The Rocky Mountain Research Data Center Advancing the Frontiers of Social Science: Opportunities and Challenges Jani Little, Executive Director Katie Genadek, Expected Administrator The Rocky Mountain Research Data Center Jani Little, Executive Director Katie Genadek, Expected Administrator Oct 25, 2016 The Rocky Mountain Federal Statistical Research Data Center (RMRDC) Jani Little Executive Director

--What is an FSRDC and the FSRDC Program? --Available Data --The RMRDC --The Proposal Process --Examples of Economics Projects, Katie Genadek

What is a Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC)? --A secure computing lab that is linked with the Census Bureau’s internal computing network, which hosts restricted-access data from multiple federal agencies --Made possible by a contractual agreement between a leading research institution and the U.S. Census Bureau --The Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies (CES) directs all FSRDCs and the FSRDC Program --FSRDCs are managed by an on-site Census employee—the administrator— who guides researchers on proposal development, enforces security guidelines, and serves as liaison with the research community.

9 in 2009 and 24 in 2016

Recent Advances in the FSRDC Program: --Expanding Participation by Federal Statistical Agencies --More Efficient Administration of Program --Bipartisan Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking New integrated research environment (IRE) implementation Dec 27, 2016.

Advantages to Researchers: --Greatly expands the policy and basic questions that can be addressed --Builds on past research findings with richer data --Improves competitive edge for grants and publications (60% of pubs in top journals) --Improves graduate education (big data/statistical techniques) and placement

Opportunities for Graduate Students: --Cornell University Course by Videoconference, Spring Semester, held in IBS on Mondays --Census Dissertation Mentorship Program --Census Dissertation Fellowship Program (up to $50,000)

FSRDCs Used to Address Many Research Topics Business, Trade, Finance, and Management Crime and Crime Victimization Demography, Population Distributions and Trends, Migration, and Immigration Economics, Labor Markets, Entrepreneurship, Employment and Industry Education and Education Policy Hazard Mitigation, Environmental Impact Assessment, Pollution Abatement Health and Well-Being, Health Insurance, Health Policy Housing, Housing Markets, and Residential Patterns Poverty, Social Welfare Policy, and Social Mobility Transportation Analysis and Planning Urban and Regional Economics and Planning Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Manufacturing

Advantages Provided to Research: --Microdata not available publicly firms and establishments individuals and households --Variables not available in public versions of data sets (e.g., low level geography) --Full population counts or larger samples (Decennial Census, ACS, CPS) --Full range of response items (e.g., industry codes, occupational codes, detailed race answers, income is not top-coded, etc.) --Ability to make linkages with external data (e.g., via geocodes, establishment ID, etc.) between multiple internal data sets via non-public link keys

Major Partners in the FSRDC System U.S. Census Bureau Economic Data Demographic Data Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Data Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Other Federal Partners

RMRDC: The Physical Facility Projected Opening Date: March 1, 2017 Location: IBS Rms 132+136 --10 thin client workstations to access FSRDC servers --Secure communications that tunnel over campus internet --Contains the Administrator’s office --Badge Reader at Entrance --24/7 Security System with camera --no electronic devices allowed --NOTHING leaves the secure lab without approval

The RMRDC Consortium Partner Members: Supporting Members: UC Colorado Springs Colorado State Government Colorado School of Mines Denver University National Center for Atmospheric Research National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Partner Members Faculty, Grad Students, and Affiliated Researchers: Free access to RMRDC services and secure laboratory Researchers with continued use are expected to write grant proposals and include lab fees

Requirements for Using Any FSRDC: --Research projects must undergo a formal approval process with the agency that owns the data, e.g., Census, NCHS, BLS --Researchers must go through a background investigation that qualifies them for “Special Sworn Status (SSS)” which makes them an unpaid Census Bureau employee. --Results must be formally reviewed for disclosure violation before they leave the secure facility. Currently 260 active projects, 50% are Census

Components of Proposals: --Personnel and Time frame --Project Description (scientific merit, methods, feasibility, why requires restricted data) --Dataset(s), Variables, Geography --Results Expected and Disclosure Avoidance Strategies

Proposal Differences by Agency:   Census NCHS BLS Approval % 70 nearly 100 ?? Time to Approval 3-4 months on average less on average 3-6 months Benefit to Agency PPS Required and weighted heavily Not Required Benefit Statement Required Fee None $1200 extract $4000 annual Scope Broad (max of 30 pages) Precise 5-10 pages

FSRDC Server Software GEODa Tomlab Knittro Madd QGIS StatTransfer Python - Anaconda Fortran Perl Tex/LaTex Gauss Stata Matlab & toolboxes PBS Pro Intel Composer XE NX Enterprise R  SAS SAS (Dataflux) SUDAAN

How and When Do I Get Started? --See materials at the RMRDC website, the CES website, and other relevant sites. --Contact the RMRDC Director and Administrator for --data availability --project budget and timeline --contact information For Census projects, the Administrator will give invaluable guidance on --the proposal development process --the benefits to Census (PPS) --help navigate the project approval process

Katie Genadek, Administrator Expected Start Date: Nov 28, 2016 Ph.D. Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, 2012 IPUMS USA Project Manager Manager of User Support for Integrated: NHIS, DHS CPS, ACS IPUMS International

My current role in the RDC Manage a team that works on them in the RDC at the University of MN I have SSS, I look with team members at data in the RDC Work closely with census staff (joint projects) Work closely with census IT staff

My future role in the RDC Administrator for the RMRDC Support researchers in the RDC Help researchers with proposals, SSS, disclosure review Promote use of RDC data Work closely with other census employees Work with Administrative data team (CARRA) Perform research with RDC data

Current Census RDC Infrastructure projects 1960 data recovery project completed Decennial census data harmonization in progress Harmonization of census geographies just beginning 1970 PUMS data creation not yet started

Current RDC projects of interest – Demographic Data Linking 2010, 2000 full count census to assess race response changes and how is racial identity influenced by neighborhood characteristics Migration and duration of international student graduates (NSCG merged to census data) The effects of 1960 individual housing conditions on urban renewal

Current RDC projects of interest – Health Data Effects of Medicaid expansion on insurance coverage duration and access to health care (NHIS) Effects of job and family demands on health and health behaviors (MEPS with merged O*NET) How does race on death certificates compare to self reported race? How does this impact race-specific mortality rates? (NHIS linked to NDI)

My (hopeful) future RDC projects Effect of Great Recession/housing crisis on Marriage and Divorce: bring in mortgage foreclosure data, merge on to ACS data at finer geographic level Child care costs and time spent alone with spouse: ATUS data in RDC, proprietary data on caregiving prices at finer geographic levels Life cycle fertility and employment for women in the US over time