RDC Proposal Guidelines

To perform research within the TCRDC requires the development and approval of a proposal. Proposal guidelines can be found at the Center for Economic Studies web page. It is important to contact either the TCRDC Administrator early on about your prospective project to help you navigate the process and answer your questions. The CES research proposal process outlines the steps to get started. Final proposals may be submitted on a rolling basis through the CES web page in PDF form, and are subsequently reviewed by both members of the academic community and government researchers before a final decision by the Census Bureau.

Sample RDC Research Proposals

RDC Research Proposal

All proposals for conducting research using Census confidential data inside TCRDC are reviewed on the basis of five major criteria:

• Benefits to Census Bureau
• Scientific Merit
• Need for Non-Public Data
• Feasibility
• Risk of Disclosure

The Proposal Process

It requires two distinct steps to submit a research proposal. The first step is the development of a preliminary proposal. The second step is the submission of a final proposal.

Outline of Steps in Proposal Submission

Proposals are submitted via the CES on-line proposal management system accessible on the CES website. Researchers must consult with the RDC Administrator about the content and form of a research proposal before submitting the proposal through the CES on-line management system. The proposal review process is lengthy and rigorous, and the administrator can assist researchers in determining data availability and in preparing worthy proposals....

1. Read RDC research proposal guidelines at http://www.ces.census.gov/index.php/ces/1.00/researchguidelines.
2. Discuss your project with the RDC Administrator (TCRDC Administrator).
3. Create an account into the CES management system via http://www.ces.census.gov/index.php/ces/1.00/createaccount.
4. Log into your CES account and enter a brief preliminary proposal and your two page Curriculum vitae via http://www.ces.census.gov/index.php/ces/1.00/formlogin.
5. Work with the RDC Administrator in developing your final proposal.
6. When invited by the RDC Administrator, submit your final proposal into the CES system. The final proposal consists of four separate documents in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF):
   1. Curriculum vitae of all investigators on the proposed project,
   2. Abstract of the proposal,
   3. Project description (full proposal), and
   4. Statement of benefits to the Census Bureau.
7. Contact the RDC Administrator for an update on your proposal status.