Boston Research Data Center

The Boston Census Research Data Center (BRDC) is part of the Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) program and is operated as a partnership between the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Open since 1994, the BRDC provides qualified researchers the opportunity to perform statistical analysis on non-public microdata from the Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

Information on the FSRDC program can be found on its homepage.

Data available for use within the secure RDCs include:

• A wide range of Census microdata files.
• Data collaborations among federal agencies and restricted-use data from FSRDC statistical agency partners.

A searchable list of restricted-access data from the Federal Statistical System, including data available through the FSRDCs, is available.

One can browse datasets by agency or browse all the data together. In addition, examples of work performed in the FSRDC system can be found in the CES Working Paper Series and Annual Reports. 

Spreadsheets containing metadata about active and completed FSRDC projects using Census data and lists of recent research outputs from those projects are available.

To perform research within the BRDC requires the development and approval of a proposal. The federal statistical system has developed the standard application process (SAP) Portal, which is a web-based data catalog and common application that serves as the “front door” to apply for confidential data from any of the 16 principal federal statistical agencies and units for evidence building purposes. To learn more about the SAP, please visit the Standard Application Process Overview webpage and view the SAP Explainer Video.

Proposal Guidelines for each of the FSRDC statistical agencies can be found on their web pages.

It is important to contact the BRDC Administrator (contact information is below) early on about your prospective project to help you navigate the process and answer your questions. Proposals may be submitted on a rolling basis. Once approved, researchers become sworn agents of the Census Bureau and work within the BRDC secure facility. Foreign nationals are welcome to participate in the FSRDC program but must have lived in the United States for at least three years. Results intended for circulation in working papers and publications are screened to avoid disclosure of confidential information prior to release from the center. 

Two points are of note:

1. There are substantial financial costs involved in operating an RDC, and as a result, there are project access fees for using the BRDC. Local universities that have an institutional membership with the BRDC include Boston College, Boston University, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Tufts, and the University of Massachusetts. These agreements cover lab fees for affiliated faculty, students, and staff. Researchers not affiliated with these member institutions generally cover lab fees with a grant.
2. The approval process can take a substantial amount of time, several months for regular proposals and considerably longer if review by multiple agencies or data owners is required, or if data availability issues exist that require investigation. 

We are proud of the fruits of almost three decades of research results from work performed at the BRDC and are grateful for your interest.