies conducting statistical information collections such as surveys and censuses as well as other statistical activities including data analysis. This report documents the Economic Research Service’s (ERS) CIPSEA activities in 2023 for the Agency’s annual report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as required in the Implementation Guidance for Title V of the E-Government Act, CIPSEA Act of 2002. CIPSEA was reauhorized as the Foundations for the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018; Title III reauthorizes CIPSEA.
Use of the CIPSEA Pledge
In 2023 USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) had active Information Collections (ICs) under 2 OMB Control Numbers. Both ICs were covered under the CIPSEA pledge:
The information you provide will be used for statistical purposes only. Your response will be kept confidential and any person who willfully discloses ANY identifiable information about you or your operation is subject to a jail term, a fine, or both. This survey is conducted in accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018, Title III of Pub. L. No. 115-435, codified in 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35 and other applicable Federal laws.
Table 1 provides the list of Information Collections ERS had active in 2023. ERS followed the confidentiality provisions in the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018, Title III of Pub. L. No. 115-435, codified in 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35.
| OMB Number | Information Collection Name |
|---|---|
| 0536-0073 | Generic Clearance for Survey Research Studies |
| 0536-0079 | Data Security Requirements for Accessing Confidential Data |
Use of the CIPSEA Agents Provision
In accordance with CIPSEA, ERS granted agent status to 213 contractors and researchers in 2023. All agents received CIPSEA training and signed the confidentiality certificate. The training and certificates affirm all agents were aware of, and agreed to abide by, CIPSEA provisions. Agents had access to CIPSEA-protected data collected under one or more of the Information Collections listed in Table 1 or legacy data described further in this report. The categories of agents ERS granted in 2023, along with a count of each type, are listed in Table 2.
| Agent | Description | Approx. Count |
|---|---|---|
| Information Technology Contractors & Affiliates | ERS contracts with various information technology companies to provide system programming and maintenance services. ERS also contracts with other USDA offices to provide information technology services. Some of these contractors and USDA staff have access to CIPSEA-protected data. | 161 |
| ERS-Funded Researchers | ERS contracts with universities, and other researchers to provide expertise on various statistical and survey methodologies. Each contract is formalized with a Statement of Work, an Intergovernmental Personnel Act, or a cooperative agreement. These researchers are provided access to data to conduct research on statistical analysis methodologies. Data access is provided at ERS facilities, approved external networks that remotely and securely link to the ERS computer network, other approved external networks, such as the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), or the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF), and/or on the ERS computer network. | 16 |
| Researchers (Non-ERS Funded) | This category includes researchers from universities and governmental agencies (Federal and State) who request to access existing ERS survey data for research purposes. Before these researchers are granted agent status to conduct specialized statistical analyses on CIPSEA-protected data, they must provide ERS with information about the research team and the proposed project through the Standard Application Process (SAP) or other approved method. | 36 |
| Total | 213 |
The information provided to ERS to evaluate the researchers (Non-ERS funded) request include:
- Researcher information
- Full name, affiliation, title and contact information for each person who will have access to the data
- Citizenship status
- Research Description
- Requested data
- Research question and project abstract
- Methodology and linkages
- Project products, output, and timeline
ERS reviews the application to determine if access is approved. If approved, data access may be provided at ERS through a secure Data Enclave following completion of security protocols.
ERS maintains three surveys that collected data in prior calendar years under the CIPSEA.
- Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS)
- Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (REIS)
- Survey on Rural Community Wealth and Health Care Provision (SRCWHCP)
Of these three surveys, only FoodAPS had a significant number of agents outside of ERS in 2023, as described below. REIS has one team of three non-ERS researchers using the data in a Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC).
Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey
USDA's National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS), now referred to as FoodAPS1, is the first nationally representative survey of American households to collect unique and comprehensive data about household food purchases and acquisitions. Detailed information was collected about foods purchased or otherwise acquired for consumption at home and away from home, including foods acquired through food and nutrition assistance programs. The survey includes nationally representative data from 4,826 households, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households, low-income households not participating in SNAP, and higher income households.
ERS and USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) jointly sponsored FoodAPS1. The survey was administered in 2013 to collect data regarding household purchases in 2012. The data became available for researchers in 2014. ERS is in the process of piloting a new survey, FoodAPS2, to be administered in CY 2027.
In CY2023, ERS granted access to the following agents to use FoodAPS1:
- Academic and other researchers granted access via the NORC or ADRF Data Enclaves - 30 agents.
Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (REIS)
The Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (REIS) was funded through USDA's Rural Development Mission Area to colect information on rural tradable business sectors such as manufacturing and professional services. These data measure how rural businesses and their communities are dealing with the increasing competitive pressures and opportunities asociated with the spread of new information technologies through our economy. This information is critical to the USDA’s aim of creating jobs, developing new markets, and increasing competitiveness for rural businesses and communities.
ERS signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Census Bureau for transfer of the dataset and use within the Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) for 5 years (2019-2024). Access to REIS was only available to approved researchers in 2023. There are two active projects using REIS data in the FSRDC.
In CY2023, ERS granted access to the following agents to use REIS:
- Federal and State Agencies working at ERS – 1 NSF researcher
- Academic and other researchers granted access via FSRDC - 4 agents all accessing the data from the FSRDC at Penn State
Survey on Rural Community Wealth and Health Care Provision
The Survey on Rural Community Wealth and Health Care Provision (SRCWHCP) was conducted by ERS in 2015 through a cooperative agreement with Iowa State University. The objectives of the survey were to improve understanding about how the assets and investments of rural communities affect recruitment and retention of health care providers, and about the effects of rural health care provision on economic development in rural communities. The survey was conducted in 150 small rural towns in nine states and involved semi-structured key informant interviews with administrators of health care facilities and community leaders, and a structured survey of health care providers.
In CY2023, ERS granted access to one agent outside of ERS to use the SRCWHCP data.