History

60 Years and Counting

ICPSR was founded in 1962 by political scientist Warren E. Miller to share scientific data. Before this, scientific data from all disciplines were closely held by their developers and creators. Since then, ICPSR has expanded the impact of social and behavioral research, acting as a global leader in data stewardship and providing rich data resources and responsive educational opportunities for the research data community.

Discover Our Past

Growth Over the Years

Revenue, Members, Staff, and Archives Timeline
Year
Revenue
Member Institutions
Staff
Archive Established

1962-63

$64,300

25

N/A

Survey Data Archive

1966-67

N/A

N/A

N/A

Historical Archive

1967-68

$606,403

127

64

N/A

1968-69

N/A

N/A

N/A

International Relations Archive

1972-73

$900,300

148

46

N/A

1976-77

N/A

N/A

N/A

National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA)

1977-78

$1,398,676

224

62

N/A

1978-79

N/A

N/A

N/A

National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD)

1982-83

$2,044,061

270

62

N/A

1987-88

$2,561,497

325

55

N/A

1992-93

$4,319,217

378

80

N/A

1995-96

N/A

N/A

N/A

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA)

1997-98

$5,758,023

369

91

N/A

1998-99

N/A

N/A

N/A

Health and Medical Care Archive (HMCA)

2002-03

$9,883,979

373

112

N/A

2003-04

N/A

N/A

N/A

Child Care and Early Education Research Connections (CCEERC)

2004-05

N/A

N/A

N/A

Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR)

2005-06

N/A

N/A

N/A

Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN)

2006 – 07

N/A

N/A

N/A

Resource Center for Minority Data (RCMD)

2007-08

$16,265,086

657

106

  • International Data Resource Center (IDRC)
  • Terrorism Preparedness Data Resource Center (TPDRC)

2008-09

N/A

N/A

N/A

Integrated Fertility Survey Series (IFSS)

2009-10

$19,148,425

700

118

  • National Addiction & HIV/AIDS Digital Archive Program (NAHDAP)
  • NCAA Student-Athlete Experiences Data Archive
  • China Multi-Generational Panel Dataset – Liaoning
  • Teaching With Data

2010-11

N/A

N/A

N/A

The Center for Population Research in LGBT Health’s Population Research in Sexual Minority Health (PRISM) Data Archive

2012-13

$18,826,424

740

115

  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Multiple Chronic Conditions (AHRQ MCC) Research Network
  • Education Research Data Sharing Initiative (AERA-ICPSR partnership)
  • Measures of Effective Teaching Longitudinal Database (MET LDB)

2013-14

$18,214,116

750

108

  • Seek, Test, Treat, & Retain (STTR) Data Harmonization Initiative
  • HIV Open Data Project

2014-15

$17,165,381

759

110

Archive of Data on Disability to Enable Policy and research (ADDEP)

2015-16

$18,220,374

765

108

National Archive of Data on Arts & Culture (NADAC)

2016-17

$18,837,261

759

106

  • Civic Learning, Engagement, & Action Data Sharing (CivicLEADS)
  • Open Data Flint

2017-18

$18,423,431

778

106

DataLumos

2018-19

$17,300,000

785

96

US Census Data Repository

2019-20

$16,400,000

791

123

Child and Family Data Archive

2020-21

N/A

N/A

146

Data Archive for Interdisciplinary Research on Learning (DAIRL)

2021-22

N/A

N/A

146

COVID-19 Data Repository

Size of ICPSR’s Holdings

Numbers of Studies, Datasets, and Files
Types
On-demand total*
On-demand members*
On-demand public*
Restricted total**
Restricted members**
Restricted public**

Studies

8,880

5,396

3,484

2,568

312

2,256

Datasets

72,548

32,122

40,426

14,585

1,069

13,516

Files

236,926

94,427

142,499

143,386

10,755

132,631

ASCII data files

41,706

23,925

17,781

11,479

823

10,656

SAS setup and transport files

43,267

16,387

26,880

27,225

2,080

25,145

SPSS setup, portable, and system files

34,627

13,830

20,797

21,129

1,596

19,533

Stata setup, system, and dictionary files

51,065

17,974

33,091

35,328

2,588

32,740

Documentation files (public, by definition)

24,559

N/A

24,559

29,619

N/A

29,619

*On-Demand: every file in each of these studies is downloadable
**Restricted: each study has at least one file that is not downloadable