The University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced yesterday that it will soon become home to a regional research data center, to benefit from a public-private partnership with the US government and other universities in the region.

The Central Plains Research Data Center will be housed at the University of Nebraska’s Whittier Research Center in Lincoln, and will be one of a network of 18 regional data centers resulting from a partnership with the US Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies.

Open data

The center is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2015, and will provide researchers with access to previously restricted data collected by the federal government. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln won a federal grant to host the center, but also joining the partnership are the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of South Dakota. The data center will be jointly funded by the US Census Bureau and the National Science Foundation.

“A U.S. Census Bureau employee will manage the center. Only researchers who receive government clearance and who agree to protect the sensitive data will have access,” noted the University of Nebraska in its official statement.

The Central Plains Research Data Center will be a direct conduit into the Federal Statistical Research Data Center, which provides approved researchers with access to restricted government data from the Census Bureau, Department of Transportation, National Center for Health Statistics, and Bureau of Labor Statistics, among other federal agencies.

“Having this wealth of federal and regional data available on campus will provide unique opportunities for analytics and training across social, behavioral, economic, geographical, environmental and health-related contexts,” commented Prem S. Paul, University of Nebraska-Lincoln vice chancellor for research and economic development. “UNL is proud to lead this multi-state partnership, which will enhance our university’s focus on social sciences research,” Paul added. “This center fills an important gap in our central region.”

John Anderson, Baird Family Professor of Economics and the center’s executive director, said the center’s partners are joining an elite group of universities. “From a research point of view, these centers are veritable gold mines,” he proclaimed.