Benefits to the U.S. Census Bureau

Proposals to use Census Bureau data must provide benefits to the Census Bureau.  The Census Bureau has consistently placed the highest premium on the appropriate use of data collected or acquired in accordance with its legal authority under Title 13, United States Code.  That authority requires all access to confidential data to benefit the Census Bureau’s data collection programs. Written benefit statements provide documentation of how specific projects involving access to confidential data are expected to benefit the Census Bureau.  Benefit statements are not required for projects requesting data from other federal statistical agencies.

Proposals must demonstrate that the research is likely to provide one or more Title 13 benefits to the Census Bureau. A research project must demonstrate that its predominant purpose is to benefit Census Bureau programs. If a project has as its predominant purpose one, or any combination, of the Bureau’s 13 benefit criteria, then it will be considered to have as its predominant purpose increasing the utility of Title 13, Chapter 5 data. Researchers should consult your RDC administrator for more information. Any proposals seeking to use datasets that contain Federal Tax Information (FTI), generally speaking the establishment and firm based surveys and census, must also be reviewed by the Internal Revenue Service to ensure that the predominant purpose of the research is to contribute to Census Bureau programs under Title 13, Chapter 5 of the U.S. Code.

Learn more about writing benefit statements.