Project Summary/Abstract – Scientific/Technical Core The objective of the Scientific/Technical Core (STC) is to advance the main aim of the University of Michigan's Population Studies Center (PSC)—which is to design, create, and use new data to advance population science—by advancing methods used for collecting and analyzing demographic data and by providing support and guidance for computing and data access and storage. The STC will provide scientific and technical support across a range of activities to both new and established researchers in the center, thereby enhancing their productivity, increasing the impact and innovation of their work, and facilitating collaborative projects. The STC will focus on providing researchers at PSC the access to methodological resources and training necessary for advancing innovative and large-scale surveys, analyzing big data and complex survey data, linking administrative and organic data, and designing and implementing experimental and quasi-experimental studies, as well as working with restricted data. It will do so by offering seminars, workshops, and consultations, as well as by mentoring researchers and by facilitating collaborations among PSC faculty and supporting access to university-level resources. In addition, the STC will provide direct small grant support for PSC faculty to develop and implement new research methods. These methodology-related activities form the backbone of our approach to increase the scientific innovation and impact of the research conducted by PSC faculty and the success of grant proposals submitted to NIH and other funders.