2020 Census Memo: Mobile Questionnaire Assistance

2020 CENSUS PROGRAM MEMORANDUM SERIES: 2019.28
Date:

December 16, 2019

MEMORANDUM FOR: The Record
From:

Albert E. Fontenot, Jr. (Signed December 16, 2019)
Associate Director, Decennial Census Programs

Subject:

Decision to add Mobile Questionnaire Assistance as a Suboperation of Internet
Self Response Operation

Contact:

Sarah Brady Clark
Decennial Census Management Division
301-763-8868
Sarah.E.Brady.Clark@census.gov

The Census Bureau proposed a Mobile Response Initiative in response to the Joint Explanatory
Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6). This initiative
will proceed if Congress appropriates funding for it. This memorandum documents the Census
Bureau’s decision to add Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) as a suboperation to the
Internet Self-Response operation.
The Census Bureau recently proposed the creation of this suboperation to create additional
opportunities for the public to respond to the 2020 Census in key locations where we are
experiencing low self-response rates. The Mobile Response Initiative builds on and improves the
model for the 2010 Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC), incorporating the use of technology
to provide readily accessible ways for people to respond to the census. Instead of being tied to
static locations as in the 2010 Census, MQAs can deploy to areas experiencing low self-response
rates across the country. At MQAs, respondents can receive assistance from trained staff, and
they can answer the 2020 Census utilizing Census Bureau staff’s iPads to access the Internet SelfResponse instrument.
The MQA is a suboperation to the Internet Self-Response operation, as its primary focus is on
leveraging the Internet Self-Response instrument to support self-response.

census.gov

The 2020 Census Memorandum Series
The 2020 Census Memorandum Series documents significant decisions, actions, and accomplishments of
the 2020 Census Program for the purpose of informing stakeholders, coordinating interdivisional efforts,
and documenting important historical changes.
A memorandum generally will be added to this series for any decision or documentation that meets the
following criteria:
1. A major program-level decision that will affect the overall design or have significant effect on
2020 Census operations or systems.
2. A major policy decision or change that will affect the overall design or significantly impact 2020
Census operations or systems.
3. A report that documents the research and testing for 2020 Census operations or systems.
Visit 2020 Census on Census.gov to access the Memorandum Series, the 2020 Census Operational Plan,
and other information about preparations for the 2020 Census.