In the fall of 2008 Census Bureau Director Steven Murdock requested that American Community Survey (ACS) managers conduct a series of informal outreach sessions with data users that would be working with ACS 5-year estimates. Specifically he wanted the Census Bureau to hear directly from local decision makers in areas with populations of fewer than 20,000 - areas that would only receive ACS estimates in the form of 5-year aggregations. Our goal in conducting these outreach sessions was to educate small area data users on the transition away from the census long form estimates to the ACS and to obtain feedback on their expected challenges associated with using ACS multiyear estimates. Dr. Murdock feared data users in these most rural areas may not have been well represented in many of the consultation and outreach efforts the Census Bureau had conducted during the design of the ACS. He expressed concern that this set of data users may not fully understand the limitations of working with multiyear estimates.

Census Bureau staff partnered with the State Data Center (SDC) network and the Census Regional Office Partnership and Data Specialists to conduct a series of education and outreach sessions in late 2008 and early 2009.