APDU 2008 Annual Conference

28Federal Data in a Time of Change

September 24 – 25, 2008
The Brookings Institution
Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, September 24th

8:30 am — Welcome and Introductions
Andrew Reamer, Vice President, APDU & Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
Leonard Gaines, President, APDU & Program Research Specialist, Empire State Development, Albany, NY
9:00 am — Preparing for the 2010 Census: Get Out the Pencils
With April 1, 2010 less than two years away, the Census Bureau faces substantial challenges in preparing for and implementing the 2010 Census. This session will provide a discussion of the current status of and next steps for major program elements—such as address list compilation, community partnerships, field operations, and product plans—with implications for the results.

Moderator:
Leonard Gaines, President, APDU & Program Research Specialist, Empire State Development, Albany, NY
Speaker:
Arnold Jackson, Associate Director for Decennial Census, Census Bureau, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Discussants:
Jane Traynham, Manager, Maryland State Data Center, Maryland Department of Planning, Baltimore, MD
William O’Hare, Senior Fellow, KIDS COUNT Project, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD
10:30 am — Break
10:45 am — Using Federal Data to Track Local Housing Markets
Declining home prices and mounting foreclosures are the story across the nation. Federal data products can help us understand trends and dynamics in local housing market conditions. What are these products, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and what third-party efforts have been made to improve their usefulness?

Moderator:
Donald Bradley, President, Housing Statistics Users Group, Washington, DC
Speakers:
Frank Nothaft, Vice President-Chief Economist, Freddie Mac, McLean, VA — PowerPoint Presentation
Erica Groshen, Vice President and Director of Regional Outreach, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, NY — PowerPoint Presentation
Robert Avery, Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Board, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Danilo Pelletiere, Research Director, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Andrew Leventis, Senior Economist, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation & Excel Spreadsheet
12:15 pm — Luncheon
Introduction:
Leonard Gaines, President, APDU & Program Research Specialist, Empire State Development, Albany, NY
Keynote Speaker:
Steve Murdock, Director, Census Bureau, Washington, DC
“From Professor and State Demographer to Director of the U.S. Census Bureau”
1:30 pm — The Care and Feeding of the Federal Statistical System: A View from the Top
No two organizations have a more complete perspective of the federal statistical system than OMB’s Statistical and Science Policy Office and the National Academies’ Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT). OMB staff will provide an overview of upcoming plans and prospects for the federal statistical system and report on recently issued directives/standards that impact statistical agencies. CNSTAT staff will offer a review of recent work for the major statistical programs.

Moderator:
Nancy Gordon, Associate Director for Strategic Planning and Innovation, Census Bureau, Washington, DC
Speakers:
Katherine Wallman, Chief Statistician, Statistical and Science Policy Office, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Constance Citro, Director, Committee on National Statistics, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
3:00 pm — Break
3:30 pm — Defining Economic Regions: Exploring the Options
Federal government agencies produce a diverse array of regional economic classifications. The coverage of some of these geographies may surprise you. Metropolitan areas, for instance, include over half of the nation’s rural counties. What is the best way to define metropolitan, urban, or rural? Are counties or census tracts the appropriate building blocks? As OMB initiates another review of metropolitan area standards in preparation for the 2010 Census, this session will compare and contrast various approaches to defining regions.

Moderator:
John Kort, Associate Administrator, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC
Speakers:
John Cromartie, Geographer, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC — PDF Presentation
Duke Tran, Senior Economist, Regional Product Division, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Kenneth LeVasseur, Senior Economist, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Andrew M. Isserman, Professor of Regional Economics, Planning, and Policy, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL — PDF Presentation
5:15 pm — Reception

 

Thursday, September 25th

8:30 am — The Grocery Store and the Gas Pump: Data that Hit Home
In this time of rising food and energy prices, it is time to take stock of what statistics are available from various federal agencies, some less well-known, to measure trends in the supply, consumption, and prices of these commodities. Learn more about data sources that can help answer important questions such as: What are the impacts of $140/barrel oil? How will increasing use of bio-fuels affect the supply and price of corn and other crops? This session will examine federal statistics that track the pocketbook effects of rising food and energy prices.

Moderator:
Robert P. Parker, Consultant on Federal Statistics, Bethesda, MD
Speakers:
Phillip Tseng, Senior Operations Research Analyst, Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC
Clint McCully, Chief, Research Group, National Income and Wealth Division, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Mark Denbaly, Deputy Director for Data, USDA Economic Research Service, Food Economics Division, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Dania Ferguson, Economic and Environmental Surveys Section Head, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Mike Horrigan, Associate Commissioner, Office of Prices and Living Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
10:00 am — Break
10:30 am — Getting From Here to There: A Look at Federal Travel Data
Transportation, housing, economic development, and land use analysts continually seek better ways to understand how and why people move around. This session examines two important federal travel data efforts—the National Household Travel Survey and the Census Transportation Planning Products program—and looks at research efforts aimed at improving travel data availability and quality.

Moderator:
Clara Reschovsky, Survey Analyst, Metro Washington Council of Governments, Washington, DC
Speakers:
Ed Christopher, Community Planner, Federal Highway Administration Resource Center, Olympia Fields, IL — PowerPoint Presentation
Heather Contrino, Travel Surveys Team Leader, Office of Highway Policy Information, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Adella Santos, National Highway Travel Survey Team Member, Cambridge Systematics, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
12:00 noon — APDU Annual Business Meeting
12:30 pm — Networking Lunch
1:30 pm — The Future of Population Estimates
The Census Bureau annually provides population estimates for states, counties, cities and towns that are essential for local planning, business decisions, and the distribution of federal funds. Census estimates also are used as controls for estimates from the new American Community Survey. Faced with a rising number of challenges to its estimates, the Census Bureau is considering how best to respond. The session will provide an update on the effort to remake the Population Estimates Program.

Moderator:
Ken Hodges, Chief Demographer, Nielsen Claritas, Ithaca, NY
Speakers:
Edward J. Spar, Executive Director, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, Alexandria, VA
Victoria Velkoff, Assistant Division Chief, Population Division, Census Bureau, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Qian Cai, Director, Demographics and Workforce Section, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Christine Pierce, Director, Demographic Research, Nielsen Media Research, Schaumburg, IL
3:00 pm — Break
3:30 pm — American Community Survey Multi-Year Estimates: Challenges and Opportunities
For the first time this December, the Census Bureau will release ACS estimates based on three years of data for places with population of 20,000 or more. The new three-year estimates, providing more geographic detail for small areas as well as new estimates for larger areas, will offer both opportunities and challenges for data users. This session will provide an in-depth conversation about the content, accessibility, and usability the new multi-year estimates, as well as an overview of current developments in the ACS program.

Moderator:
Robert P. Parker, Consultant on Federal Statistics, Bethesda, MD
Speakers:
Susan Schechter, Chief, American Community Survey Office, Census Bureau, Washington, DC
Alfredo Navarro, Assistant Division Chief for ACS Statistical Design, Census Bureau, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Discussants:
Paul Overberg, Database Editor, USA Today, McLean, VA
Michael Lee Cohen, Study Director, Committee on National Statistics, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC — PowerPoint Presentation
Marilyn Seastrom, Chief Statistician, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC
5:00 pm — Adjourn