Departments and Centers

Seven Academic Research Centers exemplify NORC’s commitment to the highest standards of academic excellence and research innovation. The relationships among NORC’s Academic Research Centers and the University of Chicago are mutually beneficial in many ways, applying renowned scholarship to practical social science problems. NORC’s core capabilities support faculty research, and its environmentally friendly offices provide university staff with an open, collaborative working environment. More

The Center for Excellence in Survey Research (CESR) assists NORC in remaining a leader in methodological innovations in survey research. The Center conducts statistical and methodological research on sample and survey design and estimation methods. More

The Economics, Labor, and Population Studies department houses many of NORC’s large-scale flagship surveys in addition to smaller-scale targeted studies that investigate such subject areas as labor force participation (which populations are unemployed or underemployed, which populations are seeking work and which ones have stopped looking), the finances of American households (family income and debt, net worth and retirement savings), housing needs, business innovation, and trends in general social indicators.
 More

As the nation debates the need for changes in health care delivery and financing, policy makers look for valid and reliable data and thoughtful analysis to inform their decisions. NORC’s expertise and ongoing research in health care delivery and financing — including health information technology, payment and delivery-system reform, benefit design, and quality measurement — advances stakeholders’ understanding of policies and programs, facilitates implementation projects, and contributes to important improvements in cost and quality. More

Global development and financial assistance programs demand a broad range of research and analysis to ensure that they respond to the needs of the most vulnerable populations and that scarce resource are allocated in the most effective manner possible.  Towards this end, NORC’s International Projects (INPRO) department provides core expertise in rigorous impact evaluations, process and other implementation evaluations, analytic research, and surveys and other data collection methodologies. More

Public health decision makers need high-quality data and analyses to help them address ongoing and emerging challenges: health care reform, public health infrastructure, health disparities, and chronic disease, among others. NORC’s Public Health Research department offers a range of research capabilities to meet that need, including quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Our team includes prominent health policy experts, nationally recognized public health researchers, and leaders in the field of survey design and implementation. More

In today’s world, the issues related to security, energy, and the environment—from assessing the impact of cyber-attacks on the nation’s energy infrastructure, to creating strategies for developing resilient and sustainable communities—are increasingly inter-related. Developing a comprehensive understanding and identifying new strategies and policies requires a dynamic, multidisciplinary team approach. The Security, Energy, and Environment (SEE) department offers risk assessment and behavior analysis and provides clients with sound policy analysis to foster the behavioral change necessary to see programs succeed. More

The Statistics and Methodology department pioneers innovations in all aspects of survey research. NORC statisticians and methodologists help understand the cognitive processes underlying respondents’ reactions to surveys; design and implement rigorous, efficient methods for sampling from populations and weighting resultant survey data; and employ advanced techniques for analyzing and interpreting survey and secondary data.  More

​SAMHCJ is a leading research and policy resource that applies sophisticated science and practical insights into national priorities such as health care reform, changing health care financing incentives, promoting healthy workplaces and communities, preventing intimate partner violence and trauma, and reducing jail and prison recidivism.   The department conducts scientifically sound studies and provides technical expertise to government leaders, businesses, and public health care purchasers; health plans; physicians, and other health care providers so that they can make informed choices concerning some of the most important mental health, substance use, and justice policy and practice issues of today. More

Until recently, news organizations in the United States were significant innovators in the field of social science research. The television networks and many newspapers and magazines all had in-house research units that conducted original, high quality social and political research for their readers and viewers, while making important contributions to social science methods. More