Advanced Analytics Drives Reengineering of Field Operations for the 2020 U.S. Census

Abstract

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census of population and housing every 10 years as mandated in the U.S. Constitution. Following up in person with households that do not respond online, by phone, or by mail, which is known as nonresponse follow-up (NRFU), represents a major component of this effort. For the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau equipped enumerators with paper maps and notebooks filled with questionnaires and required enumerators to go door to door and collect decennial census data. The enumerators met daily with their supervisors to return completed questionnaires and update payroll information. For the 2020 Census, an advanced analytics solution, utilizing machine learning and optimization techniques, drove a reengineering of the entire field operations process, leading to substantially reduced costs and improved productivity. These reengineering efforts included business processes and technology centered around the development of this solution, the MOJO Optimizer, and resulted in an 80% increase in the number of cases completed per hour (from 1.05 to 1.92) and a 27% decrease in the number of miles reimbursed per case (from 5.05 to 3.68) compared with the 2010 Census NRFU. Capitalizing on the massive innovations realized during decennial census operations, the Census Bureau intends to use this technology to revolutionize its over 90 active surveys.