Digital Government

End-to-end census test took place without 2020 tech

A number of the Census Bureau's plans to save money on the 2020 population count need work, according to an agency watchdog.

Digital Government

Enzi wants answers on Census IT costs

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), head of the Senate Budget Committee, is worried about growing Census IT costs and staffing challenges.

Acquisition

Final census test to include citizenship question

The Census Bureau is including a controversial question about respondent citizenship on its final test, while courts decide its ultimate fate.

Digital Government

Census is Preparing to Fight Social Media Misinformation Campaigns

Bad actors could use 2016 election interference tactics to suppress response rates in the 2020 count, said Deputy Director Ron Jarmin.

People

House Dems put spotlight on Census prep

Following the court ruling invalidating the citizenship question on the 2020 census, House Democrats want to ensure the Census Bureau can handle the preparations required in advance of the national count.

Digital Government

How the shutdown affects open data

Developers rely on government data to build public-facing apps and services, and a lapse in appropriations can make things complicated.

Acquisition

Census adds test on controversial citizenship question

Amid lawsuits and legal uncertainty, the Census Bureau announced plans to conduct a last-minute field test to measure the potential impact of the citizenship question on response rates and accuracy.

Digital Government

Census Project Matches Your Agency's Data with Civic Innovators

Through The Opportunity Project, the bureau is connecting data-laden federal agencies with private-sector innovators who can use that data to solve real problems.

People

Note to government: Start talking like everybody else!

Steve Kelman takes issue with jargon that serves mainly to create artificial distinctions from the private sector.

Digital Government

What will a Democratic House mean for the census?

With Democrats taking control of the House, the 2020 census could see some significant changes.

Acquisition

Rising Star: Drew Zachary

Program Director, Opportunity Project, and Co-Managing Director, Census Open Innovation Labs, Census Bureau, Commerce Department

Digital Government

As trial looms, survey shows citizenship question could harm 2020 census

A national opinion study commissioned by the Census Bureau warned a controversial question on citizenship could be a "major barrier" to operations.

Cybersecurity

Census Bureau Isn’t Properly Managing Its Risk Management Review System

A lack of continuous assessment and oversight led to bad reporting, which in turn led to bad decision-making and a weak cybersecurity posture.

Digital Government

Census Bureau: Tests show tech is saving time and money

While the agency is facing multiple challenges to operations for the 2020 population count, officials said the use of tech to obtain responses from U.S. residents and carry out enumerations on the ground will pay dividends.

People

Lawmakers hear from Trump's pick to lead the Census Bureau

If confirmed, Steven Dillingham will be the first permanent director of the bureau since June 2017, and he would take over after the bureau's 2018 end-to-end test, the final in-field test of systems and operations before the decennial count.

Digital Government

GAO: $15.6 billion census cost estimate not reliable

The Census Bureau bumped its lifecycle cost estimate for the 2020 count up to $15.6 billion last year -- more than $3 billion more than initially projected. But the GAO is, again, taking issue with the reliability of the estimate.

Digital Government

First-ever online census lags on tech issues

Plans for a first-ever online census are lagging on IT readiness, a government watchdog says, and there's still work to do securing systems and data.

Digital Government

Census Bureau Must Fix 3,100 Cyber Vulnerabilities Before 2020 Count

The first digital census has suffered from delays and ballooning IT costs, an auditor’s report states.

Acquisition

Census grapples with IT and (now) paper challenges

In addition to questions over systems readiness and cybersecurity, the first-ever online census is now working to straighten out issues on the paper-based side of the decennial population count -- all against a ticking clock.