OCTOBER 17, 2023 — The U.S. Census Bureau today announced how it is addressing public suggestions for 2030 Census research plans. The ideas were received in response to a Federal Register Notice (FRN) seeking input or suggestions on ways to improve or enhance the way people respond to the once-a-decade population count.

The Census Bureau received over 8,000 comments that it reviewed, analyzed, and where appropriate, included in its 2030 Census research agenda.

The goal of the research agenda is to enhance the operations and technologies that worked successfully in the 2020 Census and introduce innovations for future censuses.

“We listened to you,” Census Bureau Director Robert L. Santos said. “We’re excited that the feedback not only affirmed many of our priorities, but challenged us to expand our thinking in new research areas. Your thoughtful submissions have made an important impact and contribution on how we move forward in preparing for the 2030 Census.”

Most of the FRN comments aligned with research the Census Bureau already has underway. Based on the feedback, the Census Bureau identified four projects for development, expanded three current research projects, and initiated two new research projects for the 2030 Census research program.

The four projects recommended for development as part of our 2030 Census planning in response to FRN feedback are:

• Census Questionnaire Assistance (CQA) and Contact Strategies – This project aims to better support respondents when they have questions about filling out their census questionnaire. Live webchat functionality and a chatbot component are being considered as possible options to improve access and customer support.
  
• Census Barriers, Attitudes, and Motivators Study (CBAMS) – This project will look at expanding research efforts of CBAMS in Puerto Rico when possible and investigating methodological options to add Island Areas to the study.
• Easing Access to Census Information – This project will focus on making it easier for people to get information about the census via QR codes and other methods.
• Administrative Data Sources – This project will look at accessing data from additional sources, such as data from the Federal Student Aid program and the National School Lunch Program.

Feedback from the FRN inspired the Census Bureau to expand the scope of three research projects already underway. The three research projects are:

• Tailored Contact Strategies – The current objective of this project is to examine the use of tailored contact strategies that incorporate in-office enumeration methods and estimated response propensities. We intend to expand this scope by researching the possibility of using a mass texting campaign to announce the Census Day, and to encourage response. 
  
• Research to Improve Communications, Messaging, and Advertising Effort – The current objective of this project is to conduct research that will inform a data-driven communications and advertising campaign to increase self-response and improve data quality. We intend to expand this scope by researching the messaging around the fact that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) does not release census results for 72 years, in order to build additional trust in the confidentiality of response data.
• Enhance External Engagement – The current objective of this project is to explore ways the Census Bureau might be able to equip partners and stakeholders to increase their capacity to support the census, identify gaps, and leverage networks to further activate resources, such as local trusted voices, and improve response. We intend to expand this scope to include research of a partnership system that will allow requests for specific materials and information. In addition, we will engage with disability advocacy organizations and communities to improve future Census Bureau engagements.  

The Census Bureau has initiated two new research projects in response to FRN submissions. The two new projects are:

• Message for Future Generations – This project will consider the feasibility of adding an option to the 2030 Census questionnaire to capture a “time capsule” message, hopefully to help increase self-response and participation in the 2030 Census. Based on Federal Register Notice (FRN) feedback, this “time capsule” message would allow the public the ability to leave a personalized note to engage with future generations. If feasible, the public could access these notes 72 years after Census Day when released by NARA.
• Cultural Competency Training – This project will research options and feasibility of cultural competency training for Census Questionnaire Assistance (CQA) and field staff. This project will help define the training content, the number of training modules, who would take training, and possible cost to develop modules.

Some of the FRN comments were not feasible for immediate action because of current policies or resource limitations, but the Census Bureau deems the suggestions as innovative and valuable to pursue in the future. Those ideas may contribute to experimental studies or evaluations to be conducted concurrently with the 2030 Census for future censuses.

More information about which research projects were added or expanded because of comment analysis can be found in the Census Bureau’s online tool, the 2030 Census Research Project Explorer. This tool gives the public access to information about the 50-plus research projects being conducted and includes orange markings to indicate those affected by the FRN feedback.

For the first time, the public had the opportunity to formally give input on planning and designing the next decennial census through a Federal Register Notice (FRN).

The Census Bureau also reached out to the Census Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC) and the National Advisory Committee (NAC) for their feedback. These panels concurrently reviewed the public comments and gave the Census Bureau their prioritized research ideas, which informed the agency’s analysis process. 

“We engaged early and it’s important that we continue to engage often with the public and stakeholders about our most important duty – successfully completing the constitutionally mandated once-a-decade count of the entire nation,” said Deborah Stempowski, associate director for the Census Bureau’s Decennial Census Programs. “In order to accomplish our mission of conducting the best census possible – we needed to hear from people across our country about how to reach historically undercounted populations, how to effectively communicate with different communities in culturally relevant ways, how to collect information in an easy and efficient manner, and how communities use our data to meet their needs. And we are grateful thousands of people took the time to share their recommendations.”

The Census Bureau is scheduled to hold additional webinars in 2024. The timing of these webinars and details on the topics to be covered will be released closer to the time of those events.  

Every 10 years, the Census Bureau takes a census – or count – of people living in the United States. The Constitution mandates the census to determine how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Counting every person living in the United States is an incredibly complex undertaking, and preparation takes years. The design of the 2030 Census will mature through 2029 based on research and testing.

For more information, visit the 2030 Census webpage for updates and additional resources.