HHS Continues to Make Progress Toward Compliance With the Geospatial Data Act

Why OIG Did This Audit

• The Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (GDA) mandates that the Inspector General (IG) of a covered agency submit to Congress, not less than once every 2 years, an audit of its covered agency’s collection, production, acquisition, maintenance, distribution, use, and preservation of geospatial data. HHS meets the GDA’s definition of a covered agency. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget recognizes HHS as an executive agency that produces, maintains, or uses geospatial information.
• This audit fulfills the GDA mandate for OIG to review HHS compliance with the (a) standards for geospatial data, (b) covered agency’s responsibilities established in the GDA, and (c) limitation on the use of Federal funds for geospatial data.

What OIG Found

HHS continues to make progress toward compliance with the GDA, but we identified certain covered agency responsibilities that HHS has not fulfilled. Additionally, HHS has not maintained a departmentwide inventory of all geospatial data assets, and did not include six HHS staffing divisions that handle geospatial data in its self-assessment of progress toward fulfilling GDA responsibilities.

What OIG Recommends

We made four recommendations, including that HHS fulfill the remaining seven covered agency responsibilities established in GDA, ensure that the HHS Office of the Chief Data Officer facilitates HHS’s implementation of geospatial-related requirements, develop and maintain an inventory of all geospatial data assets, and prepare the required annual reports regarding the achievements of the covered agency in accordance with GDA requirements.

HHS concurred with all four of our recommendations.