During Harris County’s Say Yes to the Census Campaign, Houston in Action, Rice University, and various partners engaged in three interrelated programs to support the 2020 Census. First, a machine learning model based on satellite images of Harris County was developed to identify households that might not receive a Census questionnaire. The second program involved a field experiment exploring various Census-related messages and their efficacy for motivating Census response. Finally, in-person and by-phone canvassing operations were conducted in an effort to inform residents about the 2020 Census and motivate them to respond.
This document evaluates these efforts to understand whether they had an impact on the 2020 Census response rates.
