This required external peer review was conducted in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Inspection and Evaluation Committee guidance as contained in the CIGIE Guide for Conducting Peer Reviews of Inspection and Evaluation Organizations of Federal Offices of Inspector General (Blue Book).
The peer review was conducted from May 17, 2021 through August 18, 2021. The CIGIE External Peer Review Team (review team) consisted of experienced Office of Inspector General (OIG) inspection and evaluation professionals from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) OIG. The VA OIG (reviewing OIG) assessed the extent to which Department of Defense (DoD) OIG (reviewed organization) complied with the seven covered Blue Book standards, specifically: Quality Control; Planning; Data Collections and Analysis; Evidence; Records Maintenance; Reporting; and Followup.
This assessment included a review of the DoD OIG’s internal policies and procedures implementing the seven covered CIGIE Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation, January 2012. It also included a review of selected inspection and evaluation reports issued between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 to determine whether the reports complied with the covered Blue Book standards and the DoD OIG’s internal policies and procedures. The VA OIG determined that the DoD OIG’s policies and procedures generally were consistent with the seven Blue Book standards addressed in the external peer review. Of the four reports reviewed, all generally complied with the seven covered Blue Book standards.