Starting a Project in the SDC - for Project Owners
Starting a Project in the SDC - for Project Owners
Managing and sharing transportation research data, securely, is now easier than ever. The USDOT Secure Data Commons (SDC) is an access-controlled, cloud-based data environment that enables users to conduct analyses and develop new tools around emerging sources of transportation data. The SDC stores transportation data made available by participating data providers and grants access to approved researchers to work with these datasets.
Put the SDC to Work for You
Cost of using the SDC
Click on the cost estimator button to create an estimate for your project's use of the SDC. The SDC tracks project-related usage of the system and has a model to charge projects for their use of common resources. In addition, projects can select levels of support from the SDC team to achieve their business outcomes.
Is the SDC right for my project?
This depends on the needs and requirements of the project. See the table below for the questions that help determine SDC suitability.
| Questions | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Does the project generate data that needs to be access-controlled? | The SDC is a good option for managing access to datasets | Project-level data management may be sufficient |
| Is there value in making the project data and tools available to other researchers in the transportation community? | The SDC is a good option for the project since it includes the ability to share data, code, and tools with researchers | Project-level data management may be sufficient |
| Does the project generate or need to manage extremely sensitive data? | The SDC is not a good option since it is not set up for managing extremely sensitive data | If the project manages only moderately sensitive data, the SDC is a good option. If data is not sensitive, the SDC is not required. Public data hubs may be a better option (like the ITS Data Hub) |