Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

What are the requirements for communicating unpublished interpretive content in reports of project progress among collaborators? [157]

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

Project progress reports with new interpretive information must include disclaimers indicating preliminary/provisional, deliberative, predecisional nature of information; requirement to not disclose or release information; and waiving of USGS and U.S. Government liability. These reports must be labeled “Preliminary Information Subject to Revision. Not for Citation or Distribution." [Read more]

New interpretative information included in reports of project progress is preliminary or provisional. These materials can be prepared for communicating this scientific information among collaborators (those likely to be coauthors on an interpretive product and (or) funding cooperators) who can significantly contribute to the preparation of datasets and development of interpretations. These materials must include the appropriate disclaimer statements indicating the preliminary/provisional, deliberative, and predecisional nature of the information; the requirement to not disclose or release the information; and the waiving of USGS and U.S. Government liability. Reports of project progress must be labeled with “Preliminary Information Subject to Revision. Not for Citation or Distribution” and must include the applicable disclaimers from those available on the FSP web page linked above.