The 2016 Census Test allowed the Census Bureau to study a variety of new methods and advanced technologies under consideration for the 2020 Census. The primary focus of the test was to refine the methodology for nonresponse follow-up — the operation conducted to personally visit households that do not respond to the census. The Census Bureau also refined methods and related activities for maximizing self-response (particularly via the Internet) to the 2020 Census. Testing in two sites allowed us to learn more about managing new systems simultaneously in multiple locations.

• Refine technologies and methods for assigning cases to field staff conducting nonresponse follow-up and continue to refine the use of mobile technology for data collection and case management.
• Continue to research how best to use existing government and commercial information to reduce the follow-up workload (ex. Using records to identify vacant units or to reduce additional visits for households we are unable to contact).
• Study partnership and outreach efforts for communicating with historically hard-to-count populations, including providing assistance in multiple languages
• Continue to explore self-response options, including how people respond using the Internet, mobile devices, the telephone, and paper questionnaires. Additionally, the test supports continued refinement of methods to process responses in real time submitted without a unique Census-provided address identification code (non-ID processing).