The vision of the Frames Program is to create enterprise-wide frames that are linkable in nature, agile in structure, accessible for production or research on a need-to-know basis, while adhering to best practices in terms of technology usage, data management, and methodology.

The Frames Program defines a “frame” as any of the foundational datasets that form the basis for much of the work we do at the Census Bureau. 

Each frame is organized around one of four foundational units of observation: addresses, businesses, jobs, and people.

Modernization benefits include: 

• Greater Alignment: With linked frames, data currently collected by multiple teams using multiple methods can be centralized, streamlined, and harmonized.
• Advanced Research: New linking methods and curated subject matter expertise will enable exploration of more complex and broadly scoped research questions that will support innovative thinking around how we use data to more efficiently answer critical questions about the nation’s people and economy.
• Expanded Analysis: Data analysis will be simplified, repeatable, and more robust with access to the data across all four frames.
  
• Increased Efficiency: Data linkages will help reduce duplication in effort, limit the need for manual data pulls, and allow Census Bureau analysts and product creators to directly pull needed data in fewer steps.
  
• Reduced Burden: Accessing the Enterprise Frames will help reduce respondent burden by re-using existing Census Bureau data.
  
• More Targeted: Survey methodologists will be able to select more targeted samples.

• For more information visit the Frames Program page