DTAM Industry Day Script - Industry Release.pdf

DECENNIAL TRANSFORMATION AND APPLICATION MODERNIZATION (DTAM)

INDUSTRY DAY SCRIPT

Presented:

Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 1:00pm ET

Presenters:

Christopher Henshaw, Chief, Acquisition Division (ACQ) Matthew Gore, Contracting Officer, ACQ Mark Markovic, Office Chief, Decennial Contracts Execution Office (DCEO) Barbara LoPresti, Division Chief, Decennial Information Technology Division (DITD)

SLIDE 2: TITLE SLIDE – DTAM INDUSTRY DAY

Presenter: Christopher Henshaw

Welcome and thank you for standing by.

At this time, all attendees are in a listen-only mode.

This webinar is being recorded and if you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time.

SLIDE 3: WELCOMING REMARKS

Presenter: Chris Henshaw

Good afternoon and thank you all for taking the time to participate in this industry day webinar.

My name is Chris Henshaw, and I am the Chief of the Acquisition Division here at the Census Bureau. We are all really excited to be engaging with you today as we share information about our important requirements that will support the Decennial Directorate at the Census Bureau.

This is the Decennial Transformation and Application Modernization (known as DTAM) Industry Day.

For today’s webinar, I’m joined by:

Matthew Gore, Contracting Officer from Acquisition Division Mark Markovic Office Chief of the Decennial Contracts and Execution Office Barbara LoPresti, Division Chief of the Decennial Information Technology Division

SLIDE 4: AGENDA

Presenter: Chris Henshaw

Our presentation today is an opportunity for the Census Bureau to provide information on the overview of the Decennial Census, the Decennial Technology Vision and Approach, the DTAM Task Area Review, and respond to some questions submitted prior to today’s webinar.

We are very aware that IT is certainly an evolving environment with many opportunities for innovations and enhancements, and while we anticipate this being the case for our requirements moving forward, we are happy to engage with you today on what we are currently considering for this effort.

We hope that you have taken the opportunity to read through our draft Performance Work Statement for DTAM and started your internal process for providing a meaningful response to the items we have requested in the RFI/Sources Sought Notice. This RFI/Sources Sought Notice was posted to SAM.gov on November 17, 2023, and the response date is December 20, 2023.

Please know that we greatly value your input, and we take your response to the RFI/Sources Sought Notice very seriously. Right now, we are in the market research phase of the procurement process and your input will genuinely help influence the way we move forward with our acquisition planning efforts.

While today we will focus most of our time on the DTAM effort, our hope is to do similar industry presentations in the future as we embark on the major procurements that will support the 2030 Census. We intend to generally announce those opportunities the same way we did this one by posting a notice on SAM.gov. So be on the lookout for more of those.

I will now take a moment to introduce the contracting officer for this effort, Mr. Matt Gore, and I will turn the time over to him to discuss a few items.

SLIDE 5: ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS

Presenter: Matthew Gore

Thank you, Chris. Again, my name is Matt Gore, and I am the contracting officer for the DTAM procurement, and I want to welcome everyone participating today. As Chris mentioned, we are in the market research phase of this procurement. Accordingly, all the information shared today is considered pre-decisional and is being presented as part of the Government's ongoing market research effort, in accordance with FAR Part 10. As such, please be advised that the Government does not intend to provide feedback or evaluations to companies regarding their submission in response to the RFI/Sources Sought Notice. There is no solicitation that currently exists.

I would like to reiterate that the response date for the RFI/Sources Sought Notice is Wednesday, December 20th by Noon - 12:00 pm Eastern Time. Your response should be submitted via email to me along with the two contract specialists that are supporting me in this effort – Mr. Bryan Schearer, and Ms. Leeann Washington. Our email addresses are listed in the RFI/Sources Sought Notice.

As you consider your submission, please note that this presentation should not be regarded as any kind of a commitment by the Government, or as a comprehensive description of any future requirement. As Chris mentioned, IT is an evolving environment, and we are engaging with you today on what we are currently considering for the DTAM procurement.

And finally, I have a few of items that we typically receive questions about, so I would like to provide some general information up front that I hope will be helpful to you:

First, we consider this to be a new requirement. There is no incumbent contractor, and no information about this procurement in FPDS-NG.

Second, at this point in our process we have not determined any specific contract vehicle, set-aside status, or even contract type. This, in part, is what we are really interested in having you include in your feedback to us. So, I would ask that you please pay attention to that in your response, because we are interested to hear from you on what your recommended structure and overall framework for a requirement of this magnitude would be. Additionally, the NAICS code that we issued this RFI/Sources Sought Notice under is 541511 - Custom Computer Programming Services. If, based on what you hear today and your understanding of the requirements, there is a different NAICS code that you think would better fit this requirement, then please include that in your response so that we can consider your input in our acquisition plan.

And lastly, we acknowledge that in order to successfully perform this requirement there may be parts of this effort that will require you to consider teaming with other vendors.

We certainly support such arrangements – whether they be Contractor Teaming Arrangements, subcontracting, joint ventures, etc. To that end, we intend to post a list of companies that registered for today’s presentation to SAM.gov so that you are aware of those companies that may be interested in this procurement. Additionally, today’s presentation, along with answers to any appropriate questions that were submitted, will be posted to SAM.gov.

Again, we really appreciate you taking the time to participate in this presentation today.

However, we will not be holding a live Q&A session or collecting questions via chat today. If you have additional questions or comments about this presentation or the Draft PWS, then please include these with your responses to the RFI/Sources Sought Notice. We look forward to receiving your responses on December 20th.

Now I will turn it over to Mark Markovic who will provide an overview of the Decennial Census.

SLIDE 6: TITLE SLIDE – DECENNIAL CENSUS OVERVIEW

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Thank you, Matt, and thank you to everyone for joining us for today’s webinar. I am Mark Markovic, Office Chief of the Decennial Contracts and Execution Office in the Decennial Directorate. Before I provide you with an overview of the Decennial Census, I would like to talk about the U.S. Census Bureau and the Decennial Directorate structure.

SLIDE 7: THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU AND THE DECENNIAL DIRECTORATE

Presenter: Mark Markovic

The Decennial Directorate, also referred to as Decennial Census Programs, conducts a census of population and housing every ten years, surveys America's communities annually, and provides geospatial data and data dissemination support to provide quality statistical information to the President and the American people about our changing society.

The Census Bureau is led by the Director, Deputy Director, and Chief Operating Officers as well as Associate Directors over the Decennial, Communications, Demographic, Field, Economic, and Research and Methodology directorates. The Decennial Directorate is encompassed by several divisions and offices.

The Decennial Information Technology Division manages as a centralized office for most Decennial directorate IT related functions specific to the business areas in the directorate. This includes application development and operations, infrastructure coordination, Quality Assurance, Independent Validation & Verification (IV&V), Tabulation, Systems Engineering and serves as the liaison to Office of the Chief Information Officer.

The Decennial Contracts Execution Office executes contract management activities for decennial directorate by overseeing and managing the contracts responsible for delivering well-integrated technical solutions that are within cost, scope, and schedule.

The Decennial Census Management Division serves as the centralized management office responsible for planning, implementation, and evaluation of the decennial census.

The Decennial Statistical Studies Division coordinates, develops, and implements mathematical statistical techniques for the American Community Survey and the decennial census.

The Geography Division plans, coordinates, and administers all geographic activities needed to facilitate the Census Bureau's statistical programs.

The American Community Survey Office manages the American Community Survey (also known as the ACS). The ACS is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about our nation and its people.

The Decennial Communications and Stakeholder Relations area oversees the decennial communications coordination, budget for the Decennial Census Programs, and redistricting and voting rights data.

Now, let’s take a look at the decennial census.

SLIDE 8: ABOUT THE DECENNIAL CENSUS

Presenter: Mark Markovic

The purpose of the decennial census is to conduct a count of the population and housing and disseminate the results to the President, the States, and the American People. The U.S.

Constitution empowers the Congress to carry out the census in "such manner as they shall by Law direct" which is found in Article 1, Section 2.

SLIDE 9: PRIMARY USES OF DECENNIAL CENSUS DATA

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution mandates that an apportionment of representatives among the states must be carried out every 10 years. Therefore, apportionment is the original legal purpose of the decennial census, as intended by our Nation's Founders. Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states, based on the state population counts that result from each decennial census. The apportionment results are the first data published from each census, and those results determine the amount of political representation each state will have in Congress for the next 10 years.

Census data are also used to:

inform tribal, federal, state, and local government planning decisions, and serve as the backbone for the next decade, informing business and nonprofit organization decision making and providing a population benchmark for nearly every other representative survey in the

U.S.

SLIDE 10: BENEFITS TO COMMUNITIES

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Now that we’ve reviewed the primary uses of census data, let’s take a look at how those data are used to benefit communities. The results of the census help determine how trillions of dollars in federal funds are spent every year.

It helps communities get their fair share for schools, hospitals, roads, and public works.

The results also inform how funding is allocated to federal programs, including Medicaid, Head Start, block grant programs for community mental health services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Census results are also valuable to businesses, as business owners rely on census data to make decisions, such as where to open new stores, factories, and offices; where to expand operations; where to recruit employees; and which products and services to offer.

SLIDE 11: CENSUS ENVIRONMENT

Presenter: Mark Markovic

The 2030 Census will be conducted in a rapidly changing environment. Some of the challenges faced include:

an increasingly mobile population, informal or flexible living arrangements, increasingly diverse population, and a distrust in government, all of which contribute to a declining response rate.

This requires the 2030 Census to develop a flexible design that takes advantage of new technologies and data sources while minimizing risk to ensure a high-quality population count.

SLIDE 12: COMPLETE AND ACCURATE COUNT OF THE POPULATION AND HOUSING

Presenter: Mark Markovic

The goal of the census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. This shows a snapshot of how we conduct the census. First, we establish where to count by building the address list. This includes every address in the country, and it forms the basis of the census.

Then we motivate people to respond. Self-response (responding to the census on your own) is easier than ever. We provide different ways in which people can self-respond. We also make sure to count people in non-traditional housing (called group quarters), as well as provide an opportunity for people experiencing homelessness to be included.

Some people will still not respond on their own, so we follow up with them by visiting them. And finally, we tabulate and release the census results, first to the President, and then to the America people.

SLIDE 13: DECENNIAL CENSUS MILESTONE YEARS

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Census Day is held every decade using April 1 as the reference date. The next Census Day will be April 1, 2030. The U.S. Census Bureau has a full production period that traditionally covers three years;

the nine year (or 2029), which is used to set up the support infrastructure, such as regional and local offices;

the zero year (or 2030), in which data collection happens;

and the one year (or 2031), where data products, coverage measurement, post-census review, and evaluation and assessments are all conducted.

SLIDE 14: CENSUS QUESTIONNAIRE AND DATA PRODUCTS

Presenter: Mark Markovic

In the decennial census, respondents are asked to provide key information including name, sex, age, race and Hispanic origin, relationship among household members and whether the housing unit is rented or owned.

From these data, important data products are developed. Data products developed from results of the 2020 Census included:

apportionment and redistricting files, demographic profiles, demographic and housing characteristics files, congressional district summary files, and privacy protected microdata files.

I would like to mention one other thing about census data that is very important. The data we collect, and process is confidential and protected by federal law (Title 13 of the US Code). Title 13 not only provides authority for the work the US Census Bureau does, but also provides strong protection for the information we collect from individuals and businesses. The Census Bureau cannot release any identifiable information about individuals or households, even to law enforcement agencies. Title 13 states that the information collected may only be used for statistical purposes and no other purpose. Furthermore, all the Census Bureau staff, including contractor staff, take a lifetime oath to protect our data or face the penalty of law. As you can imagine, data privacy, protection and security are key elements of any IT solution we deliver.

SLIDE 15: 2030 CENSUS PREPARATIONS

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Preparations for the 2030 Census are underway. In order to best inform the planning and execution of the 2030 Census, input is received from:

Census Bureau staff, government agencies, oversight entities, external experts and stakeholders, respondents, and the general public.

Examples of the types of input provided include recommendations:

from lessons learned during the 2020 Census provided by Census Bureau staff members, guidance on the use of administrative data by government agencies, Oversight feedback from Congress, recommendations from Census Bureau advisory committees comprising of external experts and stakeholders, and feedback received from the public through the use of Federal Register Notices.

SLIDE 16: 2030 CENSUS TIMELINE

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Now let’s discuss the 2030 Census timeline.

From 2019 to 2021, the Census Bureau began early planning of the 2030 Census which included:

analyzing operational metrics, studying lessons learned, reviewing stakeholder feedback, and exploring potential enhancements to existing systems and methods of data collection.

We are now in the Design Selection Phase, which is conducted between 2021 and 2024. In this phase, we are working on initial design research and testing, identifying “enhancement areas” that will guide small-scale testing focused on expanding existing systems and methods as well as introducing new innovations.

In the course of this important work during the design phase of the 2030 Census, we have engaged the public through a Federal Register Notice, also known as an FRN, to receive feedback on the 2030 Census research. Towards the end of this phase, we will synthesize recommendations from stakeholders, and the results of research and small-scale testing to produce the Baseline 1 of Operational Plan, which is expected to be available in December 2024.

Next comes the Development and Integration Phase, in years 2025 through 2029. During this phase, we will continue research and conduct small-scale testing, to include two major field tests; the 2026 Census Test and the 2028 Dress Rehearsal.

It is also in this phase where we will finalize operational planning by integrating recommendations from the small-scale and field tests. Detailed plans for each operation will be developed and Baseline 2 of the Operational Plan will be published in December 2027, and Baseline 3 of the Operational Plan will be published in December 2029.

Lastly, we will enter the Peak Production and Close-Out Phase, from 2029 to 2033. The 2030 Census will be conducted on April 1, 2030. The Census Bureau will then deliver apportionment counts to the President on December 31, 2030 and Congressional Redistricting Data April 1st, 2031 and other data products will be release until September 2033.

In 2031 close-out activities begin will be conducted including implementing experiments, assessments, and evaluations. Lessons learned will be gathered and we will prepare to start the cycle again!

SLIDE 17: 2030 CENSUS RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT AREAS (EA)

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Our portfolio of 2030 Census Research Enhancement Areas was updated based on the review of comments received through our 2030 Census Research FRN, which was open to the public.

The comments were reviewed by both Census Bureau staff and our advisory committees.

The first of the five research enhancement areas, also referred to as an EA, is “data collection”.

In this area, we are advancing our data collection methods to effectively reach and count everyone, particularly historically undercounted populations and hard to count populations.

Next, we have the “modernize of group quarters enumeration”. This EA includes research on better ways to count people living in correctional facilities, nursing homes, college student housing, and other complex living situations.

The “integrate data collection and processing in near real time” EA looks at ways to integrate near real time processing methodologies into data collection and processing to improve data quality.

The “streamline operational support infrastructure” EA focuses on improving the support infrastructure for the Census, such as re-envisioning field offices and streamlining recruiting, hiring, and payroll services.

Finally, we have the “continuous data collection and aggregation”. Here we cover research into how we can leverage existing data sources, administrative data and seek new data for use in the 2030 Census, while also capitalizing on the Census Bureau's own transformation.

Administrative data refers to data collected and maintained by Federal, State, and local governments, as well as some commercial entities.

SLIDE 18: BUILDING THE 2030 CENSUS TESTING STRATEGY

Presenter: Mark Markovic

In 2020, the Census Bureau conducted the most automated, modern, and dynamic decennial census in our nation’s history. This experience is being used to inform our approach to the 2030 Census design. We are building on the experiences and innovations of the 2020 Census, expanding systems to leverage existing functionalities while introducing innovations through small-scale testing, and identifying potential challenges to develop a 2030 Census testing strategy that reflects this context.

SLIDE 19: TWO MAJOR FIELD TESTS IN 2026 and 2028

Presenter: Mark Markovic

There will be two major field tests leading up to the 2030 Census – 2026 Census Test and 2028 Dress Rehearsal.

The 2026 Census Test will be used to test operational viability. New and innovative systems and methods will be conducted to ensure feasibility and a cohesive census design.

The 2028 Dress Rehearsal will be used to test end-to-end cohesion. It will be our last chance to fine tune processes and systems from start to finish and ensure readiness before implementation.

Details about the scope of operations, strategy for sites, and key milestones in the process will be developed throughout the decade.

SLIDE 20: KEY TAKEAWAY

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Our research and testing strategy is optimal for the 2030 Census.

It enhances the operations and technologies that worked for the 2020 Census, it introduces innovations through small-scale testing, expands systems and methods, and ensures integration of improved features.

SLIDE 21: 2030 CENSUS MAJOR MILESTONES

Here are the major milestones for the 2030 Census. Let me highlight a few for you.

The 2026 Census Test will be conducted in spring of 2026

The 2028 Dress Rehearsal will be conducted in spring of 2028

April 1, 2030, will serve as the reference date for the 2030 Census, The Census Bureau will then deliver apportionment counts to the President on December 31, 2030. And finally, Congressional Redistricting Data will be delivered on April 1, 2031.

Now I will turn it over to Barbara LoPresti, who will take us through our Decennial Technology Vision and Approach.

SLIDE 22: TITLE SLIDE – DECENNIAL TECHNOLOGY VISION AND APPROACH

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

Thank you very much Mark for that great overview of the Decennial Census.

My name is Barbara LoPresti, and I am the Chief of the Decennial IT Division in the Decennial Directorate of the Census Bureau. I am responsible for the integration and development of a diverse portfolio of information technology solutions used to enable the goals and objectives of our mission in the Decennial Directorate.

My division provides IT support and solutions to several large programs within the Decennial Directorate. These include the decennial census, the Geographic Support Program, and the American Community Survey program. Our IT solutions are a result of the integration of enterprise systems, our internally purpose-built systems and third party contracted systems, and services. Therefore, it is my team’s responsibility not only to deliver solutions that meet our business requirements but to ensure the seamless integration, security, scalability, and performance of these varying solutions into our overall system of systems for the Decennial Directorate.

Next, I like to discuss our Decennial IT Strategy.

SLIDE 23: DECENNIAL IT STRATEGY VISION, MISSION, AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

Given the importance, complexity, and size of the Decennial Census Programs, we took great care in the development of a Decennial IT Strategy. We took input and guidance from the initial decennial planning that was developed during the Early Planning phase of the 2030 Census lifecycle as well as the five major Enhancement Areas and other improvements identified by the Decennial Directorate. We also incorporated the Census Bureau’s transformational vision of becoming a data centric organization and the implementation of the four Enterprise Initiatives, known as the Business Ecosystem. This strategy also incorporates lessons learned from the 2020 Census, as well as feedback from external and internal stakeholders. I would like to spend the next few minutes providing an overview of our Decennial IT strategy, vision, and guiding principles.

The Decennial IT Strategy is built on our mission to:

Provide innovative and secure technologies that enable a cost-effective and efficient 2030 Census for the dissemination of high-quality data to all stakeholders.

And our vision is to create:

An innovative, cost-effective solution that maximizes the value of IT to modernize the science of census taking.

This strategy encompasses People, Processes, Technology and Data elements.

I’d like to highlight a few key guiding principles:

Use the Right People at the Right Time in the Right Positions

The key to successful performance is the people, including federal and contractor staff. We need to fill key positions in architecture, engineering, data science, integration, and delivery with the right technical, management and interpersonal skills to maximize solution delivery.

Another guiding principle is to take a holistic approach to design. The Decennial IT solution is a large, complex System of Systems Architecture. As we design our solutions, our architects will view the Systems of Systems holistically to drive systems to support each other. We believe that such an approach results in cost-effective, simple solutions that maximize automation. We strive to design solutions that satisfy peak and non-peak performance needs and cost considerations. There will be particular focus on security and quality as it is imperative that all systems work together and securely early in the life cycle to provide comprehensive solutions with maximized flexibility in areas such as data, applications, and network.

Another IT guiding principle is to Maximize Reuse of artifacts, processes, and systems to increase efficiency with careful attention not to introduce risk. This includes material from the 2020 Census Program as well as leveraging agency programs such as the four Enterprise Initiatives or the Business Ecosystem (BE) as part of our System of Systems Solution Architecture. I will discuss the Business Ecosystem in the next few slides.

Another significant guiding principle for the strategy is the expanded use of administrative data. The Census Bureau is a data-rich environment allowing for expansive use of administrative data leading to improved operational efficiencies and data quality.

Administrative data refers to data collected and maintained by Federal, State, and local governments, as well as some commercial entities. Examples of administrative data include information from the US Postal Service and Social Security Administration. This guiding principle is simply an extension of the Census Bureau’s digital transformation effort to create data products with more existing sources of data to improve accuracy and reduce the need for census takers to knock on doors. We achieve this through incorporating artificial intelligence and advanced data science disciplines.

Last, but not least, is to maximize the use of secure cloud and secure technologies.

First, we will implement a Cloud Smart Strategy: During the 2020 Census, the many benefits of leveraging secure cloud solutions were experienced. The 2030 Census IT Strategy will expand on this to maximize those benefits and extend them into other areas of the solution, making it more flexible and cost effective. This includes the use of open-source technology, cloud native development best practices, managed cloud services, such as software as a service and serverless capabilities, and everything as code to automate as much as possible.

Additionally, a resilient and innovative cybersecurity program will be a key ingredient to ensure mission success in the face of an evolving and relentless threat landscape. A robust, comprehensive defense in depth and cyber intelligence program is critical to safeguard data, systems and interactions against potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Next, let’s discuss how we will align IT with the Decennial Operational Strategy.

SLIDE 24: IT STRATEGY ALIGNS WITH THE OPERATIONAL STRATEGY

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

Our strategy is to align IT with the phases of the 2030 Census Program’s life cycle. This includes the Design Selection, Development and Integration, and Peak Production and Close- Out phases. Simply put, we will provide IT solutions to support this lifecycle.

A key overall theme to the IT strategy is the use of an Iterative Process Model to mature the solution over time. This includes the solution architecture, engineering implementation, as well as the engineering and project management processes. As elements of the higher-level 2030 Census operational plan are applied to each of the phases, they are broken down into more and more detail. In the decennial census environment, it is critical to have agile, flexible processes and designs to accommodate the many factors that could drive change such as emerging technology, lessons learned from tests, and social, geographical, environmental, and political changes. Given these parameters, this strategy incorporates multiple iterations for change throughout the life cycle.

This chart depicts the various phases of the Decennial Operational Design from the Enhancement Areas Research projects to Baseline 1 of the Operational Plan, conducting the 2026 Census Test, collecting lessons learned from that experience, to creating more detailed and refined requirements leading to Baseline 2 of the Operational Plan. Final research, planning, development, engineering, and small-scale testing will form the basis of the 2028 Dress Rehearsal. Once again, lessons learned from that experience will lead to Baseline 3 of the Operational Plan which will go live for the 2030 Census.

Below the Decennial Operational Strategy graphic, you see the IT Support graphic. Throughout the evolution and maturation of the Decennial Operational Design, the technology implementation will be in lock step with the program area, evolving and maturing through continuous improvement, integration, development, and test. This iterative approach will fortify our technical solutions and engineering methods throughout the decade and will result in reduced risk for the program.

SLIDE 25: ARCHITECTURE DESIGN PROCESS

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

This next slide depicts our architecture design process.

The 2030 Census System of Systems (SoS) Architecture is based on The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) Architecture Development Method (ADM) using elements of the Zachman Framework.

Following the architecture vision, we will create each of the domains for the target architecture.

SLIDE 26: SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE PRINCIPLES

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

This next chart provides the architecture principles that will drive design, development, and operation of our systems of systems. Our goal is to implement a guiding framework in which to enable consistency, alignment with the program area needs, resilience, scalability, risk reduction, adaptability, resource optimization, and effective management of complexities within interconnected environments.

I’d like to highlight a few principles:

Let’s take a look at Principle 9. Data Consistency and Integrity: Data consistency and integrity are essential for ensuring the accuracy, reliability, trustworthiness, and usefulness of the data products we release to the President, Congress, the States, and the American people. They form the foundation upon which meaningful analysis, informed decision-making and credible insights are built.

Principle 12. AI Safety: We recognize that we are at the beginning of a new era of Artificial Intelligence within industry and the federal government. The Decennial Census Programs’ goal is to leverage AI and advanced data science to increase efficiencies and improve data quality.

These include known use cases regarding data processing, code development, quality assurance, and other known and yet to be developed use cases. However, fundamental to the Census Bureau’s mission is trust by the public in how we collect, process, analyze, and report data. Accordingly, our use of AI, including systems, software, and personnel – both contractor and federal, must place priority on practicing the highest levels of AI Safety based on evolving federal and industry guidance, policies, and standards.

Principle 15. Real-time Responsiveness: A significant goal for the 2030 Census is to transform and modernize the way data are processed, integrating key analytics, and embracing the use of administrative data sources and technology to enhance data quality. Our intent is to modernize, analyze, and manage data processing functions on a near real-time, transactional, event driven basis, integrating analytics to make data driven decisions and embed the quality framework within the processing. Converting to this more event-driven approach provides insight into potential data anomalies earlier and enables the processing to begin much earlier in the decade using multiple sources of data (e.g., Administrative Data and other traditional survey data).

Principle 16. Adaptability to Change: Historically, decennial censuses experienced their share of change throughout the decades. For instance, during the 2020 Census, we experienced the COVID-19 pandemic just as we began our peak data collection phase in March of 2020. While COVID is an extreme example of a disruption to census operations, it does underscore our need for flexible, nimble, and adaptable processes and technology solutions to address potential new technologies and evolving business needs.

On the next slide, I would like to introduce you to the Census Bureau’s digital transformation effort called the Business Ecosystem (BE). We will cover the impetus and background on these transformational Enterprise Initiatives. The Business Ecosystem will be an essential foundation for the Decennial System of Systems. This initiative began with a challenge that was identified by our Deputy Director, Ron Jarmin.

SLIDE 27: CENSUS IS CREATING A BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM TO MODERNIZE ITS

STATISTICAL FOUNDATION

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

Our Deputy Director has stated:

“As we advance into the 21st Century, we are experiencing increased demand for our data, struggling with challenges to traditional data collection methods, and exploring rich new data sources and tools that can revolutionize what we do and how we do it. Our success critically depends on our ability to seize the opportunities in front of us to deliver statistical products that address the increasingly complex and diverse needs of our users.”

In an effort to address this challenge, the Census Bureau is undergoing a series of modernization efforts to combine data-science with traditional survey methods to diversify our data products and place data at the center of our approach.

The Business Ecosystem is comprised of four integrated enterprise initiatives.

The first initiative is Data Ingest and Collection for the Enterprise (DICE).

DICE provides a modern platform for both data collection and ingest and will be the key entry point for data into the Census Bureau for subsequent transfer, storage and use in the Enterprise Data Lake, which I will go into detail later. DICE will refresh the legacy field online and paper data collection technology with updated, flexible capabilities that reinforce the new operations and data ecosystem approach. DICE will also provide much needed functionality to interact with external data-ingest, frames and other modern data processing capabilities. DICE will leverage both operations research and data science techniques to enable more efficient operations and adaptive survey design. Finally, DICE will enable flexible scaling to support the diversity of the Census Bureau’s data collection operations, from rapid, lightweight surveys to the decennial census, without the need for costly updates or system rebuilds. Many of the key functions provided by DICE were developed and successfully deployed in the 2020 Census, providing a strong foundation for further development and use by the entire Census Bureau. Simply put, the DICE systems will create and execute data collection instruments.

The next initiative is the Enterprise Data Lake or EDL. This is in the gray box in the center of the diagram.

The Enterprise Data Lake (EDL) is the central hub of our modernization efforts from a data processing and computational perspective. Built in the cloud to allow for scalability and the use of a cloud-native software stack and modern processing tools, the EDL is the Census Bureau’s primary location for collected and ingested data. It also provides both analytical and operational processing capabilities to allow for a better flow between ongoing research and current operations. From the EDL, products can be created and published to our dissemination platform

— CEDSCI (Census Enterprise Dissemination Services and Customer Innovation).

Next is the Frames Program Initiative.

In the diagram, the Frames program is represented by various Frame icons (Geospatial, Business, Job, Demographic). These curated datasets reside in the Enterprise Data Lake.

Each Enterprise Frame is organized around one of four foundational units of observation:

addresses, businesses, jobs, and people.

The Frames program is a growing variety of linked datasets within the EDL. While many of these datasets already exist as standalone entities at the Census Bureau, the Frames approach will collocate these and any number of curated datasets and provide an easy and efficient way to link them for purposes both familiar (e.g., providing a tailored survey frame) and unanticipated (e.g., answering a new question about jobs and COVID-19 vaccination rates). These linked, augmented and continuously updated datasets will provide a more comprehensive means for maintaining and updating the inventory of our nation’s addresses, jobs, businesses, people, and other linked data. Centralization and “linkability” will increase efficiency, reduce duplicative efforts to maintain and manage data and greatly expand our capacity to answer critical questions about the nation’s population and economy at multiple geographic scales

The last of the four initiatives, is the Census Enterprise Dissemination Services and Consumer Innovation (CEDSCI)

As the Census Bureau’s primary platform for data dissemination, CEDSCI will provide public access to our information. As new data products are produced in the EDL with collected, ingested, and linked data, CEDSCI’s standardized platform will allow the Census Bureau to provide them quickly. Allowing for discovery of data products and new visualizations and renderings of data, CEDSCI will provide a scalable solution for long-term data dissemination and better user experience.

Integrating the four initiatives into a unified enterprise approach to doing business makes it possible for the Census Bureau to provide easily discoverable and linkable data to accurately answer more questions faster than ever before.

SLIDE 28: DECENNIAL’S INTERACTION WITH THE BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

As just discussed, the 2030 Census IT Strategy will be leveraging the Business Ecosystem into our overall Systems of Systems solution. Additionally, the Decennial Census Programs will need to develop decennial-specific systems and applications which will interface with the Business Ecosystem. An example of such a system is the 2030 Census near-real time processing system. The development and modernization of these Decennial specific systems will be the initial focus of the DTAM procurement.

Now I am going to turn it over to Mark to introduce the DTAM procurement.

SLIDE 29: TITLE SLIDE – DECENNIAL TRANSFORMATION AND APPLICATION

MODERNIZATION PROCUREMENT TASK AREA REVIEW

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Thank you, Barbara, on providing that great detail on the Decennial Technology Vision and Approach.

The Decennial Transformation and Application Modernization procurement task areas are critical and essential capabilities needed by the Decennial Census Programs to realize the Census Bureau’s vision to integrate and blend massive amounts of traditionally collected data and administrative data to ultimately produce data products efficiently and of the highest quality to our stakeholders and the American people.

The DTAM procurement is focused on providing support and solutions specific to the Decennial Census Programs, including the 2030 Census, American Community Survey and Special Census.

Now let’s review the scope and task areas of the DTAM procurement.

SLIDE 30: DTAM PROCUREMENT OVERVIEW

Presenter: Mark Markovic

The DTAM procurement will provide architects, engineers, data scientists, developers, testers, and IT project management support to transform decennial system of systems into a data centric, modern, cloud-based IT solution.

This procurement is labor only and will not be used to purchase hardware, software licenses or cloud. Decennial plans to leverage the Census Bureau’s Cloud Services BPA for its cloud service providers.

The Decennial Census Programs will leverage the Business Ecosystem (such as DICE, EDL, FRAMES, and CEDSCI) in its System of Systems IT solution. However, the application development and O&M of Business Ecosystem solutions are not currently planned as focus areas of DTAM.

And finally, all development must be done on Census’s network using GFE hardware and software.

Now let’s turn our attention to the DTAM Task Areas. For the next section, Barbara and I will briefly go over the Task Areas, providing a high-level overview of each Task Area and key takeaways.

SLIDE 31: PROCUREMENT FOCUS: DTAM SCOPE – TASK AREA 1

Presenter: Mark Markovic

Task Area 1 covers Contract Management, which includes 12 subtask areas, as provided on the slide. This Task Area in general, is different from the other Task Areas in that Task Area 1 is related to the specific Contract Management functions for DTAM itself. While we have not set the specific size, we do expect this procurement over its lifecycle to include the management of a large number of contractor staff from both prime and subcontractor firms and delivering a wide range of highly complex technical services across multiple stakeholders. Therefore, we have provided within the draft PWS subtask areas requirements that are suitable for managing a procurement of this size and complexity. I will not go into detail for each of these. However, I would like to point out a few key takeaways.

First, the use of a Formal and ‘living’ Contract Management Plan will be required given the size and complexity of DTAM. This procurement will include multiple moving parts and will require a dedicated management team.

Second, the contractor should place an extremely high priority on forward looking staffing plans, so the right skills are available when needed. As this is an IT modernization procurement where we want to leverage newer technologies, there may be a limited pool of resources available with the skills required.

Third, development will be done on the Census Bureau network, so staff will require a Census Bureau background investigation and clearance prior to work. Quality assurance on submitted personnel’s background investigation packages is vital to reduce cycle times.

Fourth, Collaboration is key, not only for the Prime and its subs, but also with other contractors at the Census Bureau. We must all be focused on one mission.

And Fifth, Status reporting, financial reporting, data calls, and audit support are extremely important. The contractor and the Census Bureau must work together in developing efficient and effective reporting for tracking funding and milestones to meet the needs of the Census Bureau to respond to regular and ad hoc requests from Dept of Commerce, Government Accountability Office, Congress, and other stakeholders.

Next, I will turn it over to Barbara to discuss the rest of the DTAM Task Areas.

SLIDE 32: DTAM PROCUREMENT TECHNICAL TASK AREA FOCUS

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

As Mark stated, the DTAM procurement is focused on providing support and solutions specific to the Decennial Census Programs, including the 2030 Census, American Community Survey and Special Census.

This support includes modernization of existing applications and the development of new applications and solutions. Our intent is to modernize to take advantage of the full benefits of cloud computing and where appropriate, leverage advance data science, including Artificial Intelligence to optimize business operations and improve data quality.

Examples of initial projects include support and solutioning for our data processing and data quality and analytics consolidation projects. But as we discussed earlier during the Decennial Overview presentation today, we are currently engaged in the Design Selection phase of the 2030 Census lifecycle. As that phase comes to a close, we will synthesize its research results, form recommendations and ultimately decide on the scope and requirements for Baseline 1 of our Operational Plan. Once Baseline 1 is determined, we will have better clarity and specificity on the projects requiring DTAM contractor support.

Also, given that our overall strategy is iterative, as we complete our baselines and tests throughout the decade, we are positioning the DTAM procurement to be flexible to Address Emerging Requirements that may arise during and until the end of the 2030 Census lifecycle.

Another key area of focus will include support for our System of Systems (SoS) Architecture and System Engineering efforts. Solution Architects will work with the Decennial stakeholders to validate the scope, objectives and requirements from Baseline 1 of our Operational Plan and will finalize the Architecture Vision. This validation work is critical to establish rapport with stakeholders and to foster a comprehensive understanding of the system landscape. The System of Systems Architecture work will allow for the identification and management of potential complexities, reduce, or eliminate functional redundancies, establish interoperability requirements between the systems, and incorporate scalability and adaptability considerations.

In addition to the architecture work, we need contractor support in system engineering in preparation for the 2026 Census Test. We require system engineering support in all phases of the systems development lifecycle including requirements management, risk management, schedule management, change management, project reporting, and the IT technical decision-making framework.

Lastly, just as a quick reminder to the Industry Day attendees that the Decennial System of Systems will integrate with the Business Ecosystem as well as other contracted systems. This requires the DTAM contractor to work with, establish rapport and complete the mission with a variety of service providers and stakeholders. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Now let’s turn our attention to the DTAM technical Task Areas. I will briefly go over the technical Task Areas, providing a high-level overview of each and key takeaways. The draft PWS posted on SAM.gov goes into a great detail on these Task Areas. We look forward to reviewing your feedback on these requirements by December 20th.

SLIDE 33: PROCUREMENT FOCUS: DTAM SCOPE – TASK AREA 2

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

Task Area 2 includes 4 subtask areas, as provided on the slide. This task area provides contractor support to assist with a wide range of projects and programs that are critical to the planning, development, testing, and execution of the Decennial Census Programs.

Task 2.1 IT Project and Program Management requires contractor support in project planning, execution and completion of technology-related activities and projects. Support will be guided by the enterprise system development lifecycle (eSDLC), including estimation, scheduling, risk management, change management and other PM processes. It also includes requirements for Scaled Agile/Program Increment Planning and Management Support.

Task 2.2 Training and Task 2.3 Organizational Change Management work in tandem. We are dedicated to upskilling federal staff on application modernization and data science technology used by the DTAM contractor. These Training and Organizational Change Management tasks are intended to serve as the mechanism for the DTAM contractor to develop and implement an organizational change management strategy, training and knowledge transfer plan for federal resources that will provide for this upskilling and long-term adoption of transformation and application modernization.

Task 2.4 – IT Operational Delivery Management. For those of you who are not familiar with the term IT Operational Delivery Management, let me review the meaning and purpose of this subtask. The term IT Operational Delivery Management was a construct we created during the 2020 Census to integrate the management of technical, field training, and logistical activities and deliverables for each of our major peak operations. Instead of just planning, tracking, managing, and deploying for a software product release, the IT Operational Delivery Manager orchestrates all activities including technical, field training, and logistical activities that must be ready for success of the operation, such as in-field enumeration. An example includes the coordination and tracking of activities needed to ensure that end-user training materials such as online software, database etc. are ready when a software product is released.

Next, we will discuss Task 3, System Engineering.

SLIDE 34: PROCUREMENT FOCUS: DTAM SCOPE – TASK AREA 3

Presenter: Barbara LoPresti

Task Area 3 includes 6 subtask areas, as provided on the slide.

Systems engineering focuses on defining needs and…