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
A local and limitless data resource
Katie Genadek, Administrator
The Rocky Mountain Federal Statistical Research Data Center
(RMRDC)
Jani Little
Executive Director

2. What is an FSRDC?

3. Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC)
--A secure computing lab where restricted data, collected by federal agencies, can be accessed FOR STATISTICAL PURPOSES ONLY
--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.

5. 9 in 2009 and 24 in 2016

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

7. Partner Consortium 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

8. Advantages Provided to Research:
--Microdata not available publicly
firms and establishments
individuals and households (especially longitudinal studies)
--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

9. Requirements for Any FSRDC Project:
--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

10. 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

11. RMRDC: The Physical Facility
Projected Opening: Early May, 2017
Location: IBS Building on CU Boulder Campus
--9 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. What data is available in the RDCs?

15. Two RDCs, Categories of data
Census RDC
Business/Economic Data
Demographic Data
NCHS RDC
Survey Data
Vital Statistics Data

16. Census: Demographic Data

17. Census Data: Demographic data available in RDCs
More geographic detail
Additional variables
More observations
Variables not censored (income)
Additional detail within variables

18. Data Available Decennial Censuses
Yearly ACS (American Community Survey)
Current Population Survey Supplements
American Housing Survey
Survey of Income and Program Participation
National Crime Victimization Survey
National Longitudinal Mortality Study
National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS)

19. Linking to Demographic Data
Link data by geographic area to demographic and survey data
Local data
Survey data
Proprietary data
Linked data within the RDC

20. Detailed Geography Data Set Geography Decennial Census Block
American Community Survey (ACS)
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
Tract
Current Population Survey* (CPS) – ASEC Supplement & Food Supplement
American Housing Survey (AHS)
National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) – Young/Mature Women
Lat/Lon
Block Group
National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) – Young/Old Men
County
National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS)

21. More information
a.html
Public data and metadata

22. Person Identification Keys (PIKs)
PVS assigns 9 digit, unique identifiers called Protected Identification Keys (PIKs) via probabilistic matching techniques to surveys and decennial data
PIKs are used to facilitate record linkage
Once ‘PIKed,” data can be linked to any other data processed through PVS
Some data is PIKed and linked already

23. Current RDC projects of interest – Census Data
Interracial couples and children’s race – how are they reported, how does that change over time
The effects of 1960 individual housing conditions on urban renewal
Linking 2010, 2000 full count census to asses race response changes and how is racial identity influenced by neighborhood characteristics
Migration and duration of international student graduates (NSCG merged to census data)

24. Census: Economic Data

25. Census Data: Economic data available in RDCs
Microdata that is not available elsewhere
Detailed geographies and industries
Data linked over time
Employee and employer linked data
Full business register for the US

26. Types of Economic data available in RDCs
Business Register
Firm Surveys
Establishment Surveys
Economic Censuses
Transaction or Trade data

27. Business Register Data
Data Set
Compustat-SSEL Bridge (CSB)
Form 5500 Bridge File
Integrated Longitudinal Business Database (ILBD)
Longitudinal Business Database (LBD)
Ownership Change Database (OCD)
Standard Statistical Establishment List / Business Register (SSEL)

28. Firm Surveys Data Set Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES)
Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS)
Business Expenditures Survey (BES)
Business Research & Development and Innovation Survey (BRDIS)
Enterprise Summary Report (ESR)
Exporter Database (EDB)
Quarterly Financial Report (QFR)
Service Annual Survey (SAS)
Survey of Business Owners (SBO)
Survey of Industrial Research and Development (SIRD)

29. Establishment Surveys
Data Set
Annual Survey of Manufacturers (ASM)
Current Industrial Reports (CIR)
Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS)
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey – Insurance Component (MEPS-IC)
National Employer Survey (NES)
Quarterly Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization (QPC)
Survey of Manufacturing Technology (SMT)
Survey of Plant Capacity Utilization (PCU)
Survey of Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures (PACE)

30. Economic Censuses Census of Auxiliaries (AUX)
Data Set
Census of Auxiliaries (AUX)
Census of Construction Industries (CCN)
Census of Finance, Insurance, Real Estate (CFI)
Census of Manufacturers (CMF)
Census of Mining (CMI)
Census of Retail Trade (CRT)
Census of Services (CSR)
Census of Transportation, Communications, Utilities (CUT)
Census of Wholesale Trade (CWH)

31. Transactions Data Data Set Commodity Flow Survey (CFS)
Foreign Trade Data - Export (EXP)
Foreign Trade Data - Import (IMP)
Longitudinal Foreign Trade Transactions Data (LFTTD)

32. Linked Employer Household Dynamics (LEHD)
LEHD data combine administrative data from states’ Unemployment Insurance systems with Census Bureau data.
Workers: Employer history and quarterly wages, Individual characteristics (sex, age, race), Point in time residence and place of birth
Employers: Industry, employment, total payroll, location
Linkages between workers and employers
Links to other Census data: Virtually any RDC data on businesses; SIPP; CPS March supplement; ACS
The key is that you can link the worker and employer information to other data sets – economic or demographic.

33. Examples of research using business data
Environmental regulation and productivity: evidence from oil refineries
E Berman, LTM Bui - Review of Economics and Statistics, 2001
Industrial Investments in Energy Efficiency: A Good Idea?
Mary Jialin Li – CES Working Paper 2017
State Taxation and the Reallocation of Business Activity: Evidence from Establishment-Level Data
Xavier Giroud & Joshua Rauh – CES Working Paper 2017

34. NCHS: Survey Data

35. Health Data: Why Access in RDCs
More geographic detail
Additional variables – sensitive topics
Children’s vital information
Additional detail within variables
Linked data

36. Examples of NCHS Survey Data
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)
National Maternal and Infant Health Survey
State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS)
National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH)
National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN)

37. National Health Care Surveys
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)
National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS)
National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS) and National Nursing Assistant Survey (NNAS)
National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) and National Home Health Aide Survey (NHHAS)
National Survey of Residential Care Facilities (NSRCF)
National Study of Long-Term Care Providers (NSLTCP)
National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS)

38. NCHS Vital Records and Data Linkage Activities
National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) Data Release and Access Policy
Linked Mortality Data Products
Linked Medicare Enrollment and Claims Files Data
Linked Medicaid Enrollment and Claims Data
Linked Social Security Benefit History Data

39. Examples of NCHS projects
Comparing Diet Quality, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior in Youth with and without ADHD
Immigration Policy Enforcement and the Mental Health of Mexican Immigrant Families
Early Life Mortality in the U.S.
Complex Families, State Family Policies, and Child Health Disparities
Effects of ACA on Health Insurance Coverage

40. Useful Websites Census Bureau Data: Center for Economic Studies
NCHS Research Data Center
AHRQ

41. Project Proposals

42. Proposal Differences by Agency:
Census
NCHS
Approval % 70
nearly 100
Time to Approval
3-4 months on average
1-3 months on average
Benefit to Agency
PPS Required
Not Required
Fee
None
$1200-$2500 extract fee
Scope
Broad (max of 30 pages)
Precise

43. Components of all 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

44. Health Data Proposals

45. Proposal Process: Write proposal – follow outline Fill out forms
Create data dictionary
Submit proposal to NCHS for review
Work with assigned analyst

46. Access Process NCHS Once proposal approved, request data extraction
$1,200-$2,500 fee for more extensive extraction
Pass on-line training
Access data
RDC (SSS required) – work with RMRDC admin
Work with data extract from NCHS in RDC
Output is reviewed by NCHS analyst, then ed
Disclosure review for manuscripts

47. Timeline for NCHS Projects
Timeline dependent on agency, analyst and data you are working with
Usually between 1-3 months
Census approval NOT required
Once approved we start SSS (1-3+ months)

48. Census Proposals

49. Proposal Package Proposal Description
Benefit to the Census Bureau (Predominate Purpose Statement/PPS)
Abstract

50. Process: Contact RDC Administrator with plan, get starter packet
Write first draft of proposal
Work with Administrator on refining proposal description
Work on PPS and Abstract
Submit to administrator – submit to Census
Once Approved - SSS

51. Approval Process Step 1: Approval from RDC Administrator
Step 2: Census approval
Step 3: Sponsoring or other agency approval
Step 4: Background check and SSS

52. Timeline – Census Projects
Plan on 6 to 12 months from submission total
Census Approval (~3 months)
Possible other agency/state approval
Title 13 (Census approval only) vs. Title 26 (Census & IRS approval)
IRS Approval
1 month – 6 months
Other Agency Approval
State approval for LEHD
30 days
Once Census approved, start SSS (1-3+ months)

53. Special Sworn Status
SSS is authorized by Title 13 U.S.C. 23 (c) "to assist the Bureau of the Census in performing the work authorized by this title.”
The Census Bureau may provide SSS to an individual
When an individual has expertise or specialized knowledge that can contribute to the accomplishment of Census Bureau projects or activities or engages in a joint project with the Census Bureau;
When an individual is employed by an agency/organization performing a service for the Census Bureau under contract or providing information to the Census Bureau for statistical purposes;
When Federal law requires an individual to audit, inspect, or investigate Census Bureau activities.

54. Background Check Off-line paperwork and documentation
On-line trainings and certifications
Background check
Submitted online and followed with interview
Residential history
Foreign travel
Education and employment history
References
Fingerprinting

55. How and When Do I Get Started?
See materials at the RMRDC website, the CES website, NCHS website
Contact the RMRDC 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

56. Contact Information:
Katie Genadek: