About
The Quebec inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) offers access to detailed data from large-scale surveys carried out by Statistics Canada. It also provides the workspace, equipment and professional as well as technical resources needed to exploit these surveys.
Mission and goals
The QICSS was established with the specific aim of promoting research within the field of social statistics in Quebec. Central to the project has been the creation of a secure environment in a university setting, where researchers can have access to microdata from Statistics Canada and Institut de la statistique du Québec large-scale population surveys, while respecting the rules of confidentiality. The QICSS' mission does not stop there, however; it also offers support, training and activities designed to disseminate research findings. By bringing under one roof researchers from different institutions and disciplines, the QICSS has become a hub of scientific activity in the field of social statistics in Quebec, Canada and in the international arena.
The QICSS has three main goals:
- Support and develop cutting-edge research in the field of social statistics
- Expand the pool of social statistics researchers and train the next generation
- Make research findings and their implications known to a wider audience
History
The Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) was created in July 2000 as part of the Canadian Initiative on Social Statistics (CISS), developed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Statistics Canada. The QICSS is the only Quebec member of the Canadian Network of Statistics Canada Research Data Centres, a key component of the CISS.
In April 2005, the QICSS signed an important partnership agreement with the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ), on the productive collaboration model developed with Statistics Canada. This agreement means that the QICSS is now in a position to offer the scientific community access to ISQ survey microdata, through the creation of an on-site Institut de la statistique du Québec Research Data Centre (CADRISQ).
The QICSS incorporates all Quebec universities. This association arose from the need for deeper insights into key social questions (family dynamics, child development, social determinants of health, income and poverty issues, integration of immigrants, young people's transition to adulthood, etc.).
The QICSS' creation has provided Quebec with an infrastructure of the highest quality, and with an excellent environment for research and training in the latest methods for quantitative analysis - the essential conditions for Quebec's scientific community to retain its leadership and keep apace with the rapid developments in social statistics.
Organization
Since June 2015, the QICSS is directed by Benoit Dostie, professor at HEC Montréal’s Department of Applied Economics.
The QICSS is run by a management committee, made up of the director of the QICSS, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Université de Montréal, Éric Montpetit, and a representative from each member institutions:
Prominent within social statistics, and from different disciplines (health, economics, demography, geography, sociology, education), these researchers belong to a variety of research networks in Quebec, Canada and internationally. The breadth and diversity of their combined expertise constitutes a source of great wealth for the QICSS.
- Alex Guindon, GIS and Data Services Librarian /Geography Librarian Concordia University
- Benoît Laplante, Professor, Centre Urbanisation Culture Société de l'INRS
- Andrei Munteanu, Professor, Département des sciences économiques, Université du Québec à Montréal
- Stéphane Moulin, Professor, Département de sociologie, Université de Montréal
- Charles Fleury, Professor, Département des relations industrielles, Université Laval
- Sébastien Breau, Professor, Department of Geography, McGill University
- Éric Yergeau, Professor, Département d'orientation professionnelle, Université de Sherbrooke
- Marc Duhamel, Professor, Département de finance et économique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, représentant du Réseau de l'Université du Québec
Organization chart
