1. 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

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

3. 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.

4. 9 in 2009 and 24 in 2016

5. 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.

7. 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

8. 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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. RMRDC: The Physical Facility
Projected Opening Date: March 1, 2017
Location: IBS Rms
--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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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)

26. 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