'Census in Trouble' Warn IA, Other Stakeholders

The Insights Association is among dozens of groups and publishers looking to draw attention to proposed major changes to the conduct of the 2030 decennial Census, excluding non-US citizens and removing race and ethnicity questions. Comments are invited and a briefing will be held this Friday.

The proposals have given rise to a chorus of protest from civil rights advocates, researchers and other census stakeholders, given the Census' role in securing data used in redistricting, policymaking, and evaluation activities conducted in the public, private, non-profit and research sectors. A number of publications lead with the view that the new approach will redraw the map of congressional districts and cause potentially sweeping changes to the constitution of Congress.

Among those expressing their alarm, the Insights Association has already sent a letter to Secretary Lutnick, 'vociferously urging' him not to make the changes. In it, the IA states that decennial Census race and ethnicity data are 'irreplaceable', explaining, 'No private data source - commercial, administrative, or otherwise - can substitute for the Census Bureau's constitutionally-mandated universal enumeration.' The association fears negative impact on the full range of research activities including measuring and understanding audience and reach; consumer segment sizing and ad budget allocation; audience measurement 'currency' for advertising; campaign research targeting; marketing-mix and attribution modelling; testing new products and concepts; retail trade-area and store-performance research; and nonresponse and coverage bias correction.

The public has until October 13th to submit comments. The Census Project is participating in a Rapid Response Data Briefing on the proposal this Friday, September 18th, entitled 'The Census Is in Trouble: What You Need to Know About Proposed Changes.' More information and registration are at https://us.list-manage.com/XZkc6V3nfEj?e=ef6d76f439&c2id=e711a500803d69a943eda496c110b13f

Association home page: www.insightsassociation.org .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.