As NORC’s innovation hub, NORC Labs supports staff as they incubate ideas that enhance our capabilities and offerings. Our initiatives align with the organization’s mission to produce quality research and insights and are designed to make NORC smarter, better, and faster at responding to emerging client needs.

NORC Labs leverages our biggest asset – NORC’s people – by fostering collaboration and providing space to develop new products and services. NORC Labs also supports innovation through various programs, including innovation teams, salons, and internal hackathons.

Each year, NORC Labs supports internal investments in:

Emerging technologies and methodologies: NORC constantly evaluates new technologies and methodologies to ensure we’re producing the most relevant research for our clients. Currently, we’re exploring machine learning and artificial intelligence, including how to mitigate and address bias with machine learning and artificial intelligence. We’re also testing new ways to use Natural Language Processing to enhance research, record linkage, and small area estimation.

Powerful data assets and analysis: NORC has extensive experience collecting, managing, and analyzing data, and these capabilities continue to grow each year. For example, NORC maintains access to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services claims data and has the experience and knowledge to analyze these data to answer a wide range of policy questions. NORC also has extensive knowledge in analyzing social media data to understand how social media influences people’s behaviors.

Leading the way in survey research: NORC continuously strives to gather the most accurate and representative data through our web, mobile, telephone, mail, and in-person surveys. For example, AP VoteCast evolves as the political landscape changes and exit polling has become more difficult. At the same time, NORC has developed techniques to complement survey data with alternate data sources like administrative records enabling more robust research.

Data Quality: NORC is committed to providing our clients with the highest quality data and analysis. Multiple NORC Labs workstreams focus on deploying new technology to maintain and enhance data quality.

Launching new services lines and products: To meet clients’ needs and address pressing policy issues, NORC has launched several new products and services in recent years. For example, NORC continues to expand on AmeriSpeak, NORC’s large-scale standing panel of U.S. households, offering focused panels including Foresight 50+, a partnership with AARP, that offers deep insight into the views and behaviors of Americans 50 and older. And our Center on Public Safety & Justice is developing a national crime database of the 100 largest American cities. NORC Labs is also supporting the innovative research coming out of NORC’s Center for Panel Survey Sciences.

Integrating equity and inclusion into all NORC’s research: Guided by the Center on Equity Research, we are ensuring all voices are included in NORC research by implementing new methodologies and frameworks to ensure that NORC collects data that represents diverse populations.