Your Chance to Shape How We Measure Volunteering and Civic Life

You might care about this because AmeriCorps is asking for your thoughts on a very important national survey. This survey is called the Current Population Survey Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement. It gathers information about how people participate in their communities and volunteer across the United States. AmeriCorps wants to know if this survey is necessary and useful, if their methods for collecting data are accurate, and how they can make it better. They also want ideas on how to make it easier for people to respond. This survey is the only source of its kind for understanding national trends in civic engagement over time. It looks at many things, such as formal volunteering, informal interactions with neighbors, joining associations, charitable giving, and engaging with public issues. AmeriCorps works with the U.S. Census Bureau to collect this data and publish reports about the nation's civic health. They have been doing this since 2002. They have to do this because a law, the Serve America Act of 2009, tells them to measure and report on civic health. The current request is a revision. It aims to clear new versions of questions. This is to prepare for a possible future where the Census Bureau allows people to complete the survey online. Two comments were received during an earlier request for public feedback. These comments highlighted the value of the survey. They also mentioned that AmeriCorps should keep analyzing and reporting its data. The main concern raised was that the updated survey had fewer questions about formal volunteering than the 2017 version. What is particularly interesting about this document is the discussion around balancing the need for detailed information with the goal of making surveys easy to complete. AmeriCorps is legally required to collect data on a broad range of civic engagement activities, which includes more than just formal volunteering through organizations. However, the U.S. Census Bureau has a rule from 2022 to keep surveys short to avoid making too much work for people filling them out. This rule means AmeriCorps cannot add more questions that would make the survey longer. This creates a challenge for some people who want more specific details about formal volunteering. These people suggested adding questions from an older version of the survey. AmeriCorps recognizes that some people want more detailed data on formal volunteering. They have said that if Census Bureau rules change and they have enough money, they would like to bring back two specific questions from the 2017 survey about types of volunteer organizations and activities. These questions were already tested and proven to give useful information. Other suggested questions, however, have not been tested. They would also take a lot more time to answer. They would go against the Census Bureau's rule that surveys should use questions about actions, not just opinions. They also do not align with advice from the National Academy of Sciences, which suggests that other surveys are better for measuring attitudes or results. People who would be most interested in this legal document include researchers and academics who study how people participate in their communities, charitable giving, and volunteering trends. Organizations that rely on data about volunteerism and civic engagement for their planning and operations would also find this relevant. This includes non-profit organizations, volunteer coordinators, and community leaders. Government agencies, especially those involved in public service and community development, would also be keenly interested. Policymakers who create laws related to civic engagement and national service depend on this type of data to make informed decisions. Students and educators in fields like sociology, public administration, and political science would find the methodology and findings valuable for their studies. Anyone who cares about understanding and supporting civic life in America, including individual volunteers and community members, might also find this document important for understanding how this vital information is collected and used.