The University of the Virgin Islands’ Eastern Caribbean Center has completed the mapping of the U.S. Virgin Islands and has commenced the 2024 Virgin Islands Community Survey (VICS) interviews this month. This survey of households is a follow-up to the 2018 one, collecting information similar to the 2020 Population and Housing Census.
ECC has begun the integration of new technology in the data collection process using Geographical Information System (GIS) devices that will provide layered data relevant to population and housing. Population questions cover items such as age, sex, education, ethnic origin, employment, health insurance, veteran status and disability. Housing questions cover items about the housing unit in which respondents live, such as water source, internet access, number of rooms, utilities, ownership, and rent, according to the press release.
“The VICS 2024 is essential to close critical gaps in USVI data used by local agencies whose jobs are to organize and plan for the social, educational, wellness, and economic needs for the territory,” said Marissa Johnson Rogers, assistant director of the Eastern Caribbean Center.
The University of the Virgin Islands is asking for the public’s cooperation. Interviewers carrying UVI photo IDs and data collection devices will visit households on all three islands. Unlike the Census, which collects information on every household, VICS will use a scientific random sample, so not every household will be interviewed, the press release stated.
The public is assured of complete confidentiality of their information, as the data are published in summary form only and individuals cannot be identified, the release stated.
UVI is seeking the community’s support in telling the true story of the USVI community’s strength, it said.
This research and data are critical to quantify our needs to local and federal agencies as we continue recovery from the 2017 Hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Johnson Rogers.
For more information, call the Eastern Caribbean Center at UVI at 340-693-1020. For media inquiries, contact the University of Public Relations office at pr@uvi.edu.
