The University of Guelph Library will soon be home to a Research Data Centre (RDC) branch that will allow U of G researchers to access microdata from population and household surveys conducted by Statistics Canada.

The branch will open this fall and will be staffed by a Statistics Canada employee 20 hours per week, enabling Guelph researchers to access Statistics Canada’s master files without leaving campus.

The RDC program is operated through a partnership with Statistics Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Foundation for Innovation, and a consortium of universities. Currently, there are 15 research data centres and six branches in Canada. These facilities operate under the provisions of the Statistics Act in accordance with all confidentiality rules and are accessible only to researchers with approved projects.