The U.S. Census Bureau today announced the availability of its Tool for Assessing Statistical Capacity (TASC). The TASC, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), measures the overall capacity of a country's national statistical office to conduct population and housing censuses or surveys. As countries prepare to conduct a census or survey, the tool aids them in identifying areas where improvement is needed and can help them justify the need for additional training or funding for hardware and software. It also provides an objective, quantitative assessment of areas of strength and improvement over time. The TASC takes roughly four days to administer, with scores calculated from answers provided by the staff of these offices. Specific areas measured by the TASC include mapping, questionnaire content and testing, sampling, field operations, data processing, data analysis and evaluation, and data dissemination.

The Census Bureau's International Programs Center for Technical Assistance is available to administer the TASC and provide technical support on a reimbursable basis that addresses the primary needs of the statistical office as identified by the scores. However, the TASC is available to any expert for assessing statistical capacity. The TASC toolkit can be downloaded online at <//www.census.gov/population/international/about/tasc/>.

The Census Bureau's international programs for technical assistance is funded by USAID and other international donor groups, leveraging capacity and expertise of the Census Bureau.

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