Important Announcements
DSSG Project Solicitation
We are seeking nonprofits and government agencies who have informed decision-making and data analysis needs to submit project proposals for participation in the 2026 DSSG summer program. Applications are due by March 6, 2026, 5 PM
DSSG Project Proposal SubmissionsDSSG Summer Internship
Students with an interest in working in interdisciplinary teams and developing socially innovative solutions are welcome to apply for the 2026 Florida DSSG Internship. Applications are due by March 20, 2026, 5 PM.
DSSG Internship Application SubmissionsAbout DSSG Program
The Florida Data Science for Social Good (FL-DSSG) program blends data science and technology design to inform and solve important social problems in Florida. We accomplish this goal by partnering with non-profit and public sector organizations in Florida, analyzing their data, and finding impactful solutions to social issues. The FL-DSSG program provides internships for students from diverse disciplines to work on these data science projects along with our community partners. Non-profit and public-sector organizations receive data analysis and visualization reports supporting their work in the Florida communities. Florida DSSG is hosted at the University of North Florida (UNF).
The DSSG program is inspired and modeled after successful programs in Chicago and Washington.
The FL-DSSG program at UNF is spearheaded by Dr. Dan Richard, Associate Professor in Psychology, and Dr. Karthikeyan Umapathy, Associate Professor in Computing. Drs. Richard and Umapathy have over a decade of experience with data science projects and helping non-profits. Dr. Richard has been helping various non-profit/government agencies with data analysis and interpretation of the results. Dr. Umapathy has developed custom technology solutions for several non-profit/public-sector organizations to improve their program efficiencies. FL-DSSG was formed in 2017 with a seed grant from the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida to pilot the summer internship concept.
Program Mission
DSSG program promotes data-informed approaches and partners with agencies in Florida to solve social problems by:
- Doing data science projects in collaboration with agencies that serve a public good
- Creating educational programs for aspiring data scientists to work on data science projects with social impact
Tribal Motto: We are social trustees of knowledge with a unique capacity to do social good.
Seeking Sponsors
We are seeking donations to support DSSG program activities. The FL-DSSG program attracts talented students from computing, statistics, social sciences, business, and health disciplines to develop data science solutions for wicked social problems. The FL-DSSG program supports interns and public sector organizations to deliver high-impact, data-driven projects for social good.
We are seeking foundation and industry sponsors who share our vision, aim, and values. Sponsors continue to benefit from the program's reputation and social impacts made long after the summer internship ends.
Donations of $5000 and less
Foundations and Industry Sponsors
Get Involved!
Community Partners
Are you a nonprofit or a public-sector organizaton? Do you want to make data-driven decisions? Submit your data science project proposal.
DSSG Fellows
Are you a student interested in gaining real-world data scientist work experience? Submit your application for paid summer internship.
Data Science Professionals
Are you an experienced data scientist? Do you have experience with data-driven social impact projects? Submit your application to mentor DSSG interns.
Are you interested in supporting FL-DSSG in other ways, please contact program directors.