The Northwest Census Research Data Center (NWCRDC) is a partnership between the US Census Bureau and the University of Washington with additional support from the State of Washington’s Office of Financial Management. This facility, located in the University District in Seattle, Washington, enables researchers to access restricted-use datasets. There are four types of data available: demographic data, economic data, linked business and household data, and public health data.
The NWCRDC is part of a network of research data centers (RDCs) around the country. Researchers who want to access the data available through an RDC must submit a research proposal and in most cases also explain how their work will provide benefits to the Census Bureau. Researchers must also acquire appropriate security clearance. The NWCRDC facility features sixteen workstations providing secure access through an encrypted VPN to a secure computing environment operating Red Hat Linux and standard statistical analysis software: SAS, R, STATA, Gauss, and MatLab. In addition, limited on-site printing is available.
UW faculty researchers with grants are expected to pay fees to access the NWCRDC. UW graduate students will not have to pay fees for dissertation related coursework. Non-consortium researchers (i.e. not a researcher at UW or at the state government of Washington) will pay fees in all instances. The NWCRDC administrator, Mike Babb, PhC, is a Census Bureau employee who interfaces with researchers, key US Census Bureau contacts, and the University of Washington administration. Please contact Mike Babb for information on fee schedules and applying.
The NWCRDC collaborates with and receives oversight from research faculty in the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology and the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences.
On this website, you will find information on applying to use the NWCRDC, further descriptions of the datasets available, and other pertinent documents and links.
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Video recordings of the Northwest Census Research Data Center Grand Opening & Research Symposium are now available online.
1. Northwest Census Research Data Center Launch Part 1
UW Provost and Executive Vice President Ana Mari Cauce, NWCRDC Director Mark Ellis, and Acting Director of the U.S. Census Bureau Tom Mesenbourg speak at the grand opening announcement.
2. Northwest Census Research Data Center Launch Part 2
Shawn Klimek and Ron Jarmin of the Center for Economic Studies discuss the process and benefits of accessing the center.
3. Northwest Census Research Data Center Launch Part 3
UW Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work Melissa Martinson describes how her research has utilized data from a Census Research Data Center.
The videos can also be accessed via the College of Arts & Sciences YouTube page.
