Brief
Enumera is a Decentralized Open Census Protocol application that enables under-counted and under-represented communities to feel safe about sharing personal information with the 2020 Census. We insure that people can participate without fearing that their personal data will be censored or compromised by a third party. We do this through the use of encrypted identity management systems via uPort and using smart contracts to store questionnaire responses securely on the blockchain. The protocol will also give participants the power to decide what and how questions are asked through a network consensus model.
My Role
I was the UI/UX Designer on the project. My teammate Val Mack worked on the technical side. We collaborated on this project as part of the 6 week, 2018 Blockchain for Social Impact Incubator hosted by ConsenSys under the name of Popchain which we later renamed to Enumera.
The Process:
Research
Why is the Census important?
The United States Decennial Census acts as a representation of the makeup of the nation’s people. As written in the U.S. constitution, this count of the population and housing occurs every 10 years.
The United State Decennial Census provides much needed data to inform how billions of federal dollars are distributed for essential services and infrastructure that is vital to these communities. In addition, it is essential to provide communities with the right number of representatives in government.
Problem: Why the Census is failing
The Census has a hard time obtaining data from hard to count communities because these communities have felt disenfranchised from the democratic process and don’t trust the government to have their best interest. They have felt increasingly vulnerable in disclosing personal information due to the current political climate and racial tensions and direct attacks on the basic rights of the most vulnerable – immigrants, especially Blacks and Latinx, and the attempt to erase Trans identities.
“The Census administration has challenges counting vulnerable communities across all data products.”
- Homeless/Poor
- Undocumented Immigrants
- LGBTQ Community
User-centered Approach Considerations
Location
- The selection of location of where we would conduct our research was very intentional for us. We decided to conduct our research in one of the most diverse working class immigrant communities in NYC – Jackson Heights, Queens. Out of its close to 6,700 residents half are Latino/Hispanic from predominantly Central and South America. There is also a big enclave of South Asians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.
Community Participation and Inclusion
- We implemented an inclusive design methodology defined by working with and not for the communities most directly impacted by our work. Building in real life relationships and trust among our stakeholders has been one of the most challenging part of this 6 week constraint and an area that will require more time.
