By now you’ve got it. You know that data, and how it is gathered, matters. Accurate, detailed data is essential for describing the people and communities you serve and moving forward toward your vision of equity and inclusion.
Nonprofits, and particularly those serving historically disenfranchised populations, are consistently challenged by the limitations of race and ethnicity data available from the federal government. Responding to this problem, in June 2022 the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) tasked the Chief Statistician of the United States with reviewing and revising OMB’s Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. Directive No. 15 was adopted in 1977, updated in 1997 and 2016, and is now being updated again.
“This is an important opportunity for nonprofits to advocate for changes that could better serve their communities,” said Barbara Floersch, grants expert and author of You Have a Hammer: Building Grant Proposals for Social Change. “Now’s your chance to make your voices heard.”
Directive No. 15 provides minimum standards to promote the government’s ability to compare race and ethnicity information across federal agencies and to assess how well government programs serve diverse populations. The effort to review and revise the directive involves a federal work group of staff from more than 20 agencies where staff is evaluating research, engaging the public, and developing recommendations on topics such as:
* Whether current minimum reporting categories should be changed and how;
* Whether the question format, terminology, and wording of questions and instructions should be updated; and,
* Whether guidance for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data can be improved and how.
There are three ways you can participate in updating Directive No. 15. The federal work group is soliciting input through a Federal Register Notice. The deadline for commenting is April 12. As of Feb. 4, there were 293 public comments that you can access through that website.
The work group is also holding bi-monthly, virtual listening sessions. To schedule a session, OMB asks that you send a brief email expressing your interest to [email protected]. In a recent email alert, the work group referenced upcoming public virtual town hall meetings but did not provide details. To read preliminary recommendations and stay informed of events related to the revision of Directive No. 15, keep an eye on the work group’s website at How to Get Involved (spd15revision.gov).
“OMB plans to complete revision of Directive No. 15 by the summer of 2024, so now is the time to speak up,” said Floersch.
