FCSM Interest Group on Innovating Data Collection 

1. Objective

The purpose of this interest group is to share information on innovating data collection

practices within the federal government, to discuss the impact of these efforts on the

production of official statistics across federal agencies and programs, to identify areas of

common research, to coordinate collaborative research projects in those areas, and to

disseminate information related to innovating data collection methods and the

implementation of these methods to produce official statistics.

2. Background

The FCSM Adaptive Design (AD) interest group was established in 2014 by Peter Miller

(Census Bureau) and Brian Harris-Kojetin (OMB). The goals of the AD interest group

were to (1) facilitate information sharing and (2) enhance innovation in applying AD to

federal surveys. In recent years, the AD interest group members stated an interest in

expanding the focus of the group beyond AD activities to include various efforts

involving the use of information to inform data collection decisions.

This charter responds to a need for an expanded focus beyond AD topics, identified by

the AD IG leadership in conversation with participants and other FCSM experts over

several years. Through these conversations, the concept of the innovating data

collection interest group was derived. For the purposes of this interest group, innovating

data collection (IDC) is defined as research and production activities related to using

information to inform data collection decisions. Examples of topics germane for IDC

discussions include:

• Adaptive design,

• Survey paradata,

• Interviewer monitoring,

• Program evaluation, and

• Participant recruiting options.

The question of whether to expand the focus of the AD interest group was discussed 

with interest group meeting. Meeting participants supported the expanded focus and
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agreed the proposed IDC interest group would provide real value for the participating 

agencies through the sharing of information on innovating data collection and the 

production of official statistics. 

3. Scope and approach

The main focus of this interest group will be on research and production activities

related to using information to inform data collection decisions and the impact of these

efforts on the production of official statistics across federal agencies. In particular, this

includes the topics listed in section 2, but any topics related to using information to

inform data collection decisions are in-scope.

The interest group will hold quarterly meetings during fiscal year 2023. This meeting

schedule will allow the group to determine the most promising areas to explore, to

identify the list of activities, and to plan the deliverables. In preparation for the

meetings, we expect the interest group chair(s) and FCSM liaison will meet on a monthly

basis (or, depending on schedule availability, conducting planning efforts through email

conversations).

4. Proposed Deliverables and Dates

The interest group will provide the following deliverables to the sponsor in fiscal year

2023 (FY23) (October 2022 – September 2023) and in subsequent fiscal years:

• Proposed list of FY23 activities for the group – October 2022 and annually

thereafter

• A listing of current membership – October 2022; September 2023; annually

thereafter

• Four information sharing meetings – FY23-Q1, FY23-Q2, FY23-Q3, FY23-Q4,

annually thereafter

• A report that summarizes member agencies’ current research efforts and

challenges – September 2023

We expect this group to continue beyond FY23, if there continues to be interest and 

value added to the agencies. 

5. Sponsor

The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM)

6. Communications
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• The team will provide regular informal status reports to the sponsor.

• The team will use a Wiki or other means, e.g. collaboration site through FCSM.

• As needed, the interest group will plan presentations to other FCSM or federal

groups.

7. Group membership, Chair, and FCSM Liaison

The members of this interest group must be federal civil servants. Agencies can have

more than one member in the group. Contractors and interested parties can provide

briefings and participate in specific meetings and workshops. The members do not have

to be managers or statisticians. Members should be those who are familiar with the use

of information to inform data collection decisions or have a vested interest in this topic.

The chairs of the interest group will be appointed by the FCSM chair and a member of

FCSM will serve as liaison to the interest group.

John M. Finamore (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics) will serve as

liaison with FCSM.

Co-chairs are Stephanie Coffey (U.S. Census Bureau) and Elise Christopher (National

Center for Education Statistics).

FCSM CHAIR SIGNATURES

NAME SIGNATURE DATE

Rochelle (Shelly) Martinez 8/26/2022