Handle quick local population questions
Get a defined demographic lookup started from a quick Slack message, without keeping the question in your head.
Trigger
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Action
Get ACS 1-Year Estimates
Tool to retrieve 1-year american community survey (acs) estimates for a specified geography. use when you need the most recent annual acs data for a given area.
Why this helps
Small research questions are easy to postpone because they do not seem large enough to become a tracked task.
- Closes small research loops before they are forgotten
- Uses recent annual estimates when appropriate
- Connects the result to the original private request
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slack and Census bureau to Notis once.
- 2Create an automation in the portal, or ask Notis to create one conversationally.
- 3Write one instruction to retrieve relevant ACS 1-year estimates for the US geography and population measure in the DM, and report unclear requests.
- 4Select Direct Message Received and choose where Notis reports runs.
- 5Test with a DM naming a real area and demographic question.
Questions about this workflow
Is a 1-year estimate always appropriate?
Use this when recent annual ACS data are appropriate for the geography and question. The prompt can flag when more detailed data may be needed.
Does the workflow handle channel requests?
No. This automation uses the direct message trigger.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slack to Census bureau. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slack triggers
Census bureau actions
Recurring trigger
Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.
Get ACS 1-Year Estimates
Tool to retrieve 1-year american community survey (acs) estimates for a specified geography. use when you need the most recent annual acs data for a given area.
Webhook trigger
Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.
Get ACS 5-Year Estimates
Tool to retrieve 5-year american community survey estimates for a specified year. use when detailed acs data by geography and variables is required.
New Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
Get American Business Survey
Tool to retrieve annual business survey (abs) data for a specified year and endpoint.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Get Community Resilience Estimates
Tool to retrieve community resilience estimates for a specified year. use after selecting variables and geography to get cre data for analysis.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Get County Business Patterns
Tool to retrieve county business patterns (cbp) data for a specified year. use when you need county-level business establishment and employment statistics filtered by industry and geography.
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Get Decennial Census Data
Tool to retrieve decennial census data for a specified vintage and dataset. use when you need census variables for a given geography.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Get Population Estimates
Tool to retrieve population estimates program (pep) data for a specified vintage and dataset. use when you need population or demographic estimates for specific geographies.
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
Get Variable Details
Tool to retrieve metadata for a specific variable in a census dataset for a given year. use when you need the label, concept, data type, attribute codes, and valid-value constraints.
Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.
Slack and Census bureau, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Save your first hour today.
7-day trial of any paid plan, with 20$ of usage included.
No card. Works with personal or business Census bureau.