ersprojectagreement

FoodAPS Project Agreement
(Revised 2023)
USDA ERS
OMB No. 0536-XXXX
Exp. Date:

FoodAPS PROJECT AGREEMENT
between the
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE (ERS),
and the

(name of university, institution, or agency)

(hereinafter referred to as the Organization)

SUBJECT: Access by the Organization staff to ERS National Household Food Acquisition and
Purchase Survey (FoodAPS) data that have been collected and acquired for
exclusively statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality.
NAME OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT:
PROJECT LEADER (Cannot be a student for university-based research):
Name:
Title:
Address:
Phone number:
Email address:
LOCATION OF DATA ACCESS:
FoodAPS data can be accessed only through an external secure data enclave that
USDA uses. Access to the enclaves and the use of their resources is subject to user
fees.
WHAT SPECIFIC FoodAPS DATA WILL BE USED?
Check the groups of data for which access is requested and provide justification
for Groups 2-7. See the table on page 3 for further details. Data groups 2, 4, and 7
contain proprietary data. These projects must be USDA projects with USDA
collaboration, and the research team will need to sign a Third-Party Agreement
with vendor(s) to gain access.
_X_ Group 1 Main FoodAPS data files and documentation
Group 2 IRI food item classification variables
Group 3 Geography Component—descriptors at different geographic
levels
Group 4 TDLinx/STARS store data
Group 5 Geocodes of FoodAPS households
Group 6 Geocodes of FoodAPS places
Group 7 IRI point-of-sale data in FoodAPS Primary sampling units (PSUs)

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/
/ 20
END DATE:
(There is a 5-year limit for all research projects. The project starts upon ERS approval of this
agreement.)

PROJECT ABSTRACT:
Provide an abstract of no more than 250 words that describes the planned research. If the
proposed project is approved, this abstract will be posted to the ERS website, the FoodAPS
National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey: http://www.ers.usda.gov/dataproducts/foodaps-national-household-food-acquisition-and-purchase-survey.aspx.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
Present an overview of the project in a minimum of one page. Include the objectives, the
methodology, how FoodAPS data will benefit this project—and how this project will contribute
to a further understanding of food markets, consumer behaviors, and food & nutrition assistance
policy and programs.
Include, in the summary, a list of all software packages you will need for your proposed project.
If a needed package is not already available at secure data enclaves that USDA utilizes, the
research team will need to confer with enclave managers about uploading or otherwise gaining
access to the software.

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Request for Access to Specific FoodAPS Data
Group

Dataset

Requested
(Y/N)?

Justification

1

Main FoodAPS Survey data (includes interview
files, FAFH and FAH event and item files, and
survey weights)

Y ‐ default

ERS‐approved project
agreement

2

Item‐level IRI classification variables—proprietary
food item grouping system

Briefly explain how the analysis
will use these data.

3

Geography Component—block group‐, census
tract‐, county‐aggregated store and other food
environment data; TFP price indices.

Briefly explain how these data
will be used.

4

TDLinx store data/USDA’s STARS file of SNAP‐
authorized stores

Briefly explain how these data
will be used.

5

Household Geocodes

Briefly explain how these data
will be used.

6

FoodAPS places Geocodes

Briefly explain how these data
will be used.

7

IRI Point of Sale Data from FoodAPS PSUs

Briefly explain how these data
will be used.

FAFH=Food-away-from-home
FAH=Food-at-home
TFP=Thrifty Food Plan

3

Additional forms needed prior to
authorization

Third Party Agreement with IRI
is required, as is USDA
collaboration

Third Party Agreement with
Nielsen is required, as is USDA
collaboration

Third Party Agreement with IRI
is required, as is USDA
collaboration

Revised J2023

PROJECT PARTICIPANT INFORMATION (repeat for each person):
Name:
Title:
Phone number:
Email address:
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING:
The Memorandum of Understanding associated with this Agreement serves as the
foundation for the cooperation between the Organization and ERS regarding the
use of FoodAPS data for strictly statistical purposes. All projects that access the
FoodAPS data must adhere to and abide by the provisions laid out in the
Memorandum of Understanding.
DATA SHARING:
The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002
(CIPSEA), Title V of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-347),
Subtitle A, as reauthorized and expanded in Title III of the Foundations for
Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act), Pub. L. No. 115-435,
tit. III, 132 Stat. 5544 (Jan. 14, 2019) establishes standards and requirements that
provide the legal authority for any party entering into this Memorandum of
Understanding. CIPSEA allows Federal agencies that collect data under the
pledge of confidentiality to share individual identifiable data for statistical
purposes only, to deny use of the data for non-statistical purposes (such as
enforcing regulations or release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)),
and to punish those who disclose identifiable information about individual
respondents.
PENALTIES:
The protection of data collected under this law is supported by a penalty of a
Class E Felony for a knowing and willful disclosure of confidential data. This
penalty includes imprisonment for up to 5 years and fines of up to $250,000. Any
violation of the Memorandum of Understanding may also be a violation of
Federal criminal law under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a. In addition to
the imposition of civil/criminal fines and penalties, any violation of data
confidentiality will result in the termination of this Agreement and the
Memorandum of Understanding.
DISSEMINATION AND DISCLOSURE REVIEW OF INFORMATION:
When an approved member of the project’s research team requests a download
from the secure data enclave of any material related to analysis or other use of the
restricted FoodAPS data, the material must first be submitted to ERS for disclosure
review and approval. The ERS review will:
1. Check to ensure that dissemination of the submitted material will not risk
disclosure of confidential information that could lead to identification of a
respondent in the FoodAPS data collection.
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2. Check to ensure that the submitted material does not provide names of
individuals, retail outlets, schools, churches, food organizations, other
organizations, food manufacturers, branded food items, or individual or
establishment locations; and
3. Check to see that the submitted analyses conform to the analysis plan
presented in the approved Project Agreement, as amended.
Materials needing review and approval include (but are not limited to) tables,
charts, figures, slides, and text, whether in draft, revised, or final form. All reports,
papers, manuscripts, presentations and speeches must be prepared subsequently
using the material cleared from the secure data enclave.
Until cleared by ERS, the Organization shall not disclose data or any product
(manuscripts, presentations, speeches, etc.) derived from the data to anyone other
than individuals for whom access is authorized under this MOU and who have
executed an ERS Confidentiality Agreement. Only reviewed and ERS-approved
materials may be circulated beyond members of the project research team with
signed confidentiality agreements or otherwise disseminated or published.
SECURITY:

1) Each member of the project, including the Project Leader, must participate in
annual ERS CIPSEA training and sign an ERS Confidentiality Agreement.
2) Each member will ensure that his/her computing environment does not expose
confidential data to unauthorized individuals.
3) Each member will respect the confidentiality of the data at all
times, including after the end date of this Agreement.
4) Until cleared by ERS, the members shall not disclose data or other
information containing or derived from the data to anyone other than
individuals for whom access is authorized under this MOU and who have
executed a Confidentiality Agreement.

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SIGNATURES:
The Organization’s Project Leader shall sign this Project Agreement below. The
Project Leader certifies, by his/her signature, that all provisions of this Project
Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding referenced in this document will
be adhered to and enforced by all participants of this project.
Signature of Project Leader:
Type or Print Name:
Date:
The Organization’s designated Senior Official shall sign this Project
Agreement below. The Senior Official certifies, by his/her signature, that:
1) The Organization has the authority to undertake the commitments of this
Project Agreement;
2) The designated Senior Official has the authority to bind the Organization to
the provisions of this Project Agreement;
3) The designated Senior Official has the authority to enforce the provisions
of this Project Agreement; and
4) This Project has been reviewed and approved for access and use of FoodAPS
data.
Signature of Senior Official:
Type or Print Name:
Title:
Date:
The Economic Research Service (ERS) concurs in the Project Agreement and
authorizes access by the Organization to the FoodAPS data. This agreement
is effective as of the date of the ERS Official’s signature below.
Signature of ERS Official:
Name:
Title: Director, FED, Telephone: (202) 694-5400
Date Approved:
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The information you provide will be used for statistical purposes only. Your responses 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 provisions of Title V, Subtitle A, Public Law 107-347 and other
applicable Federal laws. Response is voluntary.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a
collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB number is 0536-xxxx. The time required to
complete this information collection is estimated to average 95 minutes per project, including the time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.