“High-quality data collection is essential to producing the social facts that inform personal and policy decision-making.”

Awarded the 18th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences, the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research has made decisive contributions to the development of empirical social science based on reliable, representative data sustained over time. Kathleen Cagney, Director of ISR, explains how longitudinal surveys, public opinion studies, experiments, administrative data and new methodologies make it possible to analyze the evolution of contemporary societies with greater precision and to inform personal, institutional and public policy decisions.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences has been granted in its 18th edition to the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and NORC at the University of Chicago for their contributions to the objective and continuous measurement of public opinion and social life.