Minnesota Population Center

University Of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Minnesota Population Center (MPC) is a University-wide interdisciplinary cooperative for demographic research. Established in March 2000, the MPC is the newest population center in the United States. The University of Minnesota nevertheless has a long tradition of distinguished population research, and is well positioned to have a major impact on the field. We have a substantial concentration of demographers working in a broad range of academic disciplines. Minnesota is the strongest university in the United States in the field of historical demography, and it also has notable depth in population geography, policy-relevant population research, economic demography, population modeling and projections, public health population studies and family demography. The MPC already serves 43 researchers from six colleges and thirteen departments at the University of Minnesota, and employs 61 staff on externally funded research projects. As a leading developer and disseminator of demographic data, we also serve a broader audience of some 4,800 demographic researchers worldwide. This proposal seeks funding to build infrastructure that will capitalize on these assets. The MPC will foster connections among population researchers across disciplines and will open new opportunities for large-scale collaborative externally funded research projects. We are developing shared infrastructure for demographic analysis and administration, and have already embarked on several major new externally sponsored research collaborations across departments and colleges. A population Center Grant will allow our members to leverage their resources. We are requesting funds for four shared cores to support demographic research. Two of these an Administrative Core and an Information Technology Core are traditional Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch population center cores. The other two cores are more innovative. We plan a Data Access Collaborative Core with the Michigan Population Studies Center that will provide MPC researchers and others direct access to one of the richest collections of demographic data in the country. Finally, we plan a translational core to provide user support for MPC-produced data products. The goal of the User Support Translational Core is to maximize the accessibility of MPC data not only for academic researchers but also for students, policy makers, journalists and the public. The MPC is ideally situated to gain maximum benefit from an R24 Center Grant. All the necessary elements are in place. We have a highly productive group of population researchers with a proven track record of consistent research funding, a seasoned professional staff in our Administrative, Information Technology, User Support and Data Access Cores, and a strong institutional commitment. With a comparatively modest investment in shared resources, the MPC has the potential to have a dramatic impact on the field.