Reengineering and Modernization of Government Census Data

Modernization and Reengineering of the Census of Governments Presented to the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee Carma R. Hogue Lisa M. Blumerman Governments Division December 17, 2010 Disclaimer: This presentation is released to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion of work in progress. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Introduction to Governments Division Main Purposes of Governments Division programs Provide socio-economic statistics about governments Act as a public-sector counterpart to economic data of business, industry, and services Track activity of governments over time Response is voluntary Virtually no confidentiality restrictions 2

Importance of the Data Our data tell the story of the fiscal welfare of federal, state, and local government Our data constitute 12 percent of Gross Domestic Product Our data are the only source of comprehensive, uniform statistics on governments we are the gold standard Our data help policy makers formulate important, informed decisions 3

Base Programs Census of Governments and related programs Organizational Data number of governments & character Employment Data number of employees & payroll Finance Data revenues, expenditures, debt, & assets Some of the oldest continuous data collections First survey of State Government Finances, 1902 Modern day Census of Governments, 1957 4

Base Programs Data Available For: Frequency Survey/Program Data Items Included US State County Place Every 5 Years Number of Units, Employment, Finance Census of Governments X X X X Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances Annual Survey of State Government Finances X X X X Employment, wages, etc. X X X Revenue, expenditures, etc. X X Revenue, expenditures, etc. Federal expenditures, obligations, & contingent liabilities Federal expenditures Consolidated Federal Funds Report X X X Annual Federal Aid to States Report Public Elementary- Secondary Education Finance Survey X X X X X X Revenue, expenditures, etc. State and Local Government Public-Employee Retirement System Survey X X X X Contributions, assets, etc. State Government Tax Collections Survey Quarterly Public-Employee Retirement Systems Survey Quarterly Tax Survey X X Tax revenue X Contributions, assets, etc. Quarterly X X Tax revenue 5

Reimbursable Programs Because of Governments Division s expertise in the public sector, surveys are conducted on behalf of other agencies Historically, the surveys compliment the work of the base programs 6

Reimbursable Programs Data Available For: Frequency Survey/Program Data Items Included Sponsoring Agency US State County Place Expenditures, staffing, circulation, etc. NCES - (Dept of Education) Academic Libraries Survey X X Biennial Juvenile Residential Facility Census Annual Survey of Jails X X Facility characteristics OJJDP - (DOJ) X X X Jails and inmates BJS - (DOJ) Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment Survey X Finance and employment BJS - (DOJ) Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Health Insurance Cost Study National Public Education Financial Survey Health plans, premiums, benefits, and enrollment X X X X AHRQ Annual NCES - (Dept of Education) X X X X Revenue, expenditures Directory, membership, teachers, staff, dropouts, graduates Expenditures, staffing, governance, etc. Federal expenditures or obligations. Non-fiscal surveys of the Common Core of Data NCES - (Dept of Education) X X Institute of Museum and Library Services State Library Agencies Survey X X Federal Assistance Award Data System Quarterly X X X X OMB 7

State and Local Government Statistics at a Crossroads 2007 report issued by the Committee on National Statistics (CNStat) Suggested 21 recommendations for improving existing programs Working toward addressing the majority of recommendations by the 2012 Census of Governments 8 8

Summary of CNStat Recommendations CNStat Report Themes Data Quality, Relevance, and Utility Dissemination Timeliness 9 9

CNStat Overarching Recommendation Recommendation 6-1: The Governments Division should include two tracks in its strategic plan: one track that plans for an environment of constrained resources and a second track that identifies ways to build support over time for enhancing the division s data series and the information provided to users on the Census Bureau s website. Progress Update: Governments Division reorganized May 2009 Strategic Plan issued October 2009 and updated October 2010 Ensured transparency through website dedicated to progress on government statistics programs 10 10

The 3-Pronged Approach Data User Exchanges Research Program Modernization and Re-engineering 11

CNStat Theme: Data Quality, Relevance, and Utility Recommendation: Get feedback from users Progress Update Made presentations to the Census Bureau s Professional Advisory Committee, April 2010; Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, June 2010; National Association for Business Economics, November 2010 Created the Outreach and Education Branch Increased our participation in user meetings; conducted Data User Workshops 12 12

CNStat Theme: Dissemination Recommendation: Facilitate wider dissemination of products by issuing press releases; add value to existing data by providing simple derived measures; provide users with tools and documentation Progress Update: Began regular press releases in October 2008 with the release of 2007 Employment Census data Introduced quarterly surveys to Tip Sheets and plan to develop quarterly press releases Introduced new analytical material to accompany releases Redesigned the Website and introduced Build-A-Table Plan to build stakeholder support and to educate constituents 13 13

Build-A-Table Select category Select variables Retrieve data 14

CNStat Theme: Timeliness Recommendation: Research the benefits/costs of adopting earlier release procedures, i.e., releasing preliminary estimates or releasing estimates as they are compiled Progress Update: Currently reviewing existing processes and methods to determine where efficiencies can be made (reengineering efforts) Successful in moving up the release of several products Researching selective edits and new estimation methods to produce preliminary estimates 15 15

Increased Timeliness of Quarterly Retirement Response Rates: 2nd Q. 2009 2nd Q. 2010 Current Public Data Release (Week 15) Original Public Data Release (Week 17) 100 90 BEA Pre-Release 2 80 2009: 2nd Q. Response Rate (Percentage) 70 2010: 1st Q. Federal Reserve Pre-Release 2010: 2nd Q. 60 50 BEA 40 Pre-Release 1 30 20 10 Current Mailout Original Mailout 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Weeks After the End of the Calendar Quarter Reference Period 16

CNStat Theme: Data Quality, Relevance, and Utility Recommendation: Re-engineer the Quarterly Tax Survey Progress update: New methodologies and process improvements led to higher quality and more timely products for the Quarterly Tax Survey, specifically: New sampling, editing, imputation, and estimation methodologies established Questionnaire content revamped to increase relevance; forms fully tested For property tax component, bridge study released in September 2010 For non-property component, new probability sample to be mailed in December 2010 17 17

CNStat Theme: Data Quality, Relevance, and Utility Recommendation: Explore sound means of collecting data on tax valuation Progress update: Team formed to explore tax valuation data collection Conducted literature review of national assessment/sales ratio standards Determine if the measures fit current OMB and Census Bureau statistical standards Examine the quality of administrative records in a comparison study 18 18

CNStat Theme: Data Quality, Relevance, and Utility Recommendation: Consider methods that borrow strength to better estimate state and local government statistics Progress update: New modified cut-off sampling procedure corrects effects of poor response from very small governments New decision-based estimation methodology that borrows strength from census year data to better estimate state and local government statistics Regular consultations with experts both internal and external to Census 19 19

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Research Program Research projects (sample design, dashboards, decision- based estimation, small area estimation, nonresponse bias studies) Governments Division Report Series Available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/govern.html Training and development of staff through conference attendance, seminars, and courses 22 22

Governments Master Address File (GMAF) and Government Units Survey (GUS) Develop new GMAF to integrate all of the sampling frames Gathered requirements after assessing program needs Currently redesigning IT systems to ensure technical capabilities and full integration with surveys/programs Develop new GUS to improve coverage of 2012 Census of Governments and intercensal surveys Cognitive interviewing for GUS started in October with a second round completed in December Pretest of GUS scheduled for February Data collection will begin in October 2011 23 23

Quality Improvement Program Goal of reaching governments in order to improve questionnaire design, non- response follow-up, and coverage Started QuIP Trips in August with a visit to state and local governments in Illinois; subsequent trips followed to Pennsylvania and New Jersey Prepared state snapshots to introduce data to local governments Visited local government leaders with positive results: new method for building our universe, information about births and deaths, knowledge of record keeping practices 24 24

Next Steps on Modernization and Reengineering Continue involvement with the data user community Continue Quality Improvement Program QuIP Trips Review and determine the content for the 2012 Census of Governments Revitalize our product line Modernize and reengineer systems based on the results of our research 25

ADD SLIDE of WEB SITE 26 26

Carma R. Hogue Assistant Division Chief, Statistical Research & Methodology Governments Division Carma.Ray.Hogue@census.gov 301-763-4882 27