Case Study: ICPSR (University of Michigan) achieves 10% more data acquisitions and centralized research-archive workflows with Copper CRM

How the ICPSR at the University of Michigan Gathers and Archives Research Data With a CRM

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan manages one of the world’s largest social science data repositories, collecting, preserving, and sharing datasets across disciplines. After an institutional reorganization, the ICPSR faced decentralized, inconsistent acquisition processes—teams tracked contacts and datasets in a mix of tools (or not at all), making collaboration, reporting, and efficient data ingestion difficult.

The general acquisitions team customized and rolled out the Copper CRM to standardize pipelines, track “opportunities” (data sets), record sources, and integrate with G Suite for easy follow-up and collaboration. Within a month the system was adopted institution-wide; the team now uses shared workflows, monthly reports, and a clear pipeline to prioritize work—resulting in a 10% increase in closed acquisitions over three months and faster, more transparent data intake.

ICPSR

Shane Redman

Data Project Manager