2010 Census
Diversity in Human Capital, Outreach Efforts Can Benefit the 2010 Census Gao ID: GAO-07-1132T July 26, 2007For the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) faces the daunting challenge of cost-effectively counting a population that is growing steadily larger, more diverse, increasingly difficult to find, and more reluctant to participate in the decennial census. Managing its human capital, maintaining community partnerships, and developing advertising strategies to increase response rates for the decennial census are several ways that the Bureau can complete the 2010 Census accurately and within budget. This testimony, based primarily on past GAO work, provides information on (1) diversity in the Bureau's workforce, (2) plans for partnering with others in an effort to build public awareness of the census; and (3) certain requirements for ensuring contracting opportunities for small businesses.
Diversity in senior leadership is important for effective government operations. GAO found that the racial, ethnic, and gender makeup of the Bureau's senior management and staff in grades most likely to rise to senior management is generally in line with that of the federal government as a whole. The success of the 2010 Census depends, in part, upon the Bureau's ability to recruit, hire, and train a temporary workforce reaching almost 600,000. In 2000, the Bureau used an aggressive recruitment strategy, including advertising in various languages to attract different ethnic groups and races, as well as senior citizens, retirees, and others seeking part-time employment. The Bureau intends to use a similar recruitment strategy for the 2010 Census. For 2010, the Bureau also intends to involve community and other groups to encourage participation in the census, particularly among certain populations, such as persons with limited English proficiency and minorities. Further, the Bureau plans to hire a contractor to develop an advertising campaign to reach undercounted populations. In its contract solicitation, the Bureau has included a requirement that the contractor establish goals for subcontracting with, amongst other groups, women-owned and small disadvantaged businesses, and a requirement that the contractor have experience in marketing to historically undercounted populations such as African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, American Indian and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. This contract is expected to be awarded in September 2007. For the Bureau to leverage the benefit of its diversity and outreach efforts, it will be important for it to follow through on its intentions to recruit a diverse workforce, and utilize the experience of a diverse pool of partners, including community groups, state and local governments, and the private sector.
GAO-07-1132T, 2010 Census: Diversity in Human Capital, Outreach Efforts Can Benefit the 2010 Census
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Testimony:
Before the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National
Archives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of
Representatives:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 2:00 p.m. EDT:
Thursday July 26, 2007:
2010 census:
Diversity in Human Capital, Outreach Efforts Can Benefit the 2010
Census:
Statement of Mathew J. Scirč, Director,
Strategic Issues:
GAO-07-1132T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-07-1132T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on
Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives
Why GAO Did This Study:
For the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) faces the daunting
challenge of cost-effectively counting a population that is growing
steadily larger, more diverse, increasingly difficult to find, and more
reluctant to participate in the decennial census. Managing its human
capital, maintaining community partnerships, and developing advertising
strategies to increase response rates for the decennial census are
several ways that the Bureau can complete the 2010 Census accurately
and within budget. This testimony, based primarily on past GAO work,
provides information on (1) diversity in the Bureau‘s workforce, (2)
plans for partnering with others in an effort to build public awareness
of the census; and (3) certain requirements for ensuring contracting
opportunities for small businesses.
What GAO Found:
Diversity in senior leadership is important for effective government
operations. GAO found that the racial, ethnic, and gender makeup of the
Bureau's senior management and staff in grades most likely to rise to
senior management is generally in line with that of the federal
government as a whole. The success of the 2010 Census depends, in part,
upon the Bureau‘s ability to recruit, hire, and train a temporary
workforce reaching almost 600,000. In 2000, the Bureau used an
aggressive recruitment strategy, including advertising in various
languages to attract different ethnic groups and races, as well as
senior citizens, retirees, and others seeking part-time employment. The
Bureau intends to use a similar recruitment strategy for the 2010
Census.
Figure: Bureau's Recruiting and Hiring Timeline for Temporary Field
Staff duing the 2010 Census;
(See PDF for image)
Source: GAO analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
(End of figure)
For 2010, the Bureau also intends to involve community and other groups
to encourage participation in the census, particularly among certain
populations, such as persons with limited English proficiency and
minorities. Further, the Bureau plans to hire a contractor to develop
an advertising campaign to reach undercounted populations. In its
contract solicitation, the Bureau has included a requirement that the
contractor establish goals for subcontracting with, amongst other
groups, women-owned and small disadvantaged businesses, and a
requirement that the contractor have experience in marketing to
historically undercounted populations such as African Americans,
Asians, Hispanics, American Indian and Alaska Natives, Native
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. This contract is expected to be
awarded in September 2007.
For the Bureau to leverage the benefit of its diversity and outreach
efforts, it will be important for it to follow through on its
intentions to recruit a diverse workforce, and utilize the experience
of a diverse pool of partners, including community groups, state and
local governments, and the private sector.
What GAO Recommends:
At this time, GAO is not making new recommendations.
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1132T.]
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Mathew J. Scirč at (202)
512-6806 or sciremj@gao.gov.
[End of Section]
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Turner, Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to discuss how the
Census Bureau (Bureau) approaches diversity in the Bureau's human
capital, community partnerships, and outreach efforts. For the 2010
Census, the Bureau faces the daunting challenge of cost-effectively
counting a population that is growing steadily larger, more diverse,
increasingly difficult to find, and more reluctant to participate in
the decennial census. Managing its human capital, maintaining community
partnerships, and developing advertising strategies to increase
response rates for the decennial census are several ways that the
Bureau can complete an accurate and cost-effective census.
As you know, the decennial census is a critical national effort
mandated by the Constitution. Census data are used to apportion seats
in the Congress, redraw congressional districts, allocate billions of
dollars in federal assistance to state and local governments, and for
numerous other public and private sector purposes. In addition, the
census is a complicated undertaking and a substantial investment,
requiring careful planning, risk management, and oversight to ensure
its ultimate success. The census is the nation's largest peacetime
mobilization, and the Bureau estimates the 2010 Census will cost $11.5
billion over its life cycle, making it the most expensive census in our
country's history, even after adjusting for inflation. Since the 2000
Census, we have been examining how the Bureau is preparing for the 2010
Census.
Today's hearing is topical and timely because in less than 2 years, the
Bureau will begin to hire thousands of workers for its address
canvassing operation in preparation for the 2010 Census, where
temporary field workers verify the addresses of all housing units. As
requested, we are providing information about three important aspects
of the Bureau's preparations for the 2010 Census: (1) diversity in the
Bureau's leadership and management ranks and its plans for recruiting
and hiring temporary field workers; (2) plans for partnering with
others in an effort to build public awareness of the census; and (3)
certain requirements for ensuring contracting opportunities for small
businesses.
My remarks today are based primarily on reports that we issued from
2000 through July 2007 on the planning and development of the 2010
Census, as well as our work on diversity management, collaboration
among federal agencies, and contracting with small businesses. We
conducted that work in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards.
In summary, Mr. Chairman, promoting a diverse workforce can benefit the
Bureau, especially as it prepares for the 2010 Census. As we previously
reported in 2005, high-performance organizations are inclusive, drawing
on the strengths of employees at all levels and of all
backgrounds.[Footnote 1] The Bureau understands that its staff must
reflect the increasing diversity of the American population if it is to
do its job well. We found that the Bureau's leadership ranks currently
are about as diverse as the leadership ranks of the federal government
as a whole, with higher minority representation and lower
representation of women. Importantly, Bureau officials emphasize the
need to recruit temporary field workers locally, because such staff
represent the demographic characteristics of areas being enumerated and
are best able to relate to local residents and help overcome any
reluctance to participate in the census. The Bureau's recruiting
efforts will be accompanied by a public partnership program with local
governments, Indian tribal leadership, and others that will leverage
their insights and familiarity with local and diverse populations to
help recruit field staff and encourage participation in the 2010
Census. Likewise, the Bureau expects that its proposed communications
campaign will encourage the participation of hard-to-enumerate
populations in the decennial. It will be important for the Bureau to
follow through on its plans for leveraging the experiences of its
workforce, partners, and contractors to help ensure the success of the
2010 Census.
Background:
The decennial census is conducted against a backdrop of immutable
deadlines. The census's elaborate chain of interrelated pre-and post-
Census Day activities is predicated upon those dates. To meet these
mandated reporting requirements, census activities must occur at
specific times and in the proper sequence. The Secretary of Commerce is
legally required to (1) conduct the census on April 1 of the decennial
year, (2) report the state population counts to the President for
purposes of congressional apportionment by December 31 of the decennial
year, and (3) send population tabulations to the states for purposes of
redistricting no later than 1 year after the April 1 census date.
For the decennial census, the vast majority of housing units will
receive paper, mailback census questionnaires delivered by mail or by
census field workers before April 1, 2010. This requires a complete and
accurate address list. The inventory of housing units is obtained from
several sources including files from the U.S. Postal Service,
partnerships established with local entities, and the Bureau's address
canvassing--where temporary field workers verify and identify the
addresses of an estimated 130 million housing units over the course of
about 6 weeks in 2009. When housing units do not respond to
questionnaires by a certain deadline, temporary field workers will
follow up and collect census data through personal interviews during
the nonresponse follow-up operation, which accounts for the largest
single component of the field data collection workload and budget. The
Bureau estimates that nonresponse follow-up will include an estimated
39 million housing units over the course of 12 weeks in 2010. The
Bureau also relies on special procedures to handle areas or living
quarters that are not suitable for mailing or delivering census
questionnaires, such as very remote areas in Alaska and prisons.
To gather census data, the Bureau opens temporary offices across the
country for approximately 2 years, and all field staff employed in
these offices are considered temporary, with jobs lasting as long as
the entire 2-year period or as short as a few weeks, depending on the
specific operation for which they are employed. For example, one could
work on address canvassing, an early operation, and then be rehired
again to work on the nonresponse follow-up operation later on in the
decennial. To conduct its decennial activities, the Bureau recruits,
hires, and trains temporary field workers based out of local census
offices nationwide. During Census 2000, the Bureau hired about half a
million temporary workers at peak, which temporarily made it one of the
nation's largest employers, surpassed by only a handful of big
organizations, such as Wal-Mart and the U.S. Postal Service. For the
2010 Census, the Bureau expects to hire almost 75,000 temporary field
workers--at a cost of over $350 million--during address canvassing in
2009 and almost 525,000 temporary field workers--at a cost of over $2
billion--for nonresponse follow-up in 2010. (See fig. 1.)
Figure 1: Figure 1: Bureau's Recruiting and Hiring Timeline for
Temporary Field Staff during the 2010 Census:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
[End of figure]
Implementing Diversity Management Practices Can Help Benefit the
Bureau's Current Workforce and Recruitment for the Decennial Census:
High-performance organizations are inclusive, drawing on the strengths
of employees at all levels and of all backgrounds. For the decennial
census, having a diverse workforce is particularly important. For
example, in its strategic plan, the Bureau notes that as the nation
becomes more diverse, the Bureau's staff must reflect the increasing
diversity of the American population if they are to do their job
well.[Footnote 2] In a related point, Bureau officials emphasize the
need to recruit temporary field workers locally, because such staff are
best able to relate to local residents and overcome any reluctance to
participate in the census. In fact, the census, in many respects, is a
local endeavor because the key ingredients of a successful population
count, such as a complete and accurate address list and timely and
accurate field data collection, are carried out by the locally
recruited temporary field staff--working in and around their respective
neighborhoods--collecting data through various operations.
A high-performance organization relies on a dynamic workforce with the
requisite talents, multidisciplinary knowledge, and up-to-date skills
to ensure it can accomplish its goals and missions. As we have
previously reported, such an organization fosters a work environment in
which people are enabled and motivated to contribute to continuous
learning and improvement as well as to accomplishing missions and
goals.[Footnote 3] Such organizations promote accountability and
fairness. Importantly, they take advantage of a workforce that is
inclusive and utilizes the strengths and talents of employees at all
levels and backgrounds. This work environment is consistent with the
principles of "diversity management"--a process intended to create and
maintain a positive work environment where individual similarities and
differences are valued, so that all can reach their potential and
maximize their contributions to the organization. As shown in table 1,
in our previous work on diversity management, we identified 9 diversity
management practices.
Table 1: Leading Diversity Management Practices:
* Top leadership commitment--a vision of diversity demonstrated and
communicated throughout an organization by top-level management.
* Diversity as part of an organization's strategic plan--a diversity
strategy and plan that are developed and aligned with the
organization's strategic plan.
* Diversity linked to performance--the understanding that a more
diverse and inclusive work environment can yield greater productivity
and help improve individual and organizational performance.
* Measurement--a set of quantitative and qualitative measures of the
impact of various aspects of an overall diversity plan.
* Accountability--the means to ensure that leaders are responsible for
diversity by linking their performance assessment and compensation to
the progress of diversity initiatives.
* Succession planning--an ongoing, strategic process for identifying
and developing a diverse pool of talent for an organization's potential
future leaders.
* Recruitment--the process for attracting a supply of qualified,
diverse applicants for employment.
* Employee involvement--the contribution of employees in driving
diversity throughout an organization.
* Diversity training--organizational efforts to inform and educate
management and staff about diversity.
Source: GAO
Note: Practices are from GAO, Diversity Management: Expert-Identified
Leading Practices and Agency Examples, GAO-05-90 (Washington, D.C.:
Jan. 2005).
[End of table]
Perhaps the most important practice for diversity management is top
leadership commitment, because leaders and managers must commit the
time and necessary resources for the success of an organization's
diversity initiatives. Although all of these practices are important,
today we discuss two of them as they relate to the Bureau: (1)
succession planning--an ongoing, strategic process for identifying and
developing a diverse pool of talent for an organizations' potential
future leaders--and (2) recruitment for the Bureau's temporary field
work--the process of attracting qualified, diverse applicants for
employment which is important for maintaining high performance.
Succession Planning for Senior Managers:
As we have testified earlier, the federal government is facing new and
more complex challenges in the 21st century because of long-term fiscal
constraints, changing demographics, and other factors.[Footnote 4] The
federal Senior Executive Service (SES), which generally represents the
most experienced and senior segment of the federal workforce, is
critical to providing the strategic leadership needed to effectively
meet these challenges. Governmentwide, SES retirement eligibility is
much higher than the workforce in general, and a significant number of
SES retirements could result in a loss of leadership continuity,
institutional knowledge, and expertise among the SES corps.
We have previously reported that the Bureau needs to strategically
manage its human capital to meet future requirements.[Footnote 5] For
example, three senior census executives left the Bureau after the 2000
Census; in the years ahead, other key employees will become eligible
for retirement. According to the Bureau's strategic plan, about 45
percent of the Bureau's current permanent employees will be eligible
for regular or early retirement by 2010. Thus, human capital is a key
planning area for ensuring that the Bureau has the skill mix necessary
to meet its future staffing requirements.
Racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the federal government's senior
ranks can be a key organizational component for executing agency
missions, ensuring accountability to the American people in the
administration and operation of federal programs, and achieving
results. Based on previous work identifying diversity in the federal
SES corps, we compared diversity at the Bureau's senior levels with
that of the Department of Commerce and the executive branch
governmentwide. Also, because the vast majority of SES personnel is
drawn from an agency's pool of GS-14s and GS-15s, we also compared the
diversity of the Bureau's SES developmental pool with that of the
Department of Commerce and other executive branch agencies
governmentwide. (See table 2.)
Table 2: Percentage (and Number) of Women and Minorities in SES and the
Developmental Pool at the Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, and
Governmentwide for Fiscal Year 2002 and 2006:
SES: Women;
Census Bureau: 2002: 29.4 (10);
Census Bureau: 2006: 22.2 (8);
Department of Commerce: 2002: 27.6 (89);
Department of Commerce: 2006: 27.8 (87);
Governmentwide: 2002: 25.5 (1,585);
Governmentwide: 2006: 28.4 (1,806).
SES: Minorities;
Census Bureau: 2002: 26.5 (9);
Census Bureau: 2006: 25.0 (9);
Department of Commerce: 2002: 16.4 (53);
Department of Commerce: 2006: 12.8 (40);
Governmentwide: 2002: 14.9 (922);
Governmentwide: 2006: 15.9 (1,007).
Developmental pool: Women (GS-15);
Census Bureau: 2002: 30.1: (58);
Census Bureau: 2006: 37.7 (72);
Department of Commerce: 2002: 23.4 (572);
Department of Commerce: 2006: 26.6 (727);
Governmentwide: 2002: 26.4 (14,549);
Governmentwide: 2006: 29.8 (18,622).
Developmental pool: Minorities (GS-15);
Census Bureau: 2002: 17.6 (34);
Census Bureau: 2006: 20.4 (39);
Department of Commerce: 2002: 14.9 (365);
Department of Commerce: 2006: 18.5 (507);
Governmentwide: 2002: 16.6 (9,133);
Governmentwide: 2006: 19.0 (11,861).
Developmental pool: Women (GS-14);
Census Bureau: 2002: 39.3 (190);
Census Bureau: 2006: 40.2 (206);
Department of Commerce: 2002: 29.2 (1,519);
Department of Commerce: 2006: 31.6 (1,987);
Governmentwide: 2002: 31.5 (28,794);
Governmentwide: 2006: 34.8 (34,124).
Developmental pool: Minorities (GS-14);
Census Bureau: 2002: 20.5 (99);
Census Bureau: 2006: 24.6 (126);
Department of Commerce: 2002: 22.9 (1,192);
Department of Commerce: 2006: 28.8 (1,810);
Governmentwide: 2002: 19.0 (17,413);
Governmentwide: 2002: 22.2 (21,830).
Source: GAO analysis of data from the Office of Personnel Management's
Central Personnel Data File.
Notes: Governmentwide includes civilian employees of all cabinet-level
departments, independent agencies, commissions, councils, and boards in
the executive branch except the intelligence agencies, the Postal
Service, and the Foreign Service (as of 2006).
We included GS-15, GS-14, and equivalent employees. GS-equivalent
employees are those in equivalent grades under other pay plans that
follow the GS grade structure and job evaluation methodology or are
equivalent by statute.
These data provide a demographic snapshot of career SES and the GS-14
and GS-15 grade levels that serve as developmental pools for SES
positions from the end of fiscal year 2002 and fiscal year 2006.
The numbers in this table reflect permanent appointments for those on
board as of September 30, 2002 and 2006.
[End of table]
Overall, we found that the Bureau's leadership ranks are about as
diverse as the leadership ranks for the federal government as a whole,
with higher minority representation and lower representation of women.
Diversity in the federal government's senior leadership and
developmental pools are important to developing and maintaining a high-
quality and inclusive workforce. Succession planning also is tied to
the federal government's opportunity to change the diversity of the SES
corps through new appointments.
Recruiting for Temporary Decennial Workforce:
The success of the 2010 Census depends, in part, upon the Bureau's
ability to recruit, hire, and train a very large temporary workforce
that works for a very short period. Over the next several years the
Bureau plans to recruit 3.8 million applicants and hire nearly 600,000
temporary field staff from that applicant pool for two key operations:
address canvassing and nonresponse follow-up. For the 2010 Census the
Bureau plans to use a recruiting and hiring approach like the one it
used in 2000.
For the 2000 Census, the Bureau used an aggressive recruitment strategy
in partnership with state, local, and tribal governments, community
groups, and other organizations to help recruit employees and obtained
exemptions from the majority of state governments so that individuals
receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Medicaid, and
selected other types of public assistance would not have their benefits
reduced when earning census income, thus making census jobs more
attractive.[Footnote 6] Further, the Bureau used a recruitment
advertising campaign, totaling over $2.3 million, which variously
emphasized the ability to earn good pay, work flexible hours, learn new
skills, and do something important for one's community. Moreover, the
advertisements were in a variety of languages to attract different
ethnic groups, and were also targeted to different races, senior
citizens, retirees, and people seeking part-time employment.[Footnote
7] The Bureau also advertised using traditional outlets such as
newspaper classified sections, as well as more novel media including
Internet banners and messages on utility and credit card bills.
Through its local census offices, the Bureau plans to recruit, hire,
and deploy a diverse workforce that looks like and can relate to the
people being counted. Local census offices will open for the 2010
Census in October 2008. The Bureau has developed a Planning Database
that local and regional offices use to prepare recruiting plans. The
Bureau expects those offices to use the database to identify areas
where field staff are more difficult to recruit and other areas where
certain skills--such as foreign language abilities--are needed. The
Bureau will update the Planning Database for every census tract in the
United States for the 2010 Census, using many variables from Census
2000. These variables include: Census 2000 mail return rates; household
size; median household income; percentage of persons living in poverty;
number of single person households; highest level of education
achieved; percentage of linguistically isolated households (i.e., where
no person 14 or over speaks English at least "very well"); and
percentage of persons on public assistance.
One of the Bureau's approaches to recruiting and hiring is ensuring
that it recruits and hires a sufficient number of field staff. For the
2000 Census the Bureau recruited 5 times the number of persons that it
hired, and hired twice the number of persons that it expects to need.
We recommended that the Bureau consider a more targeted approach. For
example, the Bureau could analyze the factors, such as education and
work status, for employees more likely to be successful at census work
and less likely to leave during an operation.[Footnote 8] The Bureau
questioned the need for taking action, noting that its priority is to
reach out as broadly as possible to the diverse communities in the
country, because in order to have hundreds of thousands of temporary
workers, it must attract several million applicants. We agree that the
Bureau's recruiting approach should be designed to ensure it selects a
sufficient number of persons to complete the census; however, we do not
believe the Bureau has identified the factors most likely to predict
applicants' success and that are incorporated in selection tools and
procedures. Our recommendation calls for a fact-based approach to
developing selection tools so that the Bureau could target recruitment
to applicants who are not only more likely to perform well but also to
continue throughout an operation. Recruiting such applicants could help
reduce operational costs as well as recruiting and hiring expenditures
by decreasing the need to recruit and hire additional workers.
Likewise, such an approach can be undertaken while continuing to
attract a diverse workforce.
Collaborative Partnership Efforts with Diverse Communities Can Benefit
the Decennial Census:
Collaboration can be broadly defined as any joint activity that is
intended to produce more public value than could be produced when the
organization acts alone. We have previously reported on several best
practices that can enhance and sustain collaborative efforts. These
include (1) establishing mutually reinforcing or joint strategies and
(2) identifying and addressing needs by leveraging resources. For
example, critical decennial tasks, such as building public awareness of
the census, motivating people to respond, and locating pockets of hard-
to-count population groups, are accomplished in large part by
partnerships between the Bureau and local governments and community
groups.[Footnote 9] To leverage visibility, the Bureau also used
partnerships with national organizations such as the Mexican American
Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, the National Congress of American
Indians, and the American Association of Retired Persons.
In a recent field hearing, held by this subcommittee in San Antonio,
Texas on July 9, 2007, leaders of several national organizations called
on the Bureau to continue its efforts to ameliorate factors such as
apathy, fear, and distrust of government through continued partnerships
for the 2010 Census. Leaders noted that within historically hard-to-
enumerate communities these issues are best addressed by trusted
individuals, institutions, and organizations. Consequently, these
organizations' leaders believe that the significance and positive
impact of partner and stakeholder networks to a community mobilization
effort is critical to a region's success and to the overall success of
the census. The Bureau also has met periodically with advisory
committees representing minority populations to help ensure a complete
and accurate census.
To take a more complete and accurate count of the nation's population
in Census 2000, the Bureau partnered with other federal agencies, as
well as with state, local and tribal governments; religious, community,
and social service organizations; and private businesses. In previous
work we found that to coordinate local partners' efforts, the Bureau
encouraged government entities to form Complete Count Committees, which
were to be made up of representatives from various local
groups.[Footnote 10] According to the Bureau, about 140,000
organizations participated in its partnership program, assisting in
such critical activities as reviewing and updating the Bureau's address
list; encouraging people--especially hard-to-count populations--to
participate in the census; and recruiting temporary census workers. The
program stemmed from the Bureau's recognition that a successful head
count required the local knowledge, experience, and expertise that
these organizations provide. While we concluded that it is quite likely
that the key census-taking activities, such as recruiting temporary
census workers and encouraging people to complete their questionnaires
would have been less successful had it not been for the Bureau's
aggressive partnership efforts, we also recommended that the Bureau
take steps to make the partnership program more accountable and
performance-oriented. The Bureau expects the program will play a key
role in the 2010 Census. However, the Bureau's fiscal year 2008 budget
request does not include funds for the regional partnership program. In
contrast the Bureau received $5.7 million for the regional partnership
program in 1998.
One of the means by which the Bureau plans for increasing response
rates is an advertising and outreach campaign to promote the census. In
Census 2000, the Bureau first used a paid advertising campaign to
create and produce an advertising campaign to inform and motivate the
public to complete and return the census form by using a variety of
media to stress the message that participating in the census benefits
one's community. For Census 2000, the Bureau spent about $167 million
on the paid advertising campaign and a substantial portion of the
advertising was directed at minority groups. For the 2010 Census, the
Bureau is currently in the process of considering proposals for a
similar effort. In its Request for Proposals, the Bureau required that
the contractor establish goals for subcontracting with firms that are,
for example, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned, veteran-
owned, or are Historically Underutilized Business Zone companies. The
Bureau also included in the solicitation a requirement that the
contractor have expertise and experience in marketing to historically
undercounted populations, such as African Americans, Asians, Hispanics,
American Indian and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific
Islanders. The Bureau expects to award this communication campaign
contract in September 2007.
For the 2010 Census, the Bureau will continue a program first
implemented for Census 2000 in which it partners with local, state, and
tribal governments. The program, the Local Update of Census Addresses
(LUCA) allows participants to contribute to complete enumeration of
their jurisdictions by reviewing, commenting on, and providing updated
information on the list of addresses and maps that the Bureau will use
to deliver questionnaires within those communities. The Bureau has
taken steps to improve LUCA for 2010. For example, to reduce
participant workload and burden, the Bureau will provide a longer
period for reviewing and updating LUCA materials--from 90 to 120 days.
However, we recently testified before this subcommittee that the Bureau
could do more to mitigate possible difficulties that participants may
have with the new LUCA software and training and to help participants
convert Bureau-provided address files into their own software
format.[Footnote 11]
Efforts to Contract with Small Business:
For the 2010 Census, the Bureau is making the most extensive use of
contractors in its history, turning to the private sector to supply a
number of different mission-critical functions and technologies. In
awarding and administering its contracts related to the 2010 Census,
the Bureau will need to be mindful of its obligations to promote
contracting opportunities for various categories of contractors, such
as small businesses, women-owned businesses, small disadvantaged
businesses, and others. In this regard, the Small Business Act contains
an annual governmentwide goal for small business participation of not
less than 23 percent of the total value of all prime contract awards.
To achieve this governmentwide goal, the Small Business Administration
negotiates annual small business contracting goals with each federal
executive agency. For the Department of Commerce, the contracting goals
are summarized in table 3.
Table 3: Small-Business Prime Contracting Goals for the Department of
Commerce (Fiscal Year 2007):
Small business category: Small Business;
Goal percentage: 48.
Small business category: Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB);
Goal percentage: 12.
Small business category: 8(a) (Socially and Economically Disadvantaged
companies);
Goal percentage: 4.86.
Small business category: Women-Owned Business (WOSB);
Goal percentage: 8.50.
Small business category: Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB);
Goal percentage: 3.
Small business category: Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
(SDVOSB);
Goal percentage: 3.
Small business category: Historically Underutilized Business Zone
(HUBZone) companies;
Goal percentage: 3.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce.
[End of table]
In terms of subcontracting, any business that receives a contract
directly from a federal executive agency for more than $100,000 must
agree to give small businesses the "maximum practicable opportunity to
participate in the contract consistent with its efficient
performance."[Footnote 12] Additionally, for contracts that are
generally anticipated to have a $550,000 threshold and have
subcontracting possibilities, the prime contractor is required to have
an established subcontracting plan, which promotes and supports small
business development. For example, the solicitation for the advertising
and outreach campaign requires that the contractor establish and adhere
to a subcontracting plan that provides maximum practicable opportunity
for small business participation in performing the contract.
Contractors that do not meet subcontracting goals may face damages if
the agency's contracting officer determines that a contractor did not
make a good-faith effort to comply with the subcontracting plan.
Mr. Chairman, as we have recently testified, the Bureau faces
challenges to successfully implementing the 2010 Census including those
of a demographic and socioeconomic nature due to the nation's
increasing diversity in language, ethnicity, households, and housing
types, as well as a reluctance in the population to participate in the
census. In fact, the Bureau recognizes that hiring a diverse workforce-
-especially a temporary field workforce--that is like the people that
are being enumerated is one way of eliciting the cooperation of those
being counted. The involvement of such a workforce in the key
nonresponse follow-up activity can help to increase productivity and
contain enumeration costs. Our review of data pertaining to the racial,
ethnic, and gender composition of the Bureau's upper-level management
as well as the grades of those most likely to rise to that level of
management shows that, the Bureau's leadership ranks are generally as
diverse as the federal government as a whole. Moreover, the Bureau's
strategy of recruiting temporary field staff locally is an important
way of promoting a diverse field workforce that is like those being
enumerated. In addition, the Bureau's outreach and partnership programs
can be an important way of eliciting the participation of communities
that are often said to be undercounted or may be reluctant to
participate in the decennial census. As in 2000, for 2010 the Bureau
intends to use an integrated communications strategy, including
advertising, that is carried out by contractors and subcontractors that
have the expertise and experiences in marketing to historically
undercounted populations. It will be important for the Bureau to build
on its efforts to ensure an accurate and cost-effective census by
maximizing the potential offered by a diverse workforce and by ensuring
that its contractors perform as promised. We stand ready to assist this
subcommittee in its oversight efforts.
This concludes my remarks. I will be glad to answer any questions that
you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Turner, or other subcommittee Members may have.
Contact and Acknowledgements:
For further information regarding this statement, please contact Mathew
Scirč, Director, Strategic Issues on (202) 512-6806 or at s [Hyperlink,
sciremj@gao.gov] ciremj@gao.gov. Individuals making key contributions
to this statement included Betty Clark, Elizabeth Fan, Carlos Hazera,
Belva Martin, Lisa Pearson, Rebecca Shea, Cheri Truett, Kiki
Theodoropoulos, and William Woods.
[End of section]
Related GAO Products:
2010 Census: Preparations for the 2010 Census Underway, but Continued
Oversight and Risk Management Are Critical. GAO-07-1106T Washington,
D.C: July 17, 2007.
2010 Census: Census Bureau Is Making Progress on the Local Update of
Census Addresses Program, but Improvements Are Needed. GAO-07-1063T.
Washington, D.C.: June 26, 2007.
2010 Census: Census Bureau Has Improved the Local Update of Census
Addresses Program, but Challenges Remain. GAO-07-736. Washington, D.C.:
June 14, 2007.
Human Capital: Diversity in the Federal SES and the Senior Levels of
the U.S. Postal Service. GAO-07-838T. Washington, D.C.: May 10, 2007.
2010 Census: Census Bureau Should Refine Recruiting and Hiring Efforts
and Enhance Training of Temporary Field Staff. GAO-07-361. Washington,
D.C.: April 27, 2007.
2010 Census: Design Shows Progress, but Managing Technology
Acquisitions, Temporary Field Staff, and Gulf Region Enumeration
Require Attention. GAO-07-779T. Washington, D.C.: April 24, 2007.
2010 Census: Redesigned Approach Holds Promise, but Census Bureau Needs
to Annually Develop and Provide a Comprehensive Project Plan to Monitor
Costs. GAO-06-1009T. Washington, D.C.: July 27, 2006.
2010 Census: Census Bureau Needs to Take Prompt Actions to Resolve Long-
standing and Emerging Address and Mapping Challenges. GAO-06-272.
Washington, D.C.: June 15, 2006.
2010 Census: Costs and Risks Must be Closely Monitored and Evaluated
with Mitigation Plans in Place. GAO-06-822T. Washington, D.C.: June 6,
2006.
2010 Census: Census Bureau Generally Follows Selected Leading
Acquisition Planning Practices, but Continued Management Attention Is
Needed to Help Ensure Success. GAO-06-277. Washington, D.C.: May 18,
2006.
Census Bureau: Important Activities for Improving Management of Key
2010 Decennial Acquisitions Remain to be Done. GAO-06-444T. Washington,
D.C.: March 1, 2006.
2010 Census: Planning and Testing Activities Are Making Progress. GAO-
06-465T. Washington, D.C.: March 1, 2006.
Results Oriented-Government: Practices That Can Help Enhance and
Sustain Collaboration among Federal Agencies. GAO-06-15. Washington,
D.C.: October 21, 2005.
Information Technology Management: Census Bureau Has Implemented Many
Key Practices, but Additional Actions Are Needed. GAO-05-661.
Washington, D.C.: June 16, 2005.
Diversity Management: Expert-Identified Leading Practices and Agency
Examples. GAO-05-90. Washington, D.C.: January 14, 2005.
2010 Census: Basic Design Has Potential, but Remaining Challenges Need
Prompt Resolution. GAO-05-90. Washington, D.C.: January 12, 2005.
Data Quality: Census Bureau Needs to Accelerate Efforts to Develop and
Implement Data Quality Review Standards. GAO-05-86. Washington, D.C.:
November 17, 2004.
Census 2000: Design Choices Contributed to Inaccuracy of Coverage
Evaluation Estimates. GAO-05-71. Washington, D.C.: November 12, 2004.
American Community Survey: Key Unresolved Issues. GAO-05-82.
Washington, D.C.: October 8, 2004.
2010 Census: Counting Americans Overseas as Part of the Decennial
Census Would Not Be Cost-Effective. GAO-04-898. Washington, D.C.:
August 19, 2004.
2010 Census: Overseas Enumeration Test Raises Need for Clear Policy
Direction. GAO-04-470. Washington, D.C.: May 21, 2004.
2010 Census: Cost and Design Issues Need to Be Addressed Soon. GAO-04-
37. Washington, D.C.: January 15, 2004.
Decennial Census: Lessons Learned for Locating and Counting Migrant and
Seasonal Farm Workers. GAO-03-605. Washington, D.C.: July 3, 2003.
Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Hispanic
Subgroup Data Need Refinement. GAO-03-228. Washington, D.C.: January
17, 2003.
Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Data on the
Homeless and Others without Conventional Housing Need Refinement. GAO-
03-227. Washington, D.C.: January 17, 2003.
2000 Census: Lessons Learned for Planning a More Cost-Effective 2010
Census. GAO-03-40. Washington, D.C.: October 31, 2002.
The American Community Survey: Accuracy and Timeliness Issues. GAO-02-
956R. Washington, D.C.: September 30, 2002.
2000 Census: Review of Partnership Program Highlights Best Practices
for Future Operations. GAO-01-579. Washington, D.C.: August 20, 2001.
2000 Census: Answers to Hearing Questions on the Status of Key
Operations. GGD-00-109R, Washington, D.C.: May 31, 2000.
FOOTNOTES
[1] GAO, Diversity Management: Expert-Identified Leading Practices and
Agency Examples, GAO-05-90 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 14, 2005).
[2] U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau Strategic Plan, FY 2007 -
2010 (Washington, D.C.: June 2007).
[3] GAO-05-90
[4] GAO, Human Capital: Diversity in the Federal SES and the Senior
Levels of the U.S. Postal Service, GAO-07-838T (Washington, D.C.: May
10, 2007).
[5] GAO, 2000 Census: Lessons Learned for Planning a More Cost-
Effective 2010 Census, GAO-03-40 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 31, 2002).
[6] At the start of nonresponse follow-up in 2000, 44 states and the
Virgin Islands had granted an exemption for one or more of these
programs.
[7] In 2000, officials of 59 of the 60 local census offices we visited
provided useable responses to our question about whether their offices
had the type of staff they needed to conduct nonresponse follow-up,
including staff with particular language skills to enumerate in
targeted areas. Officials at 54 of the 59 offices said they had the
type of staff they needed to conduct nonresponse follow-up. For
example, officials in the Boston North office said they hired
enumerators who spoke Japanese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Spanish,
French, Russian, and Chinese, while Pittsburgh office officials said
they had enumerators that knew sign language to communicate with deaf
residents.
[8] GAO, 2010 Census: Census Bureau Should Refine Recruiting and Hiring
Efforts and Enhance Training of Temporary Field Staff, GAO-07-361
(Washington, D.C.: Apr. 27, 2007).
[9] GAO, 2000 Census: Answers to Hearing Questions on the Status of Key
Operations, GGD-00-109R, (Washington, D.C.: May 31, 2000).
[10] GAO, 2000 Census: Review of Partnership Program Highlights Best
Practices for Future Operations, GAO-01-579 (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 20,
2001).
[11] GAO, 2010 Census: Census Bureau Is Making Progress on the Local
Update of Census Addresses Program, but Improvements Are Needed GAO-07-
1063T (Washington, D.C.: June 26, 2007).
[12] FAR §19.702.
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