Other data systems may collect sufficient minority and subcategory data at the aggregate level, bu the data are not always analyzed or disseminated by the agencies. No standard practice exists for data collection employing specific racial or ethnic identifiers. Furthermore, because Hispanic is an ethnic classification, the related data may be masked by the racial category, and the particular needs of Hispanics may go undetected. Many community-based organizations are frustrated with the need to have data to apply for funding and develop programs, when little or no data are available. This lack of data probably affects the shortage of Federal and State programs targeted specifically toward minorities.
Private industry is also a consumer of racial and ethnic data.
They use demographic data to target marketing and to determine which products to sell to which consumers. Certain segments of private industry have the capacity to conduct studies providing evidence of product usage broken down by specific groups and populations. Such data often provide the evidence for management and marketing plans.