2014 FCSM Statistical Policy Seminar 

Official Statistics in a Changing Society – Making Choices and 

Balancing Tradeoffs 

 

December 15-16, 2014 

Walter E. Washington Convention Center 

801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington, DC 20001 

Sponsored by: 

Bureau of Economic Analysis 

Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

Economic Research Service 

Energy Information Administration 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

National Center for Education Statistics 

U.S. Bureau of the Census 

Hosted by the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics 

 
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2014 FCSM Statistical Policy Seminar 

Official Statistics in a Changing Society – Making Choices and Balancing Tradeoffs 

 

Monday, December 15

th 

7:30 a.m. Registration, Coffee and Pastries 

8:45 a.m. 

Salons G & H 

Welcome and Introduction 

Katherine K. Wallman 

Chief Statistician, White House Office of Management and Budget 

9:00 to 9:50 a.m. 

Salons G & H 

Keynote Speech 

 

Statistics 2.0: From Data Revolution to the Next Level of Official Statistics 

 

Enrico Giovannini 

Professor of Economic Statistics, University of Rome 

9:50 to 10:10 a.m.  Break  

10:10 to 12:00 noon 

 

Salon G 

 

(Sessions 1 and 2 run 

concurrently) 

Session 1 

 

Hard Choices: Techniques And Tradeoffs When Surveying Hard-To-Reach (H2R) 

Populations 

 (Organizers: Nancy Bates, Census; Gordon Willis, NIH; Barry Graubard, NCI; 

Jennifer Madans, NCHS) 

Chair: John Thompson, Director, U.S. Bureau of the Census 

 

Defining and Measuring Hard-to-Survey Populations -- Roger Tourangeau, Vice 

President, WESTAT

 

Turning Ethnographic Insights of Homelessness Into Survey Research Strategies -- 

Irene Glasser, Anthropology Department, Brown University 

 

Conducting Research on Vulnerable and Stigmatized Populations -- Sandra H. 

Berry, Senior Director Survey Research Group, RAND 

Discussant: Frank Vitrano, Chief, Office of Survey and Census Analytics, U.S. 

Census Bureau 
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10:10 to 12:00 noon 

 

Salon H 

 

(Session 1 and 2 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 2 

 

Measuring and Communicating the Value of Federal Statistics 

 (Organizers: Jeri Mulrow, NCSES; John Eltinge, BLS; Kitty Smith, COPAFS) 

Chair: Brian Moyer, Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis 

 

The Use of Federal Statistics in Policy-Laden Contexts --Bruce Spencer, Professor of 

Statistics, Northwestern University 

 

The Value of Government Data in Fostering Innovation, Creating Jobs, and 

Driving Better Decisions -- Mark Doms, Undersecretary of Commerce for 

Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce 

 

Issues and Opportunities in Journalists’ Access to and Use of Federal Statistics -- 

John Wihbey, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, 

Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

 

The Roles and Value of Federal Statistics in Federal Legislative Affairs --Susan 

Offutt, Chief Economist, Government Accountability Office 

Discussant: Constance Citro, Director, Committee on National Statistics, National 

Academy of Science/National Research Council

12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m.  Lunch on Your Own  
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1:30 to 3:20 p.m. 

 

(Sessions 3 and 4 run 

concurrently 

 

Salon G 

Session 3 

 

Collection of Nationally Representative Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 

Data: Policy Needs and Implementation Challenges 

 (Organizers: Jonaki Bose, SAMHSA; Nancy Bates, Census) 

Chair: Charles Rothwell, Director, National Center for Health Statistics 

 

LGBT Data Priorities at the Department of Health and Human Services -- Susan 

Queen, Director, Division of Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Planning and Evaluation, Health and Human Services

 

Implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act: BJS’s Experience Collecting the 

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity of Prison and Jail Inmates -- Allen 

Beck, Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Asking About Sexual Orientation in the National Health Interview Survey: Lessons 

Learned and Initial Results -- Jim Dahlhamer, National Center for Health 

Statistics 

Discussant: Gary Gates, Williams Distinguished Scholar, University of California, Los 

Angeles 

1:30 to 3:20 p.m. 

 

Salon H 

 

(Sessions 3 and 4 run 

concurrently 

 

 

Session 4 

 

The Changing Role of the Statistical Agency: Serving the Department and 

Associated Challenges 

 (Organizers: William Sabol, BJS; Rolf Schmitt, BTS; Jeri Mulrow, NCSES; Shelly 

Martinez, OMB)

Chair: Patricia Hu, Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

 

Panelists: 

Jack Buckley, Senior Vice President for Research, The College Board

Katharine Abraham, Professor of Economics and Survey Methodology, University of 

Maryland 

James Lynch, Chair and Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 

University of Maryland

Tom Mesenbourg, retired U.S. Bureau of the Census 

3:20 to 3:40 p.m.  Break  
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3:40 to 5:30 p.m. 

 

Salon G 

 

(Session 5 and 6 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 5 

 

Improving Question Evaluation for Federal Surveys: Recommendations from an 

FCSM Subcommittee 

 (Organizers: Jennifer Madans, NCHS; Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB) 

 

Chair: Manuel de la Puente, Associate Commissioner for Research, Evaluation and 

Statistics, Social Security Administration 

 

FCSM Subcommittee on Question Evaluation Methodology: An Overview -- 

Jennifer Edgar, Director, Behavioral Science Research Center, Bureau of Labor 

Statistics 

 

Evaluating Survey Questions: An Inventory of Methods -- Diane K. 

Willimack, Methodology Director for Measurement and Response Improvement 

in Economic Programs, U.S. Census Bureau 

 

Standards and Guidelines for Cognitive Interviewing -- Kristen Miller, National 

Center for Health Statistics 

 

Discussant: Jennifer Madans, Associate Director for Science, National Center for 

Health Statistics 

3:40 to 5:30 p.m. 

 

Salon H 

 

(Session 5 and 6 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 6 

 

“Virtual Data Access” for Statistical and Research Purposes 

 (Organizer: Chris Chapman, BLS) 

 

Chair: Mary Bohman, Administrator, Economic Research Service 

 

Panelists: 

Andrew E. Shatto, Director, Office of Enterprise Management, Center for Medicare and 

Medicaid Services 

Mitch Morehart, Economic Research Service, USDA

Brooklyn Lupari, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Jonaki Bose, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Peter S. Meyer, Director , Research Data Center, National Center for Health Statistics 

 

Discussant: Barbara Downs, Lead Research Data Center Administrator, U.S. Bureau

of the Census 

 
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Tuesday, December 16

th

 

9:00 to 10:50 a.m. 

 

Salon G 

 

(Session 7 and 8 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 7 

 

Integrating Administrative Data: Routinizing Our Success and Exploring New 

Frontiers 

 (Organizers: Shelly Martinez, OMB; Grace Medley, SAMHSA; John Eltinge, BLS; 

Kitty Smith, COPAFS) 

Chair: Adam Sieminski, Administrator, Energy Information Administration 

 

From Demonstrating the Potential of Administrative Data in Statistical Programs 

to Fully Realizing It: How Are We Doing? -- Shelly Wilkie Martinez, Senior 

Statistician, Office of Management and Budget 

Connecting Administrative and Survey Data Across Education -- Ross Santy, 

Associate Commissioner for Administrative Data, National Center for Education 

Statistics 

From Ingest to Extract: Standardizing Data Preparation -- Amy O’Hara, Chief, 

Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications, U.S. Census 

Bureau 

Using BLS Administrative Data – Accomplishments and Prospects: Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages -- Rick Clayton, Chief, Division of 

Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover, Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Using Criminal History Records to Enhance Statistical Infrastructure at BJS -- 

Gerard Ramker, Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics 

 
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9:00 to 10:50 a.m. 

 

Salon H 

 

(Session 7 and 8 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 8 

 

A New Era in Transparency and Reproducibility of Research 

 (Organizers: Gordon Willis, NIH; Nancy Bates, Census; Chris Chapman, NCES; 

John Eltinge, BLS) 

Chair: John Gawalt, Director, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 

National Science Foundation 

 

More Transparency? It’s Not Clear -- Carol House, Senior Program Officer, Committee 

on National Statistics 

The AAPOR Transparency Initiative – Timothy Triplett, Senior Survey 

Methodologist, The Urban Institute 

Communicating Uncertainty in Official Economic Statistics -- Charles Manski, 

Board of Trustees Professor of Economics, Northwestern University 

Discussant: Nancy Lutz, Program Director, Division of Social and Economic Sciences, 

National Science Foundation

10:50 to 11:10 a.m.  Break  

11:10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

 

Salon G 

 

(Session 9 and 10 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 9 

 

Implementing Adaptive Designs in Federal Surveys: Lessons Learned (So Far) 

(Organizers: Nat Schenker, NCHS; Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB; Marilyn 

Seastrom, NCES) 

Chair: Peggy G. Carr, Acting Commissioner of the National Center for Education 

Statistics 

 

Using Adaptive Design in the 2014 Census Test -- Tom Mule, Special Assistant to 

the Chief, Decennial Statistical Studies Division, U.S. Census Bureau

 

NCES Experience Implementing Adaptive Designs -- Chris Chapman, Associate 

Commissioner, Sample Surveys Division, National Center for Education 

Statistics 

 

Discussants: 

Peter Miller, Senior Researcher for Survey Measurement and Chief 

Scientist, Center for Adaptive Design, U.S. Census Bureau

Brian Harris-Kojetin, Senior Statistician, Office of Management and 

Budget 
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11:10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

 

 Salon H 

 

(Session 9 and 10 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 10 

Different Approaches for Engaging Academic Experts in Statistical Agency 

Research 

 (Organizers: Jeri Mulrow, NCSES; Jonaki Bose, SAMHSA; Stephen H. Cohen, 

retired NCSES; Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB) 

Chair: Barry Johnson, Acting Director, Statistics of Income Division, Internal 

Revenue Service 

Panelists: 

Marilyn Seastrom, Chief Statistician and Director of the Statistical Standards and Data 

Confidentiality Staff, National Center for Education Statistics

Andy White, Senior Research Statistician, National Center for Education Statistics 

Tom Louis, Associate Director for Research & Methodology and Chief Scientist, U.S. 

Census Bureau

Barry Johnson, Acting Director, Statistics of Income Division, IRS 

Mary Bohman, Administrator, Economic Research Service

Jeri Mulrow, Deputy Director, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics 

1:00 to 2:30 p.m  Lunch on Your Own  

2:30 to 4:20 p.m. 

 

Salon G 

 

(Session 11 and 12 run 

Concurrently) 

 

 

Session 11 

 

Understanding Respondent Burden 

(Organizers: Arthur Kennickell, FRB; Debbie Griffin, retired U.S. Census Bureau) 

Chair: William Sabol, Acting Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics 

 

Measuring Respondent Burden and Its Impacts on Expenditure and Time-Use 

Estimates -- Scott Fricker (presenting) and John Dixon, Bureau of Labor 

Statistics 

The 2014 Content Review of the American Community Survey -- Gary Chappell 

and David Raglin (presenting), U.S. Census Bureau 

Examining the Interviewer-Respondent Interactions in the Survey of Consumer 

Finances -- Jesse Bricker, Kevin Moore (presenting) and Richard Windle, 

Federal Reserve Board 

Defining and Measuring Respondent Burden in Establishment Surveys -- Polly 

Phipps, Bureau of Labor Statistics 

 

Discussant: Tim Olson, Respondent Advocate, U.S. Bureau of the Census
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2:30 to 4:20 p.m. 

 

Salon H 

 

(Session 11 and 12 run 

concurrently) 

 

 

Session 12 

 

Expanding Leadership and Substantive Skills of Statistical Agency Personnel 

 (Organizers: Arthur Kennickell, FRB; John Eltinge, BLS; Marilyn Seastrom, 

NCES) 

Chair: Barry Nussbaum, Chief Statistician, Environmental Protection Agency 

 

Panelists: 

Lisa LaVange, Office of Biostatistics, Office of Translational Sciences, Center for Drug 

Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration

Sally Morton, Health Policy Institute, University of Pittsburgh

Nancy Potok, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Bureau of the Census

Roger Tourangeau, Vice President, WESTAT

4:20 Adjourn 

Acronyms used in the program: 

 

AAPOR American Association of Public Opinion Researchers 

BEA Bureau of Economic Analysis 

BJS Bureau of Justice Statistics 

BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics 

BTS Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

COPAFS Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

ERS Economic Research Service 

FRB Federal Reserve Board 

IRS Internal Revenue Service 

NCES National Center for Education Statistics 

NCI National Cancer Institute 

NCHS National Center for Health Statistics 

NCSES National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics 

NIH National Institutes of Health 

NSF National Science Foundation 

OMB Office of Management and Budget (White House) 

SAMHSA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration