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RILDS Center

The Rhode Island Longitudinal Data System integrates and links data across sectors and over time to support research aligned with the state’s priorities, inform policymaking and program evaluation, and improve the well-being of all Rhode Islanders. In short, RILDS is the state's central repository for linked, interagency, longitudinal data. 


RILDS centralizes three-plus decades of previously siloed Rhode Island state education, employment, and health data using a custom-built person-matching algorithm.


The RILDS Center is located in the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, and the Center staff are employees of the Council on Postsecondary Education.  If you would like to contact the RILDS Center, please reach out to rilds@riopc.edu. 

Our Values

Public Good

Public Good

Public Good

From our founding, we have committed to data use for public good. In practice, this commitment means all RILDS data requests must benefit the people, policies, and programs of Rhode Island. 

Innovation

Public Good

Public Good

We embrace emerging technologies, methodologies, and best practices to enhance the effectiveness, usability, and sustainability of our data system.

Privacy

Public Good

Collaboration

As an organization entrusted with sensitive data, the RILDS Center prioritizes data privacy and security. We honor the Rhode Islanders represented in the rows and columns through our ethical, lawful, secure use of their data. 

Collaboration

Collaboration

Collaboration

Collaboration is essential to the successful operation of a P-20W+ data system like RILDS. We collaborate with each other and our partners to explore, analyze, and visualize data. 

Transparency

Collaboration

Transparency

We democratize data, publishing products whenever possible, so that all Rhode Islanders can know, first and foremost, how their data are being used and secondly, the implications of the policy or program under examination.  

Our Services

Data Stewardship

Data Stewardship

Data Stewardship

We collaborate with Contributing Agencies to improve data quality. These durable partnerships, built over decades of cooperation, ensure accurate interpretation of and appropriate use of the data throughout its lifecycle. 

Reporting

Data Stewardship

Data Stewardship

We examine data to discover trends and findings that are useful to decision makers and the general public. Our services include processing large datasets, linking different sources of data together and transforming data into descriptive statistics and information products.  We support federal and state reporting.  

Research & Evaluation

Research & Evaluation

Research & Evaluation

 We partner with researchers from across the country to conduct pioneering research and to evaluate state programs. Under strict privacy and security requirements and with approval of Contributing Agencies, we can release RILDS data. 

Data Visualization

Research & Evaluation

Research & Evaluation

We produce everything from traditional long-form reports and presentation slides to cutting-edge interactive dashboards. Whether a data story, infographic, or map, these visualizations distill complex information into insights, shed light on critical policy issues, and promote evidence-based decision-making.

Our History

The RILDS Center was founded to inform, empower, and inspire innovative decision-making. It supports policymakers in state and local governments, community leaders in nonprofit organizations, and academic researchers nationwide.


Rhode Island began the development of its statewide longitudinal data system in 2009. In leveraging funding from the U.S. Department of Education Safe and Drug-Free Schools grant and State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) grant, Rhode Island committed to building an statewide integrated, longitudinal data system. State leadership identified a local Rhode Island non-profit, the Providence Plan (ProvPlan), as the ideal intermediary to centralize and analyze data for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Rhode Island another SLDS grant, and the U.S. Department of Labor awarded Rhode Island its first Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) grant, allowing further development and enhancement of the system. ProvPlan’s DataSpark team operated the Rhode Island Longitudinal Data System (RILDS), then known as the Rhode Island DataHUB, from 2009 through 2017. 


In February 2017, the University of Rhode Island formally acquired DataSpark and the RI DataHUB, with the consent of Participating Agencies. DataSpark operated as program unit within the University Libraries for six years. In June 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly approved Governor McKee’s proposal to institutionalize and invest in RILDS. 


The 2023 Rhode Island Longitudinal Data System Act formalized and expanded data governance structures, integrating this strategic resource into state government. The legislation renamed the Rhode Island DataHUB as RILDS and DataSpark as the RILDS Center, relocating both from the University of Rhode Island to the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (RIOPC). This transition placed RILDS within the existing partnership structure of the Participating Agencies and, given RIOPC's support for all three public higher education institutions, deepens collaboration between the RILDS Center and state researchers. RILDS operates as a mature, robust P20W+ system spanning early learning through workforce and beyond. 

Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner

The RILDS Center is located in the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner. 

© 2025 RILDS


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