The Guttmacher Institute has been selected to receive a Population Center grant under the Research Infrastructure for Demographic and Behavioral Population Science program sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. With this five-year grant, NIH recognizes the contribution that Guttmacher has made, and continues to make, to population science in the United States and worldwide. The grant supports the Guttmacher Center for Population Research Innovation and Dissemination, which joins an elite network of fewer than two dozen NIH-funded Population Centers. The Guttmacher Center is one of only two Population Centers not housed at a university.

NIH Population Centers are tasked with increasing the pace and impact of research in demography and other population sciences. The grants provide research infrastructure support to population science centers to foster collaborations between population scientists and scientists in other disciplines, advance social science research, and support the development and dissemination of data sets, research methods and significant findings.

The Guttmacher Center for Population Research Innovation and Dissemination, which will be directed by Dr. Lawrence Finer, will pursue the above goals by building on the Guttmacher Institute’s long-standing expertise in producing scientific research on fertility and sexual and reproductive health, and clearly and effectively communicating that work to a broad range of key audiences.

The Center’s core functions will include:

• releasing and sharing public-use data sets for other researchers in the field;
• translating research into formats and language that are broadly accessible to wide audiences;
• building research collaborations with other Population Centers and colleague organizations;
• educating the media about population science and how to interpret demographic research;
• training of staff in advanced research methods and other skills.

"NIH population centers are the premier demographic research programs in the United States," says Nadine Peacock, chair of the Guttmacher Institute’s Board of Directors. "The board and staff of the Guttmacher Institute are honored that our expertise in the field of sexual and reproductive health and our commitment to population research have been recognized by this prestigious award."