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Plans and innovations for the 2020 decennial census of the United States1

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Blumerman, Lisa M.a | Bishop, Deirdre Dalpiazb | Dinwiddie, James L.a; *

Affiliations: [a] Decennial Census Programs, United States Census Bureau, Washington, DC, USA | [b] Decennial Census Management Division, United States Census Bureau, Washington, DC, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: James L. Dinwiddie, United States Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC, USA. Tel.: +1 301 763 1346; E-mail:james.l.dinwiddie@census.gov

Note: [1] Any views expressed on statistical, methodological, technical or operational issues are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keywords: Decennial Census, planning, innovations, cost savings, administrative records, data collection technology, Internet data collection, address list

DOI: 10.3233/SJI-161006

Journal: Statistical Journal of the IAOS, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 159-166, 2016

Published: 20 May 2016
Get PDF open access

Abstract

The purpose of the 2020 Census is to conduct a census of population and housing and disseminate the results to the President, the states, and the American people. The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place, and the challenge is to do this at a lower cost per household than the 2010 Census, while maintaining high quality results.

The Census Bureau addressed this challenge first by identifying the major cost drivers of the decennial census. From 2013 through 2015, the Census Bureau conducted research and testing related to major innovations that showed promise of significant cost savings. Across four key innovation areas, the Census Bureau believes it can avoid over $5 billion in costs relative to the cost of repeating the 2010 Census design and operations in 2020. The Census Bureau used the results of the research and testing, other key information, and input from a wide variety of stakeholders to design the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau documented and published its 2020 Census Operational Plan on October 6, 2015, accompanied by revised lifecycle costs estimates and the overall 2020 Census lifecycle budget.

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