WHATTHIS IS WHO IT'S FOR WHY IT MATTERS A solutions workshop is a creative, collaborative, problem-solving that brings together diverse thinkers. The Census Solutions Workshop is specifically geared to generate new ways of communicating the importance of census data, reaching hard-to-count populations, and encouraging participation in Census Bureau surveys and programs. We designed this toolkit for any organization, company, or community group invested in getting out the count— and seeking creative collaborations and new ideas for doing so. A complete count ensures accurate census data that is critical for government programs, policies, and decision-making, but participation in Census Bureau surveys has declined in recent decades. The workshop consists of a specific series of activities based on a design thinking methodology that help participants get to know each other, set ambitious goals, think outside the box, brainstorm with others, and quickly develop proposals for new solutions to engage communities in the census. This toolkit is a step-by-step guide to planning and running a successful Census Solutions Workshop. The Census Bureau has always relied on partners like you to help spread the word. We want to support you in coming up with innovative and engaging ways to your communities.
Census Solutions Workshops are not one-size-fits-all— they can range greatly in size, length, and approach*—these roles and responsibilities will apply in most every scenario. Before Who will be coordinating logistics such as securing the venue, providing food, ordering supplies, and printing out handouts? Who will own and manage the guest list, and send out the invitations? Who will set the theme, goals, and agenda for the day? Who will determine the workshop activities and facilitate them? Who will prepare presentation materials? Who will make sure all the hosts/facilita- tors understand the structure of the day? Who will explain the activities to the facilitators? Who will find facilitators? Who will out the Census for support or connections to local experts? During Who will facilitate and host? Who will present? Who will check guests in? Who will manage day-of logistics, such as ensuring that food arrives on time? How many groups will there be? How many facilitators will you need? Who will explain each activity? Who will take notes? Who will take photographs? Who will keep time? Who will manage IT? Who will make sure the room is set up ahead of time? Who will create and send out a follow-up email to the group? Who will follow up with participants’ commitments? Who will the strategy for what comes next? Who will send feedback to the Census Bureau? For examples of workshop formats, see Part 4 of the Census Solutions Workshop Toolkit: Case Studies.
A CENSUS SOLUTIONS WORKSHOP People Facilitators Participants representing a variety of groups Translators if necessary At least one observer Photographer / videographer (if needed) Census Data Dissemination Specialist or other expert (optional) Logistics Venue, including enough tables and chairs for group break-outs and plenty of wall space Refreshments (Drinks & snacks) Music / portable speaker / sound sys- tem (optional)—to keep up the energy Online invitation platform, e.g. Splashthat or Eventbrite Transportation if necessary Parking if necessary/available Supplies Flipchart paper + markers (e.g. Markers— one per person) Sticky notes (one pad per person) Dot stickers for dot voting exercise Tape Camera (and charger!) Name tags Workshop materials Sign-in sheet Media releases (if necessary) Commitment sheets Persona sheets Presentation: "Census relevance to community" Other relevant activity forms
With the major logistics taken care of, turn your attention to preparing for the activities of the workshop. Take our materials and make them your own. Presentation We recommend having a simple slide pre- sentation to guide you through the day. We have created a presentation deck for your use, which you are welcome to modify. This lays out the structure of the presentation and what to include. In customizing our example deck or ing your own, think about and try to answer the following questions:: What will resonate with your audience? Can you make your presentation specif- ic to your city, county, etc? Why does this matter? Why are the stakes so high? Why were these particular guests invit- ed to participate in creating solutions? Naturally, you should ensure that your space has a projector or large screen be- fore working on this piece. If it does not, we recommend creating a handout that you can walk through with the participants. Census 101 We recommend starting the day with a very brief Census 101 talk to make sure every- one is on the same page. Using our Census 101 infographic as a starting point, ask yourself: What are some examples of census data being used to the advantage of the communities that the audience rep- resents? Which elements of the census’ impact are most relevant to your audience (e.g. federal funding vs. representation vs. redistricting, etc)? We encourage you to seek expertise in communicating the importance and rele- vance of census data. There are regional Data Dissemination Specialists and Part- nership Specialists who may be able to attend your event. Contact a data expert at 1-800-ASK-DATA or Print materials We recommend preparing a packet of materials for each attendee. In addition to worksheets that they will use during the activities, we encourage you to give them a few pieces that they can take with them. These might include: an agenda with hosts names and con- tact information and a list of attendees a Census 101 fact information on how to partner with the Census Bureau an overview of the biggest barriers to participation in Census surveys We have included a number of items in the Resources section of this toolkit for easy printing, including: Cover Story worksheet Fleshing out your idea worksheet Commitment Feedback form LOGISTICS — 11
Ideally, you can hold the workshop in an attractive, comfortable space with lots of natural light, but that’s often not possible. Don’t worry. A few small touches can transform a space and signal to guests that the event will be exciting and creative. Arrange the space Make sure you arrive with plenty of time to set up the space, at least an hour before participants are set to arrive. Make sure there are enough chairs and that there is easy access to the walls. You may need to rearrange some of the furniture. Identify where you will be presenting from (if there is a projector) and make sure chairs are oriented towards that spot. Test the projector and get your presentation loaded. Set up a station for registration near the door with name tags, markers, and a sign-in sheet. Set up a flipboard with markers at the front of the room for the “21st Century Mindset” activity. Arrange the space A few touches can make the event feel more official and get people excited. Set the tables so that each person has a set of materials they can refer to, use, and take with them. At each place, put: Agenda with list of attendees and your contact information Census 101 handout Cover Story worksheet Storyboarding worksheet Commitment sheet Feedback form Pad of colorful sticky notes Set of colorful dot stickers Make sure are plenty of markers and pens/pencils on each table. Set out refreshments on a table so attendees can help themselves. Play some energetic music over the sound system (at a low level). Greet your guests As guests start to arrive, have someone or several people greet them. Make sure they add their contact information to the sign-in sheet so you have a record of who was there and can follow up with them after the event. Let guests know where the nearest restroom is. As you wait for everyone to arrive, make introductions between attendees and encourage them to mingle. If possible, have each represent different organizations, departments, functions, etc. If you are assigning groups ahead of time, try not to group people who spend a lot of time together. The diversity of the group will help strengthen your ideas and lead to inter- esting new collaborations. ACTIVITIES — 4
There are common barriers that Census and external research have identified as particularly common reasons for not completing the Census—use these or other user scenarios to help participants be concrete in their ideation. Why There isn’t a one-size-fits all solution to increasing participation in Census programs and surveys. It is key that those creating new solutions under- stand who those solutions are being built for. User scenarios and personas help participants root their discus- sions and solutions in deep empathy for the people you want participating in the census. “I don’t trust the government with my information.” Your audience is concerned about data privacy or hav- ing their information used by other federal “I have trouble completing census forms.” Your audience may not be native English speakers and find Census forms con- fusing. “I don’t think the census has any impact on my life.” Your audience isn’t sure what Census does, how its data affects them, and why participa- tion matters. “I don’t have time to fill out the census forms.” Your audience is very busy and assumes the Census will be and cumbersome.
Brainstorming is the basis of the day’s activities. There are a variety of formats this can take—from silent ideation to group brainstorm, but the key is to ensure a generative mindset, withholding for the moment any judgment or criticism. Why It’s important to remember is that ideation is about generating as many ideas as possible—quantity over quality. It’s not about coming up with the perfect idea, it’s about making new connections, being inspired by each other, and allowing the group to go beyond the obvious solutions. How to do it SILENT BRAINSTORM Have all participants generate as many ideas as possible, in silence, for new ways to reach the persona they’ve selected. There are no bad ideas! Have each participant write down (or draw) one idea per sticky note. Have lots of sticky-notes and markers at every table! “We’ll start by brainstorming about the user you chose in silence—it’s important that you not compare notes at this point.” “Where does this person spend time? Who do they trust? What would make them partic- ipate? What do they care about? How might you reach them?” “There are no bad ideas. Everything you come up with is valuable, as it can spark ideas for other people. Don’t worry about feasibility.” SHARE Share ideas by question (i.e., what did people write down for “Who do they trust?”) CLUSTERING During share out, begin to cluster ideas around themes—move the post-its around so that similar ideas are grouped together. BUILD Within each cluster, do one more group ideation. Combine elements of ideas or build on each others’ ideas. It is important that this be a generative process. Use the phrase, “Yes, and…” to acknowledge others’ ideas and maintain a framework of collaboration and accumulation of ideas. CHOOSE Decide which idea has the most potential and / or excitement among the group. This will be the idea you will start fleshing out in the subsequent exercises. If your group is having trouble reaching a consensus, you can use the dot-voting exercise described earlier.
Following the Los Angeles Open Innovation Chal- lenge, a team from the Mayor of Los Angeles’s office were inspired to create their own workshop internally across the organization. GUIDING QUESTIONS What is our vision of success? What are the barriers and motivations of hard-to-count communities in our city? Who hosted Key representatives from within City Hall Who participated Members of Mayoral staff Format One-hour working session Methodologies The overall goal was to get the staff think- ing and excited about the 2020 Census. The leaders of the session created their own infographic to show other team mem- bers why the Census matters. From there, they did the Cover Story exercise, and dug into potential motivations for hard-to-count populations. Outcomes In only an hour, the workshop achieved the of getting staff to think big-picture, collaborate with others, and get excited for the upcoming Census.
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING HARD-TO-COUNT POPULATIONS ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED IN SERVING? Those who have trouble understanding the census (e.g. non-native English speakers, low literacy) People experiencing homelessness Children who don't understand how the census benefits them Immigrant communities Those who think the census takes too much time Those who don't trust the government Those who are concerned about the privacy and security of their personal data
NAME: ATTITUDE TOWARDS CENSUS Draw a picture of your imagined user here. Has heard of census, but doesn’t think it’s important Sees census as time intensive and com- plicated to fill out Mistakenly believes census informs tax and immigration status Does not intend to respond to census AGE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS MARITAL STATUS HOUSEHOLD RENT / OWN EDUCATION LANGUAGE POSSIBLE MOTIVATION TO PARTICIPATE 40 Cell Divorced 3 children Public housing High school Spanish Understanding that census can be used to build a better future for his/her kids’ lives
NAME: ATTITUDE TOWARDS CENSUS Draw a picture of your imagined user here. Has moved multiple times in the last few years; as a musician mostly earning in cash, tries to avoid official govern- ment mail Sees the census as a headache like doing taxes Doesn’t think the government cares about his/her community; thinks they already have enough information AGE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS MARITAL STATUS HOUSEHOLD RENT / OWN EDUCATION LANGUAGE POSSIBLE MOTIVATION TO PARTICIPATE 27 Laptop & smartphone Single Lives with roommates Sublets a room College English Relatively politically engaged— and could be motivated by seeing census as activism
NAME: ATTITUDE TOWARDS CENSUS Draw a picture of your imagined user here. As a Transgender person who’s experi- enced homelessness, has had to learn how to stay low profile As someone working to get very basic needs met, the idea of filling out addi- tional paperwork is not a priority AGE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS MARITAL STATUS HOUSEHOLD RENT / OWN EDUCATION LANGUAGE POSSIBLE MOTIVATION TO PARTICIPATE 24 Limited Single Experiencing homelessness Transitional housing Completed 9th grade English Recognizing that he/she has a voice and a right to be counted
CENSUS 101: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The 2020 Census is closer than you think! Here’s a refresher of what it is and why it’s essential that everyone is counted. Everyone counts. The census counts every person living in the U.S. once, only once, and in the right place. It’s about $675 billion. It’s in the constitution. The U.S. Constitution mandates that everyone in the country be counted 10 years. The first census was in 1790. It’s about fair representation. Every 10 years, the results of the census are used to reapportion the House of Representatives, determining how many seats each state gets. It’s about redistricting. After each decade’s census, state officials redraw the boundaries of the congressional and state legislative districts in their states to account for population shifts. The distribution of more than $675 billion in federal funds, grants and support to states, counties and communities are based on census data. That money is spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs. Taking part is your civic duty. Completing the census is mandatory: it’s a way to participate in our democracy and say “I
Census data are being used all around you. Businesses use census data to decide where to build factories, offices and stores, which create jobs. governments use the census for public safety and emergency preparedness. Residents use the census to support community initiatives involving legislation, quality-of-life and consumer advocacy. Your data is The law requires the Census Bureau to keep your information confidential and only use it for statistical research. We will never share your information with immigration enforcement agencies like ICE, law enforcement agencies like the FBI or police, or allow it to be used to determine your eligibility for government benefits. Real estate developers use the census to build new homes and revitalize old neighborhoods. 2020 will be easier than ever. In 2020, you will be able to respond to the census online. You can help. You are the expert—we need your ideas on the best way to make sure everyone in your community gets counted. FIND OUT HO W O HELP AT CENSU S.GO V/PAR TNER