Page 31 - FCW, June 2017
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He pointed out that the Census Enter- prise Data Collection and Processing (CEDCaP) system, which will centralize data collection for all census activity, overran its initial cost estimate by about $417 million. In addition, the bureau’s October 2015 estimate did not mention an $886 million IT integration contract and a call center contract worth about $500 million.
Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), who chairs the subcommittee, said that “overruns of this scale are just unac- ceptable.... We need to get this under control.”
Thompson said that because of budget uncertainty, officials opted to increase the use of in-field address canvassers rather than rely on technol- ogy to validate address data, and they decided to cancel field tests in 2017 and advertising in advance of the 2018 end- to-end test. Those changes “will result in increased costs...if we don’t adjust to them,” he added.
He said the bureau has worked aggressively to improve documenta- tion and transparency, and the CEDCaP overruns occurred, in part, because “the first estimate was created by subject- matter experts rather than certified cost estimators,” a problem that has since been resolved.
Powner said GAO is concerned that
the bureau’s 50-odd systems might not be ready between August and early 2018 for next year’s dress rehearsal. Culber- son, meanwhile, raised questions about the cybersecurity of the bureau’s IT systems — about two-thirds of which contain respondents’ personal informa- tion — and the 400,000 mobile devices enumerators will use.
Census CIO Kevin Smith said the bureau is working closely with vendors and with officials at the departments of Commerce and Homeland Security to ensure data security and would also be open to working with the FBI.
Powner said coordinating with DHS and the CIO Council are essential for sharing cybersecurity best practices and added that the U.S. CIO could also play an important role, but that White House position is currently unfilled.
So much still to do
The budget questions are hardly the only source of uncertainty for the bureau. Officials still face risks as they plan to award three IT contracts, scale up systems, and finalize a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service and with state and local governments to shore up its address records — all in time for a dress rehearsal that should begin taking shape in August.
In addition, Thompson announced
in May that he will retire at the end of June (see sidebar), so the bureau must bring in a new director as it enters the 2020 homestretch.
At Census’ quarterly program man- agement review in April, officials announced two new program risks related to the decision to call off the field tests scheduled for this year. The first risk is an increased workload for the address-canvassing operation, which could lead to additional costs. The second is “implementing the inno- vative design as described in our origi- nal operational plan,” said Deborah Stempowski, chief of the Decennial Census Management Division.
Although those new issues are sig- nificant, she said uncertain funding has the biggest potential to disrupt the 2020 enumeration. Other high-impact risks include the bureau’s reliance on admin- istrative records and third-party data, the impact public doubts about Census’ ability to safeguard data might have on responses and potential cybersecurity incidents.
On April 1, Census sent a test of its mailing and internet self-response sys- tems to about 80,000 housing units and also tested its new Census Question- naire Assistance program. Those tests are still ongoing, but an early takeaway is that CQA — which provides tele-
SUMMER 2017:
New life cycle cost estimate expected
EARLY 2019:
Field offices begin opening for 2020 count; systems performance testing conducted
MAY 2017:
Director John Thompson announces his retirement, effective June 30
AUGUST 2017:
End-to-end testing prep begins in earnest
APRIL 2018:
End-to-end testing officially begins in four counties
EARLY 2020:
Advertising/ marketing campaign begins
MARCH 2018:
Final census questions due to Congress
APRIL 1, 2020:
Census Day, decennial count commences
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