🔍 What Is the Data Census?
The Illinois Data Census is a university-wide initiative to identify and understand the research data generated, used, and stored by our research community. It provides a clearer picture of our data ecosystem—what exists, where it lives, and how it’s secured.
Led by Dr. Chris Larrison, Faculty Fellow for Sensitive Data in the Office of the CIO, this project is part of our broader Research Enablement efforts to strengthen data strategy, improve services, and foster innovation.
Why It Matters
Universities are awash in data, but often lack visibility into their own research assets. Without this visibility, it’s difficult to:
- Plan for future storage and compute needs
- Improve support services for researchers
- Ensure compliance and reduce risk
- Foster innovation through data sharing and reuse
The Data Census is designed to provide this visibility in a sustainable, campus-informed way.
Key Goals
- Inventory Research Data Assets: Identify datasets generated or actively used in the past 24 months.
- Map the Data Ecology: Understand types of data, where they’re stored, and their associated security needs.
- Inform IT Strategy: Produce insights that guide service planning for the CIO, CISO, Illinois Computes, and campus IT units.
- Develop Sustainable Methods: Build an iterative, lightweight process that can be repeated every two years.
What We Mean by “Dataset”
We define a dataset as:
A structured collection of data generally associated with a unique body of work or project.
Datasets are typically stored electronically and are accessible, manipulable, and updatable through computer systems.
Progress So Far
We successfully piloted the Data Census with the School of Social Work and Veterinary Medicine, with special thanks to the VetMed IT team. This pilot phase was supported by a cross-campus collaboration including:
- Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL)
- Illinois Computes
- Office of the CIO
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
- University Library
What’s Next
We’re preparing to expand the census across more units in the coming year. If your unit is interested in participating or learning more, we’d love to talk.
📬 Contact:
Dr. Chris Larrison, Faculty Fellow – Sensitive Data, OCIO
larrison@illinois.edu
Amy Hovious, Assoc Dir Research Enablement, OCIO
ahovious@illinois.edu