Enclave Evolution: 20 Years of Powering Discovery
Introduction
What started as an idea for secure data access at scale is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. This year, the NORC Data Enclave marks two decades as the first-of-its-kind data management platform that transformed research work.
Pioneering Platform, Legacy of Innovation
As data explodes in volume and value, the challenge is clear: how to access and share sensitive information securely to support evidence-based discovery. NORC saw this coming—and built the solution. This year, the NORC Data Enclave® celebrates 20 years of powering secure, collaborative research.
Designed in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NORC Data Enclave was market-defining in 2006 and continues to enable research today by offering:
- Power: A reliable, high-performance computational infrastructure
- Security: A hardened security and compliance posture that includes identity and access management
- Functionality: A host of database, statistical, analytical, productivity, visualization, and reporting tools
- Support: Dedicated help desk and customer success
“Twenty years ago, NORC redefined what secure, collaborative research could look like. The Data Enclave provides a virtual research workspace and trusted environment for sensitive data that empowers researchers and data stewards to unlock insights,” said Jeffrey Leintz, senior vice president of NORC’s Advanced Data Solutions (ADS). “With the development of the Data Enclave, a new pathway for discovery was born.”
Today, the Data Enclave serves as the cornerstone offering of NORC’s ADS team. Most recently, NORC is on track to obtain its first Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization of a Cloud Service Offering (CSO), the NORC Data Enclave Gov.
While the Enclave continues to push boundaries, it remains anchored in the “Five Safes” best-practices framework upon which it was built:
- Safe Projects: Is this use of data appropriate, lawful, ethical, and sensible?
- Safe People: Can the user be trusted to use the data in an appropriate manner?
- Safe Data: Is there a disclosure risk in the data themselves?
- Safe Settings. Does the access facility limit unauthorized use or mistakes?
- Safe Outputs: Are the statistical results non-disclosive?
The need to consider such questions has never been greater, as ever-more clients and researchers turn to the Data Enclave to help them with huge amounts of data just as public trust in data is low.
“Security comes first,” Leintz said. “That’s why, as we work closely with data owners and researchers to understand where innovation is needed, we always consider the ‘Five Safes.’”
Video: Five Data Enclave Questions Answered
From the basics to beyond, Leintz gives his quick takes on the Data Enclave, its journey, and what’s next.
The Genesis: A Revolutionary Vision of a Virtual Workspace
The Data Enclave breakthrough came from personal frustration. In 2006, then-NORC economist Julia Lane struggled with the same obstacles facing researchers nationwide—either work with heavily de-identified data that was stripped of its analytical value or travel hundreds of miles to access data sets in secure physical locations.
Creating a secure virtual research workspace was revolutionary.
“Before the Data Enclave, microdata research was limited to those with the time and money to travel to a few ultra-secure sites—such as the U.S. Census Bureau—to access restricted information,” said Ronald Jurek, NORC executive vice president of operations and chief information officer, who oversees ADS. “Our platform broke down these barriers, opening up an array of opportunities to researchers regardless of their geographic location.”
To date, the platform has served:
- More than 1,000 researchers
- More than 100 clients, including a variety of federal and state agencies
- Millions of people, who benefit from the research conducted via the Enclave
Key Data Enclave Milestones
Real-World Impact: Touching Millions of Lives
The platform’s ultimate measure of success lies in its research outcomes and policy impact.
“The Data Enclave has supported projects that inform national and state health policy, labor statistics, education research, and more,” Leintz said. “In many cases, these projects involve highly sensitive data that would have been impossible to share without a secure virtual environment.”
Financial data are particularly sensitive and subject to extensive privacy and compliance requirements, including Securities Exchange Commission rules and contractual confidentiality agreements. Thus, it’s a powerful testament to the Enclave’s value that it has longstanding clients from this sector, including the Private Capital Research Institute (PCRI).
“For more than a decade, NORC’s secure environment has hosted our databases on market activity. Because of the Data Enclave, we can assure data providers that the confidential data they share with us is secure and accessible for academic research,” said Josh Lerner, professor of investment banking at Harvard Business School and one of PCRI’s leaders. “By enabling such research, NORC has been a key partner in PCRI’s success.”
More broadly, recent research conducted in the Enclave has:
- Informed health care policy for millions of Americans through an analysis of linked insurance claims data
- Shaped workforce development programs by enabling longitudinal analysis of employment outcomes across multiple federal databases
- Advanced educational equity research through secure analysis of student-level data linked with community and economic indicators
The impact extends far beyond individual studies. In one recent example, research on linked health and economic data contributed to policy changes affecting benefit eligibility for over two million program participants.
Find out how the NORC Data Enclave can meet your organization’s evolving needs.
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The Latest: Hybrid Cloud Capabilities & FedRAMP
The Enclave’s latest hybrid cloud innovations broaden the platform’s capabilities even further—from surge computing to elasticity of storage to optimized access of external services and tools.
“By extending into the cloud, we are providing clients with the flexibility to substantially yet securely expand their data computing capabilities,” said Robert Brown, who is a NORC senior data scientist and an engineer by training.
The Data Enclave Gov’s hybrid cloud architecture will enable:
- Seamless data integration across multiple secure environments
- Scalable computing resources that adjust to project demands
- Advanced encryption protocols that maintain security across deployment models
- Real-time collaboration tools for distributed research teams
“Our hybrid cloud approach combines the control and assurance of on-prem infrastructure with the scalability of the cloud,” Leintz said. “This gives data owners confidence that their most sensitive data is protected, compliant, and mission-ready, backed by our pursuit of FedRAMP authorization.”
FedRAMP is a governmentwide program that “sets the rules for using sensitive data in the cloud,” Leintz said. It provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services.
Authorization of the Data Enclave Gov, currently in progress, will represent a critical milestone for NORC and its ADS team, positioning them to serve an expanded range of federal and state clients with even the strictest data requirements.
“By extending into the cloud, we are providing clients with the flexibility to substantially yet securely expand their data computing capabilities.”
Help Desk System That Puts Users First
Another example of the Enclave’s ongoing commitment to optimization and smart growth is the evolution of its dedicated help desk.
“Initially, the help desk was staffed by one person who processed tickets by email,” said Kim Le, the director of operations for ADS. “As soon as technological advancements allowed, we migrated to an interface that lets users click on a single button and helps staff see their tickets all in one place.”
Le and her colleagues continuously review patterns to identify ways to optimize the help desk. They have developed best practices and process frameworks that exceed industry standards, emphasizing a user-first approach with accuracy, clear communication, and follow-through as their core principles. They proactively execute system and tool upgrades so the Enclave remains secure and reliable, and users have a seamless experience.
NORC’s Advantage: 85 Years of Research & Technology
What distinguishes the NORC Data Enclave from competitors isn’t just technical capability—it’s that it can access eight decades of in-house expertise across multiple departments.
“NORC, since 1941, has been recruiting talented staff who excel at building, buying, and configuring technology to support and enable diverse lines of inquiry across multiple disciplines,” Leintz said. “The Data Enclave and ADS draw directly from this deep well whenever needed, and we do so liberally.”
Le concurs, emphasizing the breadth of such collaboration:
“These partnerships extend across all departments, at every level of our organization, including our senior leadership team,” Le added. “We work just as closely with our vendors and clients for improved quality and functionality.”
This collaborative approach proves especially valuable in complex sectors like health care policy research and labor statistics, where NORC consistently wins projects because it has both deep domain knowledge and technical expertise, an unusual and compelling combination.
“NORC, since 1941, has been recruiting talented staff who excel at building, buying, and configuring technology to support and enable diverse lines of inquiry across multiple disciplines.”
The Next 20 Years: Technology Leadership
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other developments capture client attention, the Data Enclave team pursues a value-first approach.
“We take a strategic and balanced approach, leveraging AI to deliver fit-for-purpose solutions for those clients who want it. At the same time, we’re making sure the tools we use are proven and sound for security’s sake,” Leintz said. “AI is unlocking more possibilities every day, from accelerating insights to driving customer success.”
His colleague Robert Brown looks forward to being able to tap into graphics processing units (GPU) to handle tasks like securely hosting vetted large language models in-house or running complex calculations that require tremendous computing power.
With the backing of the broader NORC organization—and twenty years of innovation and nimble problem-solving under its belt—the Data Enclave and its team are uniquely suited to power discovery today, tomorrow, and into the next two decades.
