Research Data Centers: The Rocky Mountain Research Data Center

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

This project will establish a Federal Statistical Research Data Center in the Rocky Mountain region. The Rocky Mountain Research Data Center (RMRDC) at the University of Colorado-Boulder will be a restricted and secure environment where social scientists and health researchers in this region will have improved access to confidential federal statistical data. Nearly all major research institutions near the University of Colorado-Boulder will use and support the center, including the University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, University of Colorado-Denver, the Anschutz Medical Campus, the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the Colorado State Government. This project will facilitate cross-institutional research and allow scientists in the region to study new questions in such areas as international economics, environmental sciences, and public health. The research to be conducted will expand knowledge about regional issues, benefiting federal and local government agencies and citizens of the area. Because this region has an information-based, knowledge-intensive economy, commercial innovation will be stimulated by the research advances gained from the federal statistical data. The research to be conducted will advance scientific knowledge and simultaneously deliver tangible benefits to the federal statistical system. The project will enhance graduate-level training in cutting-edge social statistics and support specialized workforce development across multiple disciplines. Students, faculty, and other researchers will transfer considerable technical expertise to local and national organizations as they become familiar with restricted federal data and build skills in analyzing large and complex datasets. Several important areas of economics, geography, sociology, and public health will be emphasized at the RMRDC. One immediate set of projects will study how the movement of U.S. production overseas affects employment and wages across detailed locations and occupations, accounting for trade-induced national and international innovation impacts. A second set will consider how mineral and energy extraction influences state and local economies within the region. These and other issues will be addressed using data from the Census of Manufacturing, the Annual Survey of Manufacturing, and the Longitudinal Business Database. Spatial scientists will use restricted census data to improve population estimates for small geographic areas and to enhance methods of disseminating data for the U.S. Census Bureau. Studies of the effects of changing environmental conditions and extreme events on human populations will benefit from having access to more detailed socioeconomic and demographic data. Health scientists will combine restricted population data with health data from the National Center for Health Statistics to ask questions about how local socioeconomic characteristics affect health behavior and outcomes, such as declines in teenage birth rates, increased early life mortality, and the protective influences of Hispanic neighborhoods.