As many of you know, the federal government administers an Internet Use Survey every few years as part of the Current Population Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau. Their partner federal agency, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), is now gearing up for the next round of this survey, and has issued a Request for Comment to the field. Here are their proposed questions.
National Skills Coalition is excited about the next survey, but we are concerned that it doesn't capture enough data on digital SKILLS in particular. We've written a short set of comments recommending that NTIA add a handful of new questions.
Because the federal government is BY FAR the largest, most rigorous, and most useful collector of data about the American public, we know that any questions included in this survey will provide powerful data for advocacy. For example, the current survey shows state-by-state measures of how many people report having taken a class or participated in job training online. This kind of data is useful -- but knowing about barriers people have faced is even more useful. (Remember, the survey also gathers information on people's income, education, and more -- so we education and workforce advocates can use it to better understand and advocate for workers and learners.)
We warmly encourage you to copy and paste from our comments in submitting your OWN individual or organizational response to NTIA. Please see attached for the comment template, and feel free to use as much as or as little as you like. It's only 2 pages long, so hopefully a quick read!