During the years preceding the 2020
Census, the Census Bureau will pursue its commitment to reduce the
costs of conducting a decennial census, while maintaining our
commitment to quality. In the 2018 Fiscal Year, the Census Bureau
will be performing a 2018 End-to-End Census Test. This last major
test before the 2020 Census has the stated purpose (1) to test and
validate 2020 Census operations, procedures, systems, and field
infrastructure together to ensure proper integration and
conformance with functional and non-functional requirements, and
(2) to produce a prototype of geographic data products. The Address
Canvassing operation is the first operation in the 2018 End-to-End
Census Test, with field activity beginning in the summer of 2017.
The purpose of the Address Canvassing operation is (1) to deliver a
complete and accurate address list and spatial database for
enumeration and tabulation, and (2) to determine the type and
address characteristics for each living quarter. The Address
Canvassing operation consists of two major components: In-Office
Address Canvassing and In-Field Address Canvassing. Only the latter
component involves collection of information from residents at
their living quarters.
The number of housing units
with respondent burden in the original OMB package was calculated
based on the national estimate of 25 percent of addresses in the
Self-Response areas needing In-Field Address Canvassing. This
estimate was based on our original approach to In-Office Address
Canvassing Operation, which included two phases: Interactive Review
and Active Block Resolution. The Census Bureau discontinued this
second phase because we were experiencing significant issues with
productivity and quality control in the Active Block Resolution
phase. The result of this decision is that our estimated national
workload for In-Field Address Canvassing has increased from 25
percent to 30 percent. Prior to the suspension of Active Block
Resolution, some of the blocks in the three test sites were removed
from In-Field Address Canvassing workload as result of this phase
of the In-Office Address Canvassing operation. Therefore, in order
to ensure that the operations implemented in the 2018 End-to-End
Census Test are consistent with the operations we plan to execute
in the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau determined it was appropriate
to add the blocks originally resolved during Active Block
Resolution back into the in-field workload for this test.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.