The Census Bureau proposed a Mobile Response Initiative in response to the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6). This initiative will proceed if Congress appropriates funding for it. This memorandum documents the Census Bureau’s decision to add Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) as a suboperation to the Internet Self-Response operation.

The Census Bureau recently proposed the creation of this suboperation to create additional opportunities for the public to respond to the 2020 Census in key locations where we are experiencing low self-response rates. The Mobile Response Initiative builds on and improves the model for the 2010 Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC), incorporating the use of technology to provide readily accessible ways for people to respond to the census. Instead of being tied to static locations as in the 2010 Census, MQAs can deploy to areas experiencing low self-response rates across the country. At MQAs, respondents can receive assistance from trained staff, and they can answer the 2020 Census utilizing Census Bureau staff’s iPads to access the Internet Self-Response instrument.

The MQA is a suboperation to the Internet Self-Response operation, as its primary focus is on leveraging the Internet Self-Response instrument to support self-response.