Strategic Pillar 6: Public Engagement and Accountability

Goal: Increase understanding and appreciation of the Board's mission through public engagement and accountability.

Objective 6.1: Provide information on issues spanning the full range of the Board's missions that enhances public understanding of the Board and its policy decisions and that allows the Congress and the public to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities.

The Board will continue to build awareness and understanding of its mission, policies, and operations amongst the Congress and the public and through a variety of communication vehicles.

Projects and Initiatives

• Enhance communications and promote understanding of the Federal Reserve by providing more information via the Board's website and other external communication platforms.
• Sustain relationships with news media and congressional offices to ensure information on the Federal Reserve's analysis and policies are disseminated to the Congress and the public in a timely and accurate manner.
• Expand the functionality of the Official Response Collaboration Application, including improving workflows that register and track responses to letters received by the Chair's office, and add a Public Information Outreach module to better track correspondence submitted through the Board's public website.
• Conduct research on topics such as the U.S. economy; the global economy and its interactions with the U.S. economy; financial stability; consumer risk; community and human capital development dynamics and practices; safety and efficiency of payment, clearing, and settlement arrangements, activities, and instruments; and retail payments trends. As appropriate, continue to make the research available to the public through publications, working papers, academic journal articles, or conference presentations.
• Produce and publish surveys, reports, and data on financial markets, banking conditions, the Reserve Bank balance sheets, economic activity, and monetary policy, including the Census of Finance Companies.

Objective 6.2: Clearly communicate the rationale underlying the Board's decisions across a range of topics including monetary policy, regulatory policy, payment system policy, and supervisory actions.

The Board will continue to communicate and publish reports regarding its policy decisions through a variety of communication vehicles.

Projects and Initiatives

• Develop and issue with the other regulators a report to the Congress, as defined under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA), that identifies outdated or unnecessary regulations and reduce regulatory burden on insured depository institutions while, at the same time, ensuring their safety and soundness and the safety and soundness of the financial system.
• Monitor and track implementation of recommendations to reduce regulatory burden on community banks, incorporating any related EGRPRA process results and reviewing any additional actions to reduce regulatory burden as applicable.
• Enhance transparency and understanding of the supervision process and outcomes, both within the System and for the public, focusing on aggregate quantitative and qualitative information rather than firm-specific information.
• Continue to communicate and publish reports on monetary and financial stability policy.

Objective 6.3: Expand the extent and effectiveness of collaborations with external entities, as appropriate.

The Board will continue to collaborate with external entities as appropriate to inform the Board's policy decisions by providing a more complete understanding of the economy and the financial system. Staff will continue to contribute to activities that enhance the resiliency of the financial sector and coordinate with other federal supervisory agencies. Staff will continue to research and propose to the Board a wide array of policies and guidance on supervisory programs and address any legislative mandates or changes in the economic conditions.

Projects and Initiatives

• Enhance working relationships, as appropriate, with representatives from academia, other government agencies, and international groups.
• Continue to develop policies and standards that foster safety and efficiency in the payment system and identify payment improvement strategies to increase end-to-end speed and safety, including working jointly with Reserve Banks to engage payment system stakeholders in payment system improvement efforts as outlined in the Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System paper.³
• Continue to draft, refine, and consult on consumer protection regulations for which the Federal Reserve has authority, working with other banking agencies and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as appropriate.
• Work closely with the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing to improve processes associated with currency design and production.

Objective 6.4: Gather information, views, and perspectives on issues related to the Board's mission from a wide range of constituencies, including consumers, businesses, financial sector participants, community groups, researchers, and elected and other public officials.

Under the Board's leadership, staff will engage with the public on a wide range of issues relevant to the Board's mission. Staff will work on a broad research agenda that focuses on the macroeconomy and financial markets and will work to assess potential financial stresses that could threaten economic and financial stability.

Projects and Initiatives

• Support the FOMC with the commencement of the policy normalization process as outlined in its approach to monetary policy normalization in the Policy Normalization Principles and Plans.⁴
• Increase outreach to community and consumer organizations, industry groups, government agencies, and academics, including the Board's official advisory councils (the Community Advisory Council, the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council, the Federal Advisory Council, and the Model Validation Council) to identify and facilitate community development activities.⁵
• Contribute to domestic and international efforts to improve the quality of financial data that can better inform policymaking.
• Engage payment system stakeholders in payment system improvement efforts, including members of the faster payment and secure payment task forces and the public.

References

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• Full report (PDF)

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