Even if a decision or action by an agency is itself very important, a particular piece of information supporting it may or may not be "influential."
Information that affects a broad range of parties, with a low-intensity impact, or information that affects a narrow range of parties, with a high intensity impact, likely is not influential.
DOI agencies and offices may designate certain classes of scientific, statistical, or financial information as "influential" or not in the context of their specific programs. DOI agencies and offices will determine whether scientific, statistical, or financial information is influential on a case-by-case basis, using the principles articulated in these guidelines.
A scientific assessment is considered "highly influential" if the dissemination could be “highly influential” if it meets one of these criteria
One of the ways information can exert economic impact is through the costs or benefits of a regulation based on the disseminated information. The qualitative aspect of this definition may be most useful in cases where it is difficult for an agency to predict the potential economic effect of dissemination. In the context of this Bulletin, it may be either the approach used in the assessment or the interpretation of the information itself that is novel or precedent-setting. Peer review can be valuable in establishing the bounds of the scientific debate when methods or interpretations are a source of controversy among interested parties.