Overall Component – Abstract This application seeks P2C continuation funding for the Columbia Population Research Center (CPRC), co- directed by Jennifer S. Hirsch (Public Health) and Jane Waldfogel (Social Work). CPRC’s mission is to increase the scientific impact, innovation, and productivity of population researchers at Columbia, increase their competitiveness for peer-reviewed external funding in population dynamics research, help junior population scientists achieve research independence, and maximize the efficiency of funding for population dynamics research. To achieve that mission, our specific aims are to: 1) nourish a vibrant cross-campus intellectual community of population dynamics researchers at Columbia, fostering the development of junior scientists and encouraging collaborations within and across units and disciplines; 2) advance population dynamics research in CPRC’s five primary research areas (PRAs): children, youth, and families; reproductive health and HIV/AIDS; immigration/migration; urbanism and neighborhoods; and, new with this renewal, climate and environment; 3) continue to be a leading population center focused on research on inequalities in the health and well-being of vulnerable populations and on policies to address those inequalities; and 4) implement a new partnership to share P2C resources with population dynamics researchers at the City University of New York (CUNY). The coordinated work of three research infrastructure cores—administrative, computing and methods, and development—will facilitate cross-disciplinary and cross-campus population dynamics research at Columbia, with a particular focus on advancing the professional development of junior scientists, and ensure the CUNY partnership is implemented across the center. From our 2006 start as a “developmental” center with population scientists at three Columbia University schools (Social Work, Public Health, and Arts & Sciences), CPRC has grown into a large, cohesive and vibrant university-wide center featuring 93 affiliates (including 39 junior scientists) at 10 schools. Hallmarks of the center are the diversity of our faculty at both the junior and senior scientist levels; the crucial role of the center in transforming computing infrastructure for population research at the university; the substantial leveraging of university support, with an institutional commitment of more than double the total requested NICHD direct costs; affiliates’ success rate with NICHD applications; and the extraordinary success of our seed grant program in this cycle, with a return on investment that is 18 times that of the prior cycle (84 vs 4.6). Key innovations in this application include a substantially expanded program of pre- and post-award grant support for junior scientists, to address the unevenness of grant support across the university; a new primary research area on climate and environment; and a new partnership with CUNY to increase access to P2C resources for populati...