The authority to approve scientific information products with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) authorship for release is described in Survey Manual (SM) policy chapter SM 205.18. All Bureau scientific information products must be approved in accordance with USGS Fundamental Science Practices (FSP) review, approval, and release requirements (refer to SM 502.3 and SM 502.4). USGS FSP approval authority requirements include the following:
- Information products that contain new interpretive material, journal articles, and preprints (refer to SM 205.18) must receive Bureau approval by a Bureau Approving Official (BAO) in the Office of Science Quality and Integrity (OSQI); this approval cannot be reassigned to the Science Center Director or equivalent level. Guidance for distinguishing new interpretive information products from secondary uses of previously published or noninterpretive information products is available.
- Information products based on previously approved published material or that do not contain new interpretive material, as well as all abstracts, scientific data and software, posters used in poster sessions, presentation materials, geonarratives, and web pages receive Bureau approval by a Science Center Director or equivalent* (refer to SM 205.18), unless review and approval by a BAO is requested. Most of these products require at least two USGS-initiated peer reviews. For some products, however, peer review is at the discretion of the Science Center Director (including abstracts, posters, presentations, and USGS web pages).
- BAO review and approval of all information products (including non-interpretive products) considered by the USGS to be highly visible, policy sensitive, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) influential, identified at record creation by Special Product Alerts in the Information Product Data System (IPDS), is strongly recommended. Additional requirements apply as described in SM 502.3 for OMB influential products (influential scientific information and highly influential scientific assessments).
The content in this pdf provides Bureau approval requirements for most information products, depending on the product type and description. All information products listed below requiring Bureau approval by a BAO in OSQI or a Science Center Director (or designee*) must be entered in the internal IPDS where the approval is tracked and documented.
* The term Science Center Director is equivalent to other terms that may be used in the USGS, such as Chief Scientist, Center or Branch Chief, Center Director, Coop Unit Leader, and Cost Center Manager. The Science Center Director may redelegate their approval authority to a designee of comparable responsibility or knowledge (SM 502.18).