Berkeley Population Center

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SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – OVERALL The Berkeley Population Center (BPC), now in its 13th year of operations, requests a five-year renewal (previously an R24) to continue its unique contributions in population research. BPC is a hub connecting population researchers in different disciplines from across this large campus. Taking advantage of both the faculty expertise as well as institutional initiatives, the five Primary Research Areas to be supported in the renewal period include the existing and well-established thematic areas of Formal Demography, Population Health, and Reproductive Health and HIV. New to BPC is a focus on Data Science and Demography, and Family Policy. Collectively these methodological and substantive areas contribute basic knowledge to the determinants of health status and outcomes, and their interdependence with the core demographic processes of fertility, migration and mortality. BPC is a resource center for the development of new research ideas and initiatives, doing so with its (a) support for weekly `brown bag' luncheon seminars and frequent mini- conferences that allow for exposure to a multiplicity to innovative ideas within a congenial networking environment; (b) dissemination of information about opportunities in population research such as external funding, calls for papers, workshops and training; and (c) substantial support for grant development. Through the pilot grant program, researchers have the ability to try out and develop research ideas, and to provide graduate students participatory opportunities. Our affiliates are from Demography, Public Health, Economics, Sociology, Public Policy, Social Welfare and other disciplines. In particular, early stage investigators are welcomed to BPC and given mentored support and financial assistance to advance their intellectual development and research activity. The affiliates are faculty yet the beneficiaries of the Center include postdoctoral fellows, population researchers, and students – both graduate and undergraduate – such that the BPC contributes directly and indirectly to the training of a new and diverse cohorts of researchers. BPC also benefits from significant institutional support from the College of Letters and Science and the Office of the Vice- Chancellor of Research ($59,000 annually) matching its commitment to BPC despite a budget crisis, as well as support from the computing and data center (D-Lab), the Department of Demography, the School of Public Health, and the new Berkeley Institute for Data Science. Substantial administrative support is provided by the university. In the past 5 years we have proven success in our productivity as evidenced by our growing grant portfolio (PDB-funded grants increased from $0.6 million in FY2012 to $2.36 million in FY2017) and the caliber of our 50 faculty affiliates. BPC is poised to continue its contribution to innovative and interdisciplinary population research that will transform how we address population challenges in the 21st century.