[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77646-77648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30611]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2014 Census 
Site Test

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before February 24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Erin Love, Census Bureau, HQ-3H468E, Washington, 
DC 20233; (301) 763-2034 (or via email at [email protected]).

[[Page 77647]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    During the years preceding the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will 
pursue its commitment to reduce the costs of conducting a decennial 
census, while striving to maintain the level of quality it achieved for 
previous ones. A primary decennial census cost driver is the collection 
of data from members of the public for which the Census Bureau received 
no reply via initially offered response options. Increasing the number 
of people who take advantage of self-response options and improving our 
methods for enumerating people who do not initially respond can 
contribute to a less costly census with high-quality results, reducing 
the need for more costly enumerator-administered options.
    The 2014 Census Site Test will allow the Census Bureau to, on a 
small scale, employ a variety of new methods and advanced technologies 
that are under consideration for the 2020 Census. To improve self-
response, the Census Bureau plans to test new contact and notification 
strategies such as allowing respondents to pre-register their email 
address, cell phone number/text, mailing address, and physical 
location, and provide a preference for a contact strategy of either 
email or text. Furthermore, participants will have the option of 
responding to the test via multiple response modes including the 
Internet, paper questionnaires, and telephone interviews. In addition, 
the 2014 Census Site Test provides an opportunity for the Census Bureau 
to test potential enhancements to its automated processing of responses 
lacking a pre-assigned Census identification (ID) number. To optimize 
the self-response testing, there will be a communications and 
promotional campaign designed to increase awareness and encourage 
participation by potential respondents.
    Even though self-response is encouraged, there will be households 
that do not respond and therefore there is a need to test strategies to 
most effectively and efficiently collect information for those 
households. The 2014 Census Site Test will examine reducing the total 
number of contacts made to a household during the Nonresponse Follow-Up 
(NRFU) operation as well as adapting the number and type of contacts 
made to a household based on information we have about that household. 
As well, this test will employ various uses of administrative records, 
most notably the removal of cases through the use of administrative 
records data either before or during the field work with the goal to 
reduce NRFU costs and increase interviewer efficiency. This test of 
NRFU operations will be accomplished by utilizing an automated field 
data collection instrument. Additionally, the Census Bureau will 
experiment with employee-owned commercially available devices on which 
a custom developed data collection application can be provided, 
commonly referred to as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will conduct this test in Washington, DC and 
Montgomery County, MD. This geographic site test will include 192,500 
Housing Units to be contacted for the census. This component includes 
an initial self-response phase that is followed by a NRFU phase for no 
more than 50,000 non-responding housing units. The households in NRFU 
are those who have failed to self-respond by a certain deadline. A 
Census Bureau employee may visit or phone these households and will 
attempt to collect their questionnaire data.
    For the self-response phase, the Census Bureau will randomly assign 
sampled housing units to one of eight different contact and enumeration 
strategies. Each strategy aims to increase the use of self-response 
enumeration in a decennial census. Most sampled housing units will 
initially receive a pre-notification containing instructions about how 
to respond to the test online. Some households will receive a notice 
that allows respondents to pre-register for the Census and to notify 
the Census Bureau of their communication preference such as email or 
text/cell phone. The telephone assistance option will be available to 
all households. Respondents who become aware of the test can respond by 
going to the Internet site or contacting the Telephone Questionnaire 
Assistance line. For those participants who have not responded within 
an allotted time period, the Census Bureau will attempt to contact them 
additional times, which will include reminders by email or a final 
reminder along with a paper questionnaire by mail.
    If a household does not respond by a certain date, it will be 
included in the universe for the NRFU portion of the test. There are 
three major NRFU treatments being tested in the 2014 Census Site Test. 
First, the Tailored Contact Strategies portion will research and test 
ways of reducing the cost of in-person follow-up for cases sent to the 
field by finding ways to streamline operations to promote efficiencies 
(such as reducing the number of contact attempts), while striving to 
maintain quality. In addition, the project will use 2010 Census field 
procedures to use as a control group from which to compare results.
    Second, the Adaptive Design Strategies portion will test a method 
of managing data collection by dynamically adapting contact attempt 
strategies on a per case basis using paradata and business rules to 
inform real-time management decisions. Principles associated with 
adaptive design such as using alternative modes of contact and using 
paradata to model the likelihood for a household to respond to repeated 
contact attempts will be applied to the NRFU workload in an attempt to 
lower field costs.
    Third, the Administrative Records portion of the NRFU operations 
will reduce NRFU workloads at various stages of fieldwork. Some areas 
(in both the Tailored Contact and Adaptive Design portions described 
above) will have their NRFU workload reduced because administrative 
records information will be utilized to enumerate households that have 
been determined to be vacant or occupied and therefore do not require 
fieldwork. In other areas, administrative records information will be 
utilized to only enumerate unoccupied units that do not require field 
work. Administrative records will also be used to enumerate households 
for which a number of unsuccessful contact attempts have been made in 
the field in lieu of additional contact attempts. Overall, using 
administrative records information to remove non-responding cases from 
the field workload may reduce costs associated with NRFU operations.
    The geographic area contains two strata, based on relative levels 
of response. The strata include distinct geographic areas that will 
correspond with different contact strategies. This mix of levels of 
response will allow the Census Bureau to gather cost data associated 
with mileage and hours spent traveling to housing units and 
interviewing respondents during NRFU operations. In addition, Time and 
Motion studies will be conducted.
    For the 2014 Census Site Test, the Census Bureau will test the use 
of an automated enumeration device in field operations. The enumeration 
device is a new development effort with the goal of replacing paper 
based data collection methods historically used in decennial operations 
such as Nonresponse Follow-Up (NRFU). The test will help evaluate:
     The effectiveness of conducting a field operation with the 
use of consumer grade devices (e.g. iPhones and iPads).
     The effectiveness of replacing traditional paper maps with 
Google

[[Page 77648]]

Maps for locating housing units for enumeration activities.
    In addition, for follow-on to the 2014 Census Site Test, the Census 
Bureau will experiment with using employee owned commercially owned 
smartphones to conduct the NRFU. The use of employee owned equipment/
services is commonly referred to as Bring Your Own Device or BYOD. A 
sample of 250 households will be contacted at the end of the field 
operation using this methodology. The objectives of this component of 
the test are to:
     Design and develop software solutions, deployment, and 
support processes that run on commercially available employee owned 
mobile devices (i.e., iPhone).
     Deploy and support secure software solutions that can be 
installed on commercially available employee owned mobile devices.
     Conduct interviews of respondents using employee owned 
mobile devices (i.e., iPhone).
     Capture lessons learned.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number: Paper questionnaires: DC-1A and DC-1B; electronic 
questionnaires with numbers as yet to be determined.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 192,500.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 10 minutes per response.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 32,083.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: Respondents who are contacted by cell 
phone and/or text message may incur charges depending on their plan 
with their service provider. The Census Bureau estimates that the total 
cost to respondents will be no more than $840,000. There are no other 
costs to respondents other than their time to participate in this data 
collection.
    Respondents Obligation: Mandatory.

    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 141 and 193.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: December 18, 2013.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-30611 Filed 12-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P