The Independent Census Scientific Advisory Committee, or I-CSAC, held its first meeting on September 18, 2025, marking a pivotal moment for data integrity, scientific rigor, and civic health. The committee’s reformation comes after the U.S. Commerce Department eliminated the Census Scientific Advisory Committee last winter. The committee, whose volunteer members were chosen and vetted by the Census Bureau, decided to continue their work for census accuracy with administrative support from the National Conference on Citizenship.
“As stewards of the scientific record, the most important thing that we have to do is to make sure that the data that we have in the records that we produce are reliable, so that people in the present and people in the future can come back and make judgments and conclusions based on high-quality data that has been subjected not only to excellent collection but also to peer review and the expertise of people who are involved in getting it,” said Dr. Holden Thorp, editor in chief of Science magazine, who opened the committee’s first independent meeting. “This committee is committed to … making sure that the census data which are some of the most important that we have in social science and medicine continue to be collected at the highest possible standards.”
Dr. Barbara Entwisle, University of North Carolina sociologist, originally chosen to chair the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, who now chairs the I-CSAC, noted that they are blazing a new trail with some uncertainties. “Will our scientific advice still find an ear at the Census Bureau? I do not know,” she said. “However, it is a certainty that our recommendations will have no effect at all if we do not provide them.”
While previous meetings of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee were opened by the bureau’s director and had presentations from Census Bureau staff, I-CSAC included no Census Bureau staffers. As in the past, the committee considered statistical quality and methodological issues based on published documents from the Census Bureau, and provided detailed recommendations to the Census Bureau leadership.
“An accurate census is foundational to democracy in America, and outside expert advice has supported this effort, most recently during the 2020 Census when plans had to be remade due to the pandemic, and my colleague Dr. Allison Plyer headed CSAC,” said Cara Brumfield, co-chair with Plyer of the Census Quality Reinforcement Task Force, a project of NCoC. “It was a natural fit for us to help Barbara Entwisle and the members continue to provide independent expertise to the Census Bureau.”
“Long before every American citizen could vote or even live freely, the Constitution mandated that nearly everyone in the United States be counted, so their government could represent their interests. Census Quality Reinforcement is an important project for NCoC, and supporting independent expertise on census accuracy is an important effort at a time of significant challenge,” said Cameron Hickey, CEO of NCOC.
The committee’s work comes at a critical time for federal statistical systems. Since the beginning of the year, datasets related to gender, sexual orientation, health, climate change, and diversity have disappeared from federal websites. Workers and contractors who provided essential expertise to ensure that federal data meets high quality standards have departed or been forced out. An Inspector General audit recently revealed that budget uncertainty and hiring freezes have put the Census Bureau at risk of falling behind in staffing tests for 2030 census operations.
Dr. Thorp praised the committee’s approach as exemplifying what scientists across America can do in extraordinary times. He noted that continuing to collect and preserve data, expertise, and information formerly stewarded by the federal government ensures these resources remain available for present and future scientists, “in the hopes that maybe one day it will be stewarded by the federal government again but even if it isn’t, it will be there.”
The I-CSAC’s formation demonstrates how civic institutions can adapt and persist when official channels are closed, ensuring that expertise, rigorous standards, and commitment to data integrity continue to serve the American public.
For more information on the I-CSAC, visit censusscientific.org
