Rupa Datta

A. Rupa Datta is a vice president and distinguished senior fellow in the Methodology and Quantitative Social Sciences department at NORC and is a lecturer at the Harris School of Graduate Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago.

Datta’s two major areas of expertise are in 1) understanding the role of education and other social institutions in improving the well-being of individuals and communities, and 2) improving the research methods available to advance that understanding.

She has led major efforts in human capital research for over 20 years, focusing on multi-method, multi-mode complex research designs that combine surveys, administrative and commercial data, and a wide range of disciplinary approaches and analytic methods to answer pressing questions about education, employment, and their interconnections.

Since 2007, Datta has led the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE), including its design, data collections in 2012 and 2019, and an active program of research on the supply of and demand for early care and education using the NSECE data. Datta oversees all aspects of NSECE work: supporting public use and restricted use researchers through training and technical assistance, developing methodological resources to advance the use of the NSECE data, and conducting and disseminating analyses. The NSECE is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services DHHS.