Presentation: Counting on a Crisis: How the Census Bureau Utilized Crisis Management and Information Fusion During the 2020 Census
Abstract: The Decennial Census is the largest peacetime mobilization effort in the history of the United States which requires an immense amount of planning and coordination. The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. Even with comprehensive planning and a robust risk and issue management program, events can occur that have the potential to disrupt operations and ultimately jeopardize the mission. The U.S. Census Bureau developed and implemented a Crisis Management Plan for the 2020 Census Program in order to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, recover from and learn from these potential major disruptions. This plan equipped the U.S. Census Bureau with the tools and processes to manage high severity events that exceed incident management protocols and have the potential to disrupt the mission of the 2020 Census.
This presentation will review the Crisis Management process implemented at the U.S. Census Bureau for the 2020 Census, including how it prepared Bureau leadership for a potential crisis and how it was utilized to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it will review some key lessons learned and show the integration of the process with the Census Fusion Center, where representatives from key areas involved with the 2020 Census share information, assess impacts and determine the severity of potential disruptions to the 2020 Census. The Fusion Center and the Crisis Management Plan were innovations that helped the U.S. Census Bureau navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and other disruptions.
PMI Talent Triangle: Technical Project Management
Biography: Paul Krutsch serves as a Deputy Chief in the Decennial Census Management Division at the U.S. Census Bureau. Mr. Krutsch works in the Decennial Program Management Office, where he is responsible for Governance including Change Control, Crisis Management, Incident Management, and the Decennial Fusion Center. He has worked for the Federal Government for over 10 years and has experience working in all areas related to the Survey Lifecycle, including experience with field data collection. Mr. Krutsch holds a Master’s Degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University, is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), pursuing his FAC-PPM Level III certification, and is a Certified ScrumMaster and Product Owner.
