Due to the nature of this program, it is important to track long-term quality, cost, and delivery schedule goals. The Census Bureau has embarked on a multi-year research and testing program focused on major innovations to the design of the census and oriented around major cost drivers.

Ensuring that data products are released on schedule is essential. OMB Statistical Directive Number 3 requires that the data for the principal economic indicators be released within prescribed time periods.

Ensuring that data products are released on schedule is essential.

Due to the cyclical nature of these programs, it is important to track annual key activities that support the programs. The internal activities that are tracked are those considered to be the most important in meeting the long-term goals of the cyclical census programs.

The American Community Survey (ACS) includes the release of detailed social, economic, and housing data. The ACS replaced the Decennial Census’ long form in 2005. People increasingly depend on the most current Census Bureau population and income data to made decision on business locations and investments in real estate. Communities rely on this data to measure the demand for housing, predict future needs, and identify trends.

The Census Bureau has initiated several enterprise programs focused on establishing shared services, minimizing redundancy, lowering complexity, and identifying cost savings for data collection, processing, and dissemination.

The Frames Program will enhance and link the Census Bureau's four primary frames (Business Frame, Demographic Frame, Geospatial Frame, and Job Frame) to facilitate more efficient and effective exchange and use of data throughout the enterprise. The enterprise-wide linked frames will be agile in structure, accessible for production or research on a need-to-know basis, and that adhere to best practices in terms of technology usage, data management, and methodology.

The Opportunity Project is a data product accelerator led by the Census Bureau, which catalyzes industry innovation using open data from the Census Bureau’s current survey programs. Through collaborative technology sprints, the project brings together government, data, policymakers, the technology industry, and communities to rapidly prototype solutions to our greatest economic challenges, including access to jobs, stimulating economic development, and access to quality education.

Due to the nature of this program, it is important to track long-term quality, cost, and delivery schedule goals. The Census Bureau has embarked on a multi-year research and testing program focused on major innovations to the design of the census and oriented around major cost drivers.