Census 2030
Census 2030 Strategy and Investment
With unmatched experience directing California's Complete Count Census operations for 2000, 2010, and 2020, and scaling that work nationally at the U.S. Census Bureau, The Ditas Group is the leading advisor for any organization, whether government, philanthropic, or corporate, seeking to define its role, strategy, and resource investment in Census 2030. Current clients include Philanthropy California and California Democracy Partnership.
The Problem The 2030 Census is closer than most organizations realize, and the window to position, plan, and invest is already open. Foundations, government agencies, advocacy coalitions, and corporations that want to play a meaningful role in Census 2030 face the same challenge: they know it matters, but they do not know what they should be doing right now, what their specific role should be, or how to structure their investment for maximum impact. Getting it wrong means sitting out the decade's most consequential civic data event. Getting it right starts with having the right strategic advisor in your corner.
What We Do The Ditas Group is the only advisory firm in the country with end-to-end census experience spanning local, state, and federal operations across three decennial cycles. We take the high-level road maps to 2030 and help you develop your specific itinerary, working with foundations, advocates, government officials, and private-sector partners to define what they should be doing, when, and how to prepare. We advise on public-private partnership structure, philanthropic investment strategy, coalition alignment, and community outreach framework design. We are currently advising Philanthropy California on Census 2030 framework development and are available to advise additional clients.
What You Walk Away With A clear picture of the Census 2030 landscape and where your organization fits. A customized strategic roadmap that defines your role, your timeline, and your resource investment. A partnership and coalition framework that positions you to work effectively alongside government, philanthropy, and community organizations. And the confidence that your 2030 strategy was built by the person who has done this before, at every level, and knows what works.
“Ditas is one of those rare people who can see the big picture and figure out how to make it happen. She’s smart, strategic, experienced, and incredibly effective. She knows how to bring together people from government, nonprofits, media, academia, and other sectors, develop a plan they believe in, and turn that plan into action. She doesn’t just develop good strategies. She knows how to build the support and partnerships needed to implement them and win.”
Raúl Macías Program Director, Democracy, Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
“Ditas was appointed to head of the Communications Directorate at the Census Bureau based on her extensive experience in motivating communities across California to participate in the 2020, 2010 and 2000 Census. She conceived California's trusted messenger approach in 2000, then built and scaled it by bringing communities together in true partnerships. We were so impressed that the Bureau used that framework to build a strategy for the upcoming 2030 Census. Ditas taught us that trust isn't something a federal agency can manufacture. It has to be nurtured within communities via authenticity and living one’s values. Only then are communities willing to engage and promote participation in the census.”
Rob Santos, 26th Director, US Census Bureau
“Ditas has the unique quality of extensive experience working within government while simultaneously understanding how to partner with communities. She operates with integrity, respect, and a collaborative spirit, which are bedrocks for any good community partnership.”
Dr. John Dobard, VP Strategy & Policy, Catalyst CA
Footnote: 2000 figure reflects the "Mail Response Rate" (MRR) of 70% (up from 65% in 1990), the methodology used prior to the U.S. Census Bureau's shift to "Self-Response Rate" (SRR) terminology in 2010, which added internet and phone response channels alongside mail. California was one of only five states nationally to meet the Census Bureau's "90 Plus Five" challenge in 2000. 2010 SRR of 68.2% is derived from the California Census 2020 Assessment Report's statement that the 2020 SRR (69.6%) exceeded the 2010 final SRR by 1.4 percentage points. Partner organization counts (80+ in 2000, 100+ in 2010) include county and local government partners alongside community-based organizations. Investment figures: 2000 — ~$25M appropriated by the Legislature (California Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit, "The Improvement in California's Mail Response Rate in Census 2000," January 2001); 2010 — $3M [source pending]; 2020 — $187.2M over four years, 2017–2021 (California Complete Count – Census 2020 Final Report).
We’ve Worked With
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California Democracy Partnership
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Philanthropy CA
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By the People, for the People
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Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund
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Catalyst California
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The Ditas Group advises and architects. Our value is in the strategy, the framework, and the relationships that make implementation possible. We work with government agencies, philanthropic institutions, and civic-sector and private-sector organizations that need to reach the people civic systems most often miss.
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For organizations seeking to invest in Census 2030, we provide the strategic counsel no one else can: what the landscape looks like, where the gaps are, how to structure public-private partnerships, what you should be doing right now, and how to measure impact. We are currently advising Philanthropy California on Census 2030 framework development and are available to advise additional government, philanthropic, corporate, and advocacy coalition clients.
We take the high-level road maps to 2030 and help you develop your specific itinerary, helping foundations, advocates, and government officials understand what they should be doing, when, and how to prepare for the 2030 Census.
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We design the community-rooted outreach infrastructure that gets results where traditional communications fail. That includes identifying the right messenger networks, building the partnership architecture, and creating the engagement logic that connects institutional goals to community trust.
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We build the tables that need to exist and facilitate the relationships that make them productive. This includes cross-sector coalition design, intergovernmental coordination, and public-private partnership strategy.
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We deliver the tools and training organizations need to move from transactional outreach to durable engagement, including our signature framework, the Layered Convening Model. The model recognizes that different stakeholders need to be engaged differently, at different levels, through different relationships, and in a deliberate sequence that builds trust before it asks for buy-in. We design the full engagement architecture: who needs to be at what table, in what order, with what purpose, and how those conversations connect to decisions.
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We help organizations define their role, goals, and theory of change for complex civic engagement efforts, from statewide voter education campaigns to multi-year census investment strategies. We ask the hard questions about where resources should go and why, and build the frameworks that keep coalitions aligned over time.
Every community deserves to be counted heard, and included
The Ditas Group is a Sacramento-based strategic advisory firm specializing in democracy strengthening, civic data, and community-driven engagement