DRP is a conduit connecting researchers to sources for data.  The basic avenue for doing this is a bank or list of sources that have been investigated and isolated as potentially useful for researchers.  This page provides access to that bank.  In its current state the bank includes a variety of sources some of which are public institutional/government sources steering researches to existing data, some of which are global steering researchers to data on a number of countries or specific countries, some of which are industry/sector specific.  Some of the sources are enclaves developed and organized by other research institutes for accumulating and accessing various datasets. These may require proposals or applications for access. Some of these sources are consulting or research firms that will provide data which researchers may purchase.

For each data source in the bank, DRP provides preliminary information, including contact information, and a short synopsis or briefing report designed to help the researcher to drill down more quickly to sources that fit the needs for researching his/her specific questions on firm-level buying and selling behaviors and strategies.

DRP is a work in progress.  Having established the system and procedures, the bank will be updated constantly with new sources and new information on accessing those sources.

The interactive components of DRP will play an important role in its evolution. As researchers use the site and list of data sources, they may share their experiences with the website in general and with the specific data sources they use.  This will provide important information for improving DRP. Based on the reactions and responses of the research community that DRP serves, the organization and information will evolve to serve researchers needs more effectively.

Costs:  Some of sources are essentially free as they are institutional or government data; they still may involve costs for compilation or accessing specific data.  Some data sources will require that the researcher purchase the data from the research or consulting firm; these costs will be substantial.  In addition, the websites of some sources require “subscription fees” to access and research the source.  These may be in the range of $15 and only grant access to the information about the data source.