This looks really interesting:



Main meeting page: http://www.oecd.org/progress/ict/statknowledge

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While dynamic graphics and communication tools are at the heart of the seminar, the meeting will also focus on a broader range of tools. The seminar will also include the use of videos, as explored by GapMinder and others, and participative approaches, as seen in some web 2.0 initiatives; and – although innovative tools are themselves of great interest, and worthy of being presented at the seminar – the focus of the seminar will be on innovative applications of tools, for example, so-called story-telling applications.

Venue
The seminar is hosted by the US Census Bureau and is arranged jointly by the Census Bureau, the OECD and the World Bank. It will be held on 15-16 July in the headquarters of the US Census Bureau located in Suitland, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC (metro station "Suitland" on green line).

Format
It will be a two-day seminar in plenum, with no parallel sessions. There will be around 20 presentations and discussants will be allocated to the sessions. A few panels may be organized. The conference will be video recorded, allowing other interested parties to watch it later on the seminar website.

Purpose
The seminar should contribute to the development of tools to help people transform statistics into knowledge and decisions. A first condition for statistics to be used this way is that relevant statistics become known, available, and understood by wider audiences. The seminar is held in the context of the OECD Global Project on “Measuring the Progress of Societies”. It should contribute to one of the goals quoted in the Istanbul Declaration: "produce a broader, shared, public understanding of changing conditions, while highlighting areas of significant change or inadequate knowledge".

Scope
The seminar can be seen as a continuation of the previous seminars organized in Rome and Stockholm and of the first International Exhibition on “Innovative Tools to Transform Information into Knowledge”, organized during the second OECD World Forum on “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy” (Istanbul, 27-30 June 2007).

We want to look at tools and applications for making statistics more popular, while avoiding the pitfalls of populism, over-simplification or propaganda. We want to base all these initiatives on scientific standards, observing the basic principles of objectivity and good communication. We would therefore welcome experts in statistical methodology, cognitive science, and communication as active participants in the workshop.

As we all know, community indicators aren't just about data. They're about using data to make a difference in the communities we serve.

One group I highly respect is the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership. They've put together a really nice resource for communities dealing with foreclosure issues. It brings together the work of NNIP partners, with their data, their data visualizations, their research, and what they're doing with all of this information to make people's lives better.

The site is called NNIP Foreclosure Activities (though can I suggest a different name, like NNIP Foreclosure Resources?) Even if you're not working with foreclosures in your community, it's worth checking out to see how the shared experience of local efforts in communities can come together to strengthen each other.

Good job, NNIP. I'm quite impressed.

When: Tuesday April 14th, 2009, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
Who: Daniel Weinberg, Assistant Director for American Community Survey and
Decennial Census, U.S. Census Bureau

Click Here to Register (Detailed participants instructions and agenda will be sent prior to presentation.)

The 2010 Census: Preparations for a Complete Count
With the 2010 Census just around the corner, operations and preparations for a complete count in 2010 are well underway. This online presentation will provide data users with an update on key operations such address canvassing, which is the operation the Census Bureau uses to update and verify the census address list known as the Master Address File (MAF). There will also be a discussion of the Census Bureau’s communications plans and strategies for achieving a full count, obtaining a high mail return rate, and reaching hard-to-count populations.

Participants will be able to ask questions following the presentation.

APDU Contact:
Denise M. Bosmans
dbosmans [at] apdu.org
703-522-4980 x20

For those who were able to attend the ASPA Conference in Miami this past weekend, I'd love to hear from you about your experiences/impressions.

For those who could not attend (like me), here's some information to whet your appetite:

Andrew Krzmarzick discusses My ASPA 2009 Experience in a Twitshell, which is a whole different way to experience a conference session.

ASPA National's blog response to Andrew's workshop is here. (In fact, you can catch a whole series of blog entries from a student experience POV here.)

Anyone else have information to share about the conference? I'm particularly interested in the intersection between government performance measurement and community indicators -- who wants to fill me in on how the pre-conference session went?