“Big data” is frequently cited as a potential business opportunity for companies, from banks to pharmaceutical companies to tech startups. However, big data is more than a way to make money or capture online readership. It is first and foremost information about people: their beliefs, experiences, environments, health, and behaviors— online and offline. In academic research, governments, and the non-profit sector, this type of data is studied by social scientists. What social scientists gain from big data has immense benefits for society as a whole.

However, big data is not easy to work with. It requires massive amounts of computing power to store, analyze, and share. Such resources have not yet made the leap into the social sciences. Social science researchers need access to their own vibrant, virtual computing platform to responsibly collect, process, and preserve big data.

The Virtual Institute for Social Research (VISR) provides a platform to address these challenges. This White Paper outlines how VISR accelerates how the social sciences community does science by giving researchers a venue for collaboration, access to supercomputing power, and a full suite of tools to take advantage of big data for society’s benefits.