External allied centers are part of our effort to enhance research community access to shared resources and we have been building links with institutions outside of Penn around topics related to our research themes. In addition, we have partnerships with other organizations globally whose research agendas align with our center's and where we have strong ties and established partnerships.
Local External Allied Centers:
Partnership with Temple University Public Policy Lab (PPL)
The Public Policy Lab (PPL) in the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University and the Population Studies Center (PSC) at the University of Pennsylvania are excited to announce a new collaboration. PPL Director Judith Levine and PSC Director Emilio Parrado recently signed a General Collaboration Agreement between the two centers to promote academic research and training opportunities around policy-relevant population issues. A primary, but not exclusive, theme of the collaboration will be demographic change in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and its policy implications. Levine explains, "We are excited to build formal structures around the vibrant informal exchanges that take place between our two faculties. This new collaboration will allow us to bring more members of both communities into conversation with each other. Our ultimate goal for these interactions is to jointly produce exciting new research addressing the pressing issues facing our city and beyond." An overarching objective is to combine the demographic and policy expertise of the two centers to build academic research capacity, train emerging scholars interested in interdisciplinary approaches to social demographic issues, and provide policy-relevant analyses useful for relevant organizations and stakeholders. Parrado added, "This is a long overdue collaboration. We have had many informal interactions over the years but the partnership adds an institutional structure to expand demographic research in the Philadelphia area and elaborate on its academic and policy implications." Some specific goals of the collaboration include:
- Identifying opportunities for academic exchange between faculty and students across both institutions, including the development of joint research projects,
- carrying out joint professional and academic events including colloquiums, workshops, and conferences,
- publishing the results of affiliated research in a dedicated on-line working paper series,
- mutually lending advice, technical support, and services, including grant proposal preparation,
- sharing and disseminating information related to the fields of population studies and public policy to members of both institutions,
- facilitating exchanges with scholars from other institutions interested in the interchanges between population studies and public policy,
- promoting diversity within the fields,
- and serving as a vehicle for the development of partnerships with local-area institutions and stakeholders.
This is an exciting initiative to enhance research and training through local collaboration. The centers look forward to sharing details about upcoming events in the near future.
Partnership with the Philadelphia Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC)
The PSC has been a partner and supporter of the Philadelphia FSRDC since its foundation. The Philadelphia FSRDC is a secure computing facility where qualified faculty, students, and researchers affiliated with consortium institutions can conduct statistical analysis of a wide range of non-public microdata collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other government agencies. These datasets are among the largest and most important sources of statistical information in the US and many of them can only be accessed through an FSRDC. They represent a vital resource for researchers in economics, business, demography, sociology, medicine, statistics, criminology, and many other disciplines. Iourrii Manovskii, a PSC Research Associate is Executive Director of the Philadelphia FSRDC. Xi Song has closely been collaborating with him. We have organized several workshops and presentations disseminating information about the resources available at the FSRDC and how to access them.