Census Bureau Opens Data Laboratory at University of Michigan

9/6/2002

From: Robert Bernstein of the Census Bureau, 301-763-3030

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 -- Census Bureau Director C. Louis Kincannon will cut the ribbon Monday (Sept. 9) opening a new Research Data Center (RDC), jointly sponsored by the Census Bureau's Center for Economic Studies and the University of Michigan, on the university's Ann Arbor, Mich., campus.

"The RDC program has allowed us to engage research communities outside of Washington. RDCs are the proverbial 'different set of eyes.' This helps the Census Bureau's mission by increasing the quality and by uncovering the strengths and weaknesses of the Census Bureau data," Kincannon said remarks prepared for the ceremony.

The Michigan Census Research Data Center, offers qualified researchers restricted access to unpublished economic and demographic data collected by the Census Bureau in the course of its censuses and surveys. The center is located in the university's Institute for Social Research. RDC operating procedures, strict security and strong legal safeguards are designed to protect the confidentiality of these data as required by law.

"We are honored to have been selected by the Census Bureau as the location for a research data center," said David Featherman, director of the Institute for Social Research. "The institute has pioneered the methods and technologies underlying surveys and censuses for more than half a century.

"This new center will foster both the analysis of census data and the protection of confidentiality. It is a privilege to enter this partnership with the Census Bureau and to enhance its value to research and to the public interest."

Similar centers already exist in Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Calif., and Durham, N.C.

Before being able to access data at RDCs, researchers must submit proposals to the RDC and the Census Bureau for approval. The review process ensures that proposed research is feasible, has scientific merit and benefits Census Bureau programs.

The Michigan site was chosen jointly by the Census Bureau and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Funding to support the center has been provided by the NSF and units of the University of Michigan.

Editors-news directors: For further information, contact Christopher Kurz, RDC administrator, on 734-615-2535 or e-mail mrkurz@umich.edu.

For information about the Center for Economic Studies and its Research Data Centers program, visit its Web site at http://www.ces.census.gov.

--- Editor's Note: News releases, reports and data tables are available on the Census Bureau's Internet homepage at http://www.census.gov.