Planning the CIC’s future

The National Institute for Latino Policy conducted a study of the Census Information Centers Program in an effort to help future planning and provide a more in-depth understanding of the program’s role within the U.S. Census Bureau.

The study begins with a breakdown of what communities are within the CIC. Broken into four categories, the study looks at different genders, race, organizations and by geography.

Of the respondents, 67 percent were male and 33 percent were female.  Latinos were the majority with 28 percent of the population, while non-latino whites made up the minority with 12 percent. More than two-thirds of the CICs are hosted by community-based organizations,  while one-third consists of university-based groups.

The majority of CICs can be found in urban centers such as Los Angeles,  Chicago, Nashville and New York City. Thirty-nine percent of CICs conducted their work at the national level, while 29 percent did work at the regional level.

The second part of the report looks at what aspects of the CIC Program are the most helpful. Training leads the way,  with 75.5 percent of members finding it helpful. Networking and sharing, formal Census Bureau connection and staff meetings follow closely behind. Free Census data was considered by CIC members as the least helpful aspect of CIC.

The report also looks into training and information needs.

Read the full report here.