FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:    Harry M. Seidman
Phone:        202. 480. 2085
Email:        hseidman@acus.gov

ACUS Is Seeking Consultants for Four New Projects

Washington, D.C., August 14, 2024—ACUS is seeking researchers to serve as consultants to ACUS on four new projects: 

Selected consultants will conduct a study, prepare a research report, and work closely with ACUS members and staff to develop recommendations for action by federal agencies, the President, Congress, or the Judicial Conference of the United States. 

Proposals for all projects must be received by September 15 to be guaranteed consideration. To learn more about these projects and instructions for submitting proposals, visit www.acus.gov/page/consulting-rfps. 

Collection, Use, and Availability of Agency Adjudication Data 

ACUS has long recommended that agencies employ statistical and nonstatistical techniques to evaluate the quality, timeliness, fairness, and efficiency of their adjudications, particularly in recent years given developments in electronic case management.  

This project will identify best practices to help agencies collect data about their adjudication systems, ensure data quality, use adjudication data effectively, and make adjudication data publicly available when appropriate. Among other topics, the project will address how agencies identify data elements most essential for improving the fairness, timeliness, efficiency, and quality of their adjudicatory processes; how agencies build capacity to identify those data elements; future integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in data collection and analysis processes; how and when agencies should make data they collect publicly available; and data retention and security issues. 

Visit www.acus.gov/projects/collection-use-and-availability-agency-adjudication-data to learn more about the project. 

Consultation with State, Local, and Tribal Governments in Regulatory Policymaking 

Federal agencies are required to consult with state and local governments when they develop regulatory policies that have “federalism implications” and with tribal governments when they develop regulatory policies that have “tribal implications.”  

This project will identify best practices and recommendations for action to facilitate effective consultation between federal agencies and state, local, and tribal officials in regulatory policymaking. Among other topics, it will address agency procedures for consulting with state, local, and tribal governments; approaches to identifying and engaging with appropriate state, local, and tribal officials; methods for utilizing feedback from state, local, and tribal governments in agency decision making; and common issues and challenges that agencies face in developing and implementing accountable processes for consultation.  

Visit www.acus.gov/projects/consultation-state-local-and-tribal-governments-regulatory-policymaking to learn more about the project. 

Obtaining Government Records for Use in Agency Proceedings 

Agency decision makers and private parties frequently require access to records maintained by federal agencies to decide cases and participate meaningfully in agency adjudications, investigations, and similar proceedings. In some contexts, a private party is responsible for obtaining a record from the government—sometimes by submitting a Freedom of Information Act request—and providing the record to an agency decision maker. In other contexts, the agency decision maker is able to access the record without action by a private party or with the private party's consent.  

This project will examine circumstances in which parties are responsible for obtaining federal records for use in agency proceedings, circumstances in which agencies bear primary responsibility for obtaining federal records, and the procedures by which private parties and agency decision makers obtain federal records for use in agency proceedings. It will identify agency best practices to improve the fairness, accuracy, consistency, timeliness, and efficiency of agency decision making. 

Visit https://www.acus.gov/projects/obtaining-government-records-use-agency-proceedings-0 to learn more about the project. 

Organization, Management, and Operation of Agency Adjudication Offices 

Most major agencies have specific components that are responsible primarily for conducting hearings or reviewing the decisions of lower-level adjudicators (e.g., an “Office of Hearings and Appeals”).  

This project will study how agency adjudication offices are organized and managed and recommend best practices that promote fair, accurate, consistent, efficient, and timely decision making. Among other topics, the project will address the placement of adjudication offices within agency hierarchies; the internal organization and management of adjudication offices; interactions between adjudication offices and other agency components; interactions between adjudication offices and entities outside the agency; the development of procedural rules and business practices governing adjudication offices; and adjudication offices’ access to human, financial, technological, and other resources. 

Visit www.acus.gov/projects/organization-management-and-operation-agency-adjudication-offices to learn more about the project. 

About ACUS  

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent, non-partisan federal agency within the executive branch dedicated to improving administrative law and federal regulatory processes. It conducts applied research, and provides expert recommendations and other advice, to improve federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector. Since 1968, ACUS has issued hundreds of recommendations, published reports and reference guides, and organized forums to improve the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of administrative processes such as rulemaking and adjudication. Many have resulted in reforms by federal agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference of the United States. Learn more at www.acus.gov.  

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