The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) leads several cutting-edge research projects and initiatives that further our mission on collecting and disseminating objective information on the science and engineering (S&E) enterprise.

The Federal Statistical System has adopted a Standard Application Process (SAP) for applying for access to federal confidential data assets from any of the 16 federal statistical agencies and units, with the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics  serving as the project management office for this transformational effort. The SAP aims to streamline data discovery and standardize the application process for federal confidential data assets while promoting civic engagement, increasing transparency, and supporting private-sector decision-making and policymaking at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels. Visit our Standard Application Process Web page to view information about the SAP, including benefits, phases of development, and how to get involved.

For information on each agency’s collection of confidential data assets or to begin a new application, please visit the new platform at ResearchDataGov.org.  

The National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the White House Office of Management and Budget, and other federal agencies, is leading an exciting new initiative that aims to support social, economic, and behavioral science research that leverages federal data and scientific advances in researching equity-related topics for greater public benefit. The Analytics for Equity Initiative links researchers directly with federal agencies seeking to answer key research questions that agencies hope to answer in service of their priorities. The goal is to fund researchers to produce rigorous research and empirical evidence in equity-related topics that both federal agencies and other organizations can use to increase the impact of equity-focused evidence-based strategies.

Please visit the Analytics for Equity Initiative page for more information on participating agencies and related resources.

Visit NCSES’s new Resource Library to explore a collection of visual resources that summarize NCSES’s work. The library's downloadable resources include survey overviews, topical fact sheets, and infographics that encapsulate findings from Science and Engineering Indicators.

NCSES’s Director, Emilda B. Rivers, is serving as the Acting Chair for the Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building (ACDEB). The purpose of the committee is to review, analyze, and make recommendations on how to promote the use of federal data for evidence building. Its duties include assisting the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on issues of access to data and providing recommendations on how to facilitate data sharing, data linkage, and privacy enhancing techniques. The Committee, which OMB has delegated to the Commerce Department's Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, submitted a publicly available annual report on its activities and findings to the OMB Director. The Year 1 Report is available for review here.

The Year 2 Report was recently released, and the committee’s recommendation is that America’s DataHub Consortium, an NCSES-sponsored initiative whose aim is to promote collaboration with the Federal Statistical System, should serve as the pilot foundation for the National Secure Data Service (NSDS). The creation of the NSDS was established in the CHIPS and Science Act with the purpose of helping data users “securely share, link, and analyze data to support the use of evidence in policymaking.” Read the committee’s full Year 2 Report here.  

America’s DataHub Consortium (ADC) is a groundbreaking initiative sponsored by NCSES to collaborate with the Federal Statistical System. ADC advances NCSES’s mission by supporting exciting activities related to increased data access and sharing, strengthening infrastructure, and promoting innovative analysis across the S&E landscape. An article on this initiative, America's DataHub Consortium: Seeing — and Understanding — the Entire Elephant, is available through the National Science Foundation. 

Most recently, the ADC awarded five projects totaling $3.5M in funding. The projects aim to provide the government with a more comprehensive understanding of the availability and demand for global science and engineering training and talent. 

Interested in learning more? Please visit americasdatahub.org.

NCSES has partnered with the National Academy’s Committee on National Statistics to launch a consensus panel study to examine the degree of transparency and reproducibility of federal statistics. This ad hoc panel studied issues related to documenting and archiving statistical data products with the desired objective of enabling NCSES to enhance the transparency and reproducibility of the agency’s statistics and to facilitate the improvement of the statistical program workflow processes for the agency and its contractors. The principal questions to be addressed include the following:

The full report can be accessed here.

NCSES and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are collaborating on a new project to better understand production and use of research and development and other intellectual property products in global value chains (GVCs). In partnership with NCSES, BEA just released its first prototype of data on value added trade. These data provide new insights into the way U.S. knowledge- and technology-intensive industries and other sectors of the economy interact in production and trade activities involving GVCs. Check out the new data here.

For more information on this project, please contact

Francisco Moris
703-292-4678
fmoris@nsf.gov

NCSES is partnering with the PEERS Data Hub (Partnership for Expanding Education Research in STEM) community to highlight NCSES STEM data and to connect with other peer researchers who are interested in exchanging ideas on various topics such as the S&E workforce, fields of study, and education. Join the conversation here.

One emerging research area for the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) is the skilled technical workforce (STW)—individuals who use science and engineering (S&E) skills in their jobs but do not have a bachelor’s degree. In response to interest from the National Academies' Committee on National Statistics, the National Science Board's STW Task Force, and the Innovations in Mentoring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act (2018), NCSES has established a STW Initiative in order to guide efforts to measure and understand the STW.

In support of the STW Initiative, NCSES is proud to sponsor the National Training, Education, and Workforce Survey (NTEWS), which will launch late April 2022. The NTEWS serves to measure and understand the following research concepts of national interest:

Additionally, the NTEWS will expand upon other NCSES surveys targeting the college-education workforce by providing new data on the workforce who do not have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The data from the 2022 NTEWS will serve as the baseline for future cycles and will contribute to NCSES's efforts to assess and support the STW.

Find out more about the STW Initiative here.