What is the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI)?

The Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) an excellent example of a cost effective method for improving data resources for Canadian post secondary institutions. Prior to the start of the DLI program, Canadian universities and colleges had to purchase Statistics Canada data, file by file. With the advent of the DLI, participating post secondary institutions pay an annual subscription fee that allows their faculty and students unlimited access to numerous Statistics Canada public use microdata files, databases and geographic files. Academic researchers now have affordable and equitable access to the most current statistics and other data, which gives them powerful tools to use in their analysis of Canadian society.

Background

When the cost of Statistics Canada data increased in the 1980's, researchers, students and instructors at Canadian post secondary institutions made increased use of American, British and even Chinese data. This cheaper foreign data did not always reflect the Canadian situation, and there were often gaps in the data. Furthermore, many academic institutions had not provided the technical support scholars needed to handle complex data files.

To help buffer the increased costs of the 1986 Census, an ad hoc buying consortium was organized in 1989 by the Canadian Association of Public Data Users (CAPDU) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL). The experience demonstrated the possibility of a successful consortial arrangement between Statistics Canada and Canadian academic institutions.

In 1993, a working group sponsored by the Social Sciences Federation of Canada (SSFC) came up with a plan that was acceptable to both Statistics Canada and the academic community. Statistics Canada and the Depository Services Program played key roles in this process. In February 1996 the DLI received approval from Treasury Board for a five year pilot project and was included as part of the federal government's Science and Technology Strategy in March of that year. The project proved to be an overwhelming success and in April 2001 the DLI was made into a permanent program situated in the Library and Information Centre at Statistics Canada.

Benefits

The DLI represents a major application of Canada's information highway technology. It allows universities and colleges, for the first time, to offer a full range of data services to students and faculty alike. There is also growing evidence that the Initiative is making important contributions to Canadian teaching and research. Courses are being reconfigured to encourage students to use the data and grants have been won for proposals directly related to the availability of data through the DLI.

Researchers, who formerly had to depend mainly on public opinion polls as a source of Canadian data, can now supplement them with Statistics Canada public use microdata.

The DLI has been at the forefront of the creation of a data culture in Canada. Data librarians and the beginnings of data centres have sprung up all over the place. These data librarians have trained one another and are working together to provide a service to the community. They're also working with professors to get students involved with social statistics.

For further information on the Data Liberation Initiative, e-mail: dli-idd@statcan.ca.