Here’s the latest news and updates from CNSTAT and around the statistical community for the month of February.
Materials Available
Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency: Eighth Edition (Prepublication)
The 8th edition of this flagship report continues the legacy supporting the essential role of relevant, credible, trusted, independent, and innovative government statistics. Since 1992, this report has described the characteristics of effective federal statistical agencies. Download the prepublication version of the report here.
Upcoming Events
COPAFS Public Quarterly Meeting, March 7, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.
Introducing the 8th edition of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency
Monitor this page for details
Available Resources
Report Highlights
One-page Summary
Issue Brief: Strengthening Partnerships with State and Local Data Stewards
Upcoming Events
CNSTAT Public Workshop
Approaches for Assessing and Communicating the Quality of National Statistics
This workshop is being rescheduled. To stay up-to-date please either monitor the project’s website or sign-up for our mailing list here, select “National Surveys and Statistics.”
People in the News
CNSTAT mourns
Passing of William (“Bill”) P. Butz
Bill died January 27, 2025, at age 80 from an infection. He most recently was a senior research scholar with the World Population Program and director of coordination and outreach at the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital. Previously he was president and chief executive officer of the Population Reference Bureau, division director for social and behavioral sciences at the National Science Foundation, associate director for demographic programs at the U.S. Census Bureau, and senior economist at the RAND Corporation. During his 13 years (1982–1995) at the U.S. Census Bureau, he played a pivotal role in developing the Survey of Income and Program Participation. He served on Science magazine’s Board of Reviewing Editors. He had a B.A. in economics from Indiana University and several years of graduate work in economics at the University of Chicago.
CNSTAT thanks
Robert (“Rob”) L. Santos for his dedicated service as director of the U.S. Census Bureau
During his tenure (January 4, 2022–February 14, 2025), Rob emphasized inclusion in the workforce and of communities served by Census Bureau data. He made numerous trips around the country to meet with data users and respondents, bringing other Census Bureau staff along so they could see the value of census data first-hand. Prior positions included 15 years as vice president and chief methodologist at the Urban Institute, executive posts with NORC at the University of Chicago and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, and serving as senior study director with Temple University’s Institute for Survey Research. He was the 2021 president of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and is an ASA fellow and 2006 recipient of the ASA Founder’s Award. He was president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) in 2014 and received the 2021 AAPOR Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement. He also received the 2022 Ohtli Award, the highest recognition bestowed by the Mexican government to acknowledge contributions to the Mexican community by people living outside of Mexico. He is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute and served on CNSTAT panels that reviewed the American Community Survey, Consumer Expenditure Survey, and surveys of the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. He has a B.A. in mathematics from Trinity University in San Antonio and an M.A. degree in statistics from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
New Releases
Toward a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure: Managing Privacy and Confidentiality Risks with Blended Data
Protecting privacy and ensuring confidentiality in data is a critical component of modernizing our national data infrastructure. The use of blended data – combining previously collected data sources – presents new considerations for responsible data stewardship. This report provides a framework for managing disclosure risks that accounts for the unique attributes of blended data and poses a series of questions to guide considered decision-making.
Download here.
Creating an Integrated System of Data and Statistics on Household Income, Consumption, and Wealth: Time to Build
The report provides recommendations for developing an improved 21st century data system for measuring the extent to which economic prosperity is shared by households throughout the population and for understanding how the distribution of resources is affected by government policy and economic events.
Download here.
All reports can be downloaded for free from the National Academies Press.
New: Seminar Videos and Presentations
CNSTAT Public Seminar: The Rise of Non-Survey Administrative Data for Statistics and Evidence-Building January 13, 2025
CNSTAT Public Seminar: Creating an Integrated System of Data and Statistics on Household Income, Consumption, and Wealth, December 10, 2024
New: Interactive Resources
Creating an Integrated System of Data and Statistics on Household Income, Consumption, and Wealth
Measuring Law Enforcement Suicide: Challenges and Opportunities
Strengthening the Nation’s Data Infrastructure
An Updated Measure of Poverty: (Re)Drawing the Line.
Visit the CNSTAT website to keep up to date on CNSTAT’s activities and learn more about projects.