In collaboration with the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), the Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI) is exploring the renewal of an institutional membership with the Central Plains Federal Statistical Research Data Center (CPRDC). As you may know, the institutional membership would provide qualified UI researchers secure access to a wide range of restricted-use federal datasets available through the U.S. Census Bureau's FSRDC Program. UI researchers would be able to access these data at the Iowa Federal Statistical Research Data Center, which opened in Ames on the Iowa State University campus in September 2025.
Before moving forward with an institutional membership, we are assessing research interest to ensure that the associated fees represent a sound investment for the University of Iowa research community.
As such, we have launched the Iowa Federal Statistical Research Data Center Interest Form. The webpage provides an overview of RDCs and gives UI researchers an opportunity to indicate their interest.