In August, the Census Bureau announced that it would be delivering appointment data by the statutory deadline of December 31, 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing delays. Compressed timeframes, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), could present challenges to monitoring ongoing IT risks, among other issues. […]

While the Census Bureau was already adjusting to embracing new tech for the 2020 Census, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised new concerns and pushed the agency to increase its focus on IT, data, and cybersecurity matters to properly manage risks.
Per a June 9 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Census Bureau must closely manage its tech to ensure that the pandemic and other delays don’t impact the quality of its 2020 Census results. […]

The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking industry input on a new acquisition strategy to revamp its cybersecurity practices over the next decade, according to a May 20 request for information (RFI). […]

Since its 2016 launch, the Opportunity Project, an open-data Federal program that partners public and private organizations to solve tech problems, has completed 100 products via nationwide virtual sprints, Director Drew Zachary announced at a March 3 FCW Citizen Engagement Summit. […]

As the 2020 Decennial Census begins its count of the U.S. population, the Census Bureau faces “significant risks” that could impact the count, including IT and cybersecurity challenges. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released today that the Census Bureau “is generally on track” to meet some of the early operational milestones for the 2020 Census, but that the Commerce Department component still has a lot of work to do in a short time on 15 IT systems that are critical to upcoming service deliveries for next year’s census. […]

The Census Bureau still has work to do to prepare its IT systems and cybersecurity, but during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, the director of the bureau and Government Accountability Office (GAO) officials noted that the 2020 Census is making progress on IT issues and is on track. […]

The 2020 U.S. Census is on the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) list of high-risk programs, particularly out of concern for the U.S. Census Bureau’s ability to implement modified information technology (IT) systems to efficiently collect and secure data in a timely and cost-effective manner. […]

Tim Ruland, the CISO at the Census Bureau, announced his retirement via LinkedIn, with his last day scheduled for September 27. […]

The Department of Commerce has made strides to manage the IT costs and oversight of new systems before the 2020 Census, after reports of poor oversight and planning. A Government Accountability Office report, released in October, found that the Census Bureau faced challenges in managing and overseeing the IT programs, systems, and contracts supporting the 2020 Census. […]

The Sunlight Foundation released a report that found that cities use Federal data to make strategic decisions including identifying local issues and informing policy decisions. The majority of cities began using Federal data more than a decade ago and 43 percent plan to increase their use of Federal data in the future. […]

The Census Bureau might not be ready for the end-to-end test of its Decennial Census program, according the Government Accountability Office. […]

The U.S. Census Bureau is running out of time to upgrade its IT systems ahead of the 2020 head count and could save $1.4 billion by using administrative records instead of foot soldiers that go door-to-door to find nonresponders, the Government Accountability Office says in two new reports. Enough is enough, the report says as […]