|
JAN. 23, 2023
Written by: Robert L. Santos, Director, U.S. Census Bureau
So here we are in 2023. The U.S. Census Bureau has endured the throes of 2020, when multiple challenges including a global pandemic threatened the completion of our constitutionally mandated decennial census. But complete it, we did, and our final 2020 Census data products ? the most detailed to date ? will be released later this year. And our other censuses and surveys have continued, unabated.
Our work on censuses and surveys these past years has taught us that we can be both innovative and nimble. In fact, we have absorbed those attributes into our strategic planning and our ongoing transformation and modernization initiative. We are reengineering our processes, our practices and indeed our thinking about how a federal statistical agency operates in the 21st century.
We are moving towards a single enterprise, data-centric operation that enables us to funnel data from many sources in a single data lake using common collection and ingestion platforms. This enterprise-level data approach allows us to more effectively conduct our censuses and surveys. We will more selectively solicit data (e.g., survey data collection) to add value and accuracy. And when we solicit data from households, people, governments or businesses, we will be able to do so in a tailored, culturally relevant fashion, especially from those who have historically been the most challenging to secure participation. This is the essence of a curated data approach ? assemble, assess and fill in the gaps to create quality statistical data products.
A critical lesson we learned these past few years is that the Census Bureau cannot accomplish its mission alone. We need a community-of-the-whole approach, an ecosystem of partners and stakeholders working together with us to realize our mission. We must actively engage with partners, stakeholders, communities, government officials, researchers and the public. We plan and operate best when we gather everyone?s feedback, ideas and concerns. We build trust and strengthen ties when we help everyone understand the genuine value of Census Bureau data for assessment, planning, monitoring, policymaking and learning about who we are as Americans. We need to understand issues and concerns from the community/stakeholder perspective and respond in same fashion. Continue reading...
|
