This article outlines the Office for National Statistics' strategic review process for the best way of meeting users' future requirements for information that has traditionally been collected by taking a census. It reports on a possible design for such a census in 2011 but also considers alternative approaches to collecting comparable information. The work described in this article is being undertaken within ONS and relates essentially to research on the census in England and Wales only. The General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency are, however, carrying out similar reviews.