Nurturing Research and Recruitment Partnerships Between a Federal Statistical Agency and Academic Teams

• Activity Number: 2
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Sunday, July 29, 2012 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: SPAIG Committee
• Author(s): Robert M Groves*+
• Companies: U.S. Census Bureau
• Keywords: Collaboration ; Government ; Business ; Industry ; Academe

Abstract

Several important challenges are looming for U.S. Federal Statistical System: the costs of collecting data from U.S. Households and businesses are rising quickly because of the difficulties of contacting and addressing concerns of sample members; the demands for more timely and smaller area statistical information are growing; there are emerging new technologies that might be used to create new dats collection efficiencies; there are new digital data resources that can be used to improve statistical information; and Federal government budgets are likely to be flat or declining in the mid-run future.

These challenges imply that statistical agencies need to enhance and expand their statistical and system design skills, develop new statistical design and estimation techniques, and innovate in most work processes. Some of these can be achieved by partnerships between statistical agencies and teams of faculty and students on university campuses.

This paper reviews a variety of relationships that the U.S. Census Bureau has developed with universities to address the challenges reviewed above. These include research data centers, internships, doctoral dissertation fellowships,etc.