As part of their commitment to transparency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a new online tool to provide insight into FDA's compliance, inspection, and recall activities.

This new dynamic tool represents a departure from the downloadable spreadsheet-based datasets that FDA has posted in the past. Instead, the FDA data dashboard presents information in an easy-to-read graphical format. It also provides access to the underlying data allowing anyone interested to see related data and trends.

The new dashboard provides data for FY 2009 to FY 2013, and allows access to data on:

• inspections;
• warning letters;
• seizures and injunctions;
• and statistics, specifically for recalls.

FDA plans to update the data semi-annually.

The dashboard is staged in a cloud environment, and it allows anyone to:

• download information for additional analysis;
• manipulate what you see by selecting filters;
• rearrange the format of datasets and the way columns are sorted;
• drill down into data; and
• export charts and source information for further review.

FDA developed this new dashboard after President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on Regulatory Compliance in January 2011.

The President directed federal agencies to make publicly available compliance information easily accessible, downloadable and searchable online, to the extent feasible and permitted by law. FDA formed internal working groups that same year to develop recommendations for enhancing the transparency of operations and decision-making processes. These working groups identified an online tool as a way to present compliance and enforcement data in a user-friendly manner. The dashboard represents the latest example of FDA's commitment to compiling and posting a wealth of FDA data  for public review and feedback.

FDA works within a global environment and is carrying out more inspections around the world. FDA collaborates with regulatory authorities across the globe to protect public health. The data dashboard provides information about inspections in this global environment, making this information more readily accessible to the public. Now anyone can use the dashboard to see this kind of inspection-related information to better understand FDA's regulatory decisions.

A “feedback mechanism” is available for comments, questions or concerns directly to FDA at FDADataDashboard@fda.hhs.gov.

This rollout effort is part of FDA’s continuing commitment to share inspection, compliance, and recall data. We will continue to update the FDA data dashboard and provide public access to this timely and important information.