The New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS) is excited to announce the launch of the NJSDS External Access program, which provides approved researchers the opportunity to access longitudinal administrative data from four New Jersey state agencies:
- New Jersey Department of Education,
- New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
- New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, and
- New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
Qualified researchers can request access to aggregate or de-identified individual-level records.
To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Minimum training in research methods or equivalent experience;
- Affiliated with a U.S.-based employer, educational institution, or organization;
- Obtain Institutional Review Board approval; and
- Sign the NJSDS Non-Disclosure Research Agreement.
Data access requests must align with the research areas listed in the current NJSDS research agenda. These include exploring pathways through services and systems to understand outcomes and patterns of service use; assessing outcomes of human capital investments, program participation, or service receipt; and exploring predictive analytics to offer early intervention warnings.
Applications for the NJSDS External Access program must be submitted by June 27, 2025. After this date, there will be a temporary pause in new application submissions to review feedback and enhance the program’s processes. For more information and to submit an application, please visit the NJSDS website.
NJSDS is a collaboration between four New Jersey state agencies, each sharing individual-level data. The system is owned by the State of New Jersey and operated by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
About NJSDS
The New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS), formerly the New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System (NJEEDS), is the State of New Jersey’s centralized longitudinal data system for public administrative data. Through coordination with partnering state agencies, NJSDS is a large statewide interagency and intergovernmental platform where data from participating agencies are securely stored to expand access and analysis to improve governance efforts, policymaking, and performance of public initiatives.
NJSDS aims to help the public and stakeholders make data-informed decisions to improve public policies and practices for New Jersey residents. This includes facilitating longitudinal and linked-data research, providing statistical data, and publishing reports on the NJSDS website.