The Coleridge Initiative

Our approach was cited as the first Federal example of Secure Access to Confidential Data of the final report of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (page 70).

Full Report

Program directors Rayid Ghani, Frauke Kreuter, and Julia Lane are also co-editors of “Big Data and Social Science: A Practical Guide to Methods and Tools.”, the text book for the class.

Book Reviews

TRAINING

Building capabilities and knowledge

COMPUTING

Providing secure data research facilities

Our training programs provide cutting-edge analytics skills and apply them to real world micro-data to help solve real world problems.

“ I am at the most awesome, intense, hands-on training for using data to improve public policy.”

“ ...The Applied Data Analytics Training pioneers and disseminates new work efficiencies -- a set of behaviors with respect to a suite of new collaborative tools for working, sharing and documenting the work done with data and with co-workers, with data analysis and with project documentation.”

“ The breadth and depth of information that you have/will impart to participants is massive, a truly admirable goal. Your analogy of a buffet is apt as the supply of information seems without end.”

“ I think this (ADRF Explorer) could be a VERY useful resource for a number of organizations.”

“ ...I could see our agency benefiting from something like this, ... As the system builds out and collects additional resources/datasets that impact criminal justice system practices, this may be a place for us to look for the results of studies using evidence-based practices.”

“ Presenting class activities which require interactive usage of these tools -- GIT, JUPYTER, ADRF and PYTHON – this training course has made me seriously reconsider the relatively unstructured current collaboration “model” by which most Data-Scientists muddle.”

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The Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF) provides a secure platform to host confidential micro-data, serving as a trusted partner for data providers and analysts.

Our goal is to accelerate data-driven research and policy around human beings and their interactions, for program management, policy development, and scholarly purposes, by enabling efficient, effective, and secure access to sensitive data about society and the economy.

Participants in our training courses share a common interest in data and evidence. They collaborate using modern technology like Slack, Jupyter Notebooks and next generation annotation tools. We partner with other data focused initiatives nationally and internationally.

Positive social impact: Our goal is to improve the quality of evidence used for social policy.

Integrity & openness: Our research training materials are open and available so that others can use and replicate our approach.

Practical & robust progress: Our work is results oriented so that it can be modified and applied to improve the practice of policy in the real world.

What we value

We are a diverse group of data scientists, economists, statisticians, and software engineers. Our mission is to substantially improve how data are used and analyzed, especially in the context of public policy.

DIRECTORS