DLI operates within Statistics Canada’s Open Licence governing the use of most data products and other materials published by Statistics Canada and is designed to promote wide use of data. Statistics Canada also enters into licensing agreements with other organizations that provide exclusive access to their data.
The DLI offers access to:
- All current and historical public-use microdata files (PUMF) from Statistics Canada;
- An enhanced line of Census products;
- Aggregated data on subjects such as justice and education;
- All standard geographic files and databases;
- Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M);
- Postal CodeOM data products;
- Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) Research Analytic Files from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
As Statistics Canada's dissemination model becomes more open, the DLI will continue to play an important role in its promotion of data and statistical literacy, to provide feedback to Statistics Canada on the relevancy of its data to Canadian society and in its educational outreach to the DLI and wider communities.
Benefits of membership
The Data Liberation Initiative Partnership
The Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) is a partnership between postsecondary institutions and Statistics Canada. The goal is to improve researcher access to data resources and improve data literacy, especially with respect to Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs). The program is a critical training ground for postsecondary students who are the researchers of tomorrow, often becoming postgraduate researchers in Research Data Centres.
Communication & Engagement
DLI members
- participate with a network of experts from across Canada on a bilingual listserv
- receive data and technical support from StatCan
- promote and facilitate the availability of StatCan data for educational and academic research purposes
- communicate with StatCan on the data, metadata and educational needs and requirements of their institutions
- dialogue with StatCan subject-matter and Census Program experts on data gaps and the needs of members
- access website information about membership, data and training.
DLI members sit on two key committees:
- External Advisory Committee – Advises Statistics Canada on appropriate initiatives and ways to implement them to meet the objectives of the DLI and to identify the needs and requirements of DLI members.
- Professional Development Committee – Plans, develops and delivers both regional and national training sessions.
Data access
- PUMFs are available through Electronic File Transfer on day of release staged into SAS, SPSS and Stata.
- PUMFs metadata from Codebooks, data dictionaries, user guides are available coded to DDI standard to use in RDS analysis platform.
- Variable and survey level search engine is available.
- Datasets in addition to all PUMFs include postal code files ($10,000 value), SPSD/M files and Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) from CIHI are available specifically for DLI members.
- Over 50 aggregate data tables ($15,000 value) are available.
- One free Real Time Remote Access (RTRA) account ($10,000 value).
- Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) are being added to the PUMFs as they are released.
Training
Professional Development Committee
- provides virtual national training, and in-person national or regional training as needed
- maintains Borealis, The Canadian Dataverse Repository containing web presentations for members to access.
Statistics Canada
- provides a participation fee for one participant per member institution to attend in-person national training
- presents online Webinars for new members and contacts
- subject matter presents at training sessions
- offers a limited number of free custom tabulations for students
- offers simultaneous interpretation for national virtual training.