The Research Data Centre Programme in Canada: a holistic approach to evidence-based research to inform public policy

Abstract

As part of a response to the challenges that confront Canadian policy research, a joint task force assembled by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Statistics Canada proposed the creation of a series of Research Data Centres (RDCs). The network of RDCs was formally launched in December 2000 with the opening of the centre at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The RDCs are located throughout the country, so researchers are not obliged to travel to Ottawa to access Statistics Canada data. At the same time, the centres are administered in accordance with all the confidentiality rules required under the Statistics Act. The Research Data Centres meet, in a single location, both the need to facilitate access to detailed micro-data for crucial social research and the need to protect the confidentiality and security of Canadians' information.