DSSG Project Partner

We encourage nonprofit and government agencies to identify a wicked problem and prepare your application. Please read the FAQs to gain an understanding on wicked problems and preparing your application.

We are looking for project partners for the 2024 FL-DSSG Program. We can support only three or four organizations who are nonprofits or government agencies. Please consider submitting your application. Descriptions of completed projects from the past years can be found under the Program menu option. Please read the FAQs and past before submitting your application.

  2024 Project Partner Application  

FL-DSSG project partner application is developed based on DSSG programs at Chicago, Atlanta, and Washington.

We will re-open the application submissions in mid-January 2025.

Important Announcement

Application Period Ended!

We are no longer accepting any project proposal applications for the summer 2024 program. If you are interested in participating in Summer 2025, contact FL-DSSG Program Directors.

Project Partner Application FAQs

The ability to affect change and do good in one’s community increasingly depends on having the right information at the right time to make the right decisions about things that are most important. Directors of community programs as well as funding agencies want evidence of impact and demonstrated efficiency in programs that serve our communities. Often, the information available to meet these needs are not well organized, not well understood, and not packaged in a way that helps those working in the community do their best.

Data Science for Social Good matches your data, your community expertise, and your experience, with data processing methods, computing power, and effective data visualization to help you make the decisions that are most critical to your organization and to our communities.

The FL-DSSG Program is a summer internship program that will match data science expertise with real-world problems. The FL-DSSG program will work with community organizations who are trying to affect change in their communities and who have data management, analysis, and data visualization projects that have the potential to shift understanding around a community issue, influence planning, revise practices, or see efforts in supporting community initiatives more focused or renewed.

  1. A wicked problem – DSSG projects attempt to address a wicked problem - a vexing, persistent social or cultural issue that is complex in nature, interconnected with other problems, and requires many people working together to affect change. Projects could address wicked problems in one of several areas, including education, the environment, government services, health care, healthy living, safety/security, smart urban development, social & economic inequality, and sustainability.
  2. A committed team – Project partners will have organizational leaders who are committed to solving these wicked, real-world problems and who are supportive of using evidence to make important decisions around social good initiatives. Project partners will provide a dedicated staff person in the organization who is willing to work weekly with data science students and mentors on the data science project.
  3. Relevant data and lots of it – An essential component of any data science project is, obviously, data. Data can take many forms. The project data must represent the complexity of the wicked problem. Data might come from the project partner organization or from other publically available sources, or both. The size and complexity of the data must provide an adequate experience for students to learn data science techniques and to have relevance for addressing the wicked problem.
  4. A landing pad – DSSG projects generate products that are useful for participating organizations, partners, and communities. These products often go beyond a single report or project summary. The FL-DSSG Directors and Mentors will work with participating project partners to ensure that the organization has the computing, data, and staff infrastructure to support the delivery of the data science project products.
  • The FL-DSSG Program Directors will contact your organization to discuss details of the project, the data availability and format, and the infrastructure needed to complete the project.
  • The FL-DSSG Program Directors will meet with your dedicated project staff member to discuss timelines and deliverables.
  • The FL-DSSG Program and your organization will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the project scope and deliverables.
  • Student teams with mentors will work on the data science project between May and July, with regular contact with your organizations designee.
  • The FL-DSSG team will present the results of the project at the DSSG Symposium in August and deliver the project to your organization.
  • The FL-DSSG Program Directors will conduct a 3-month and 6-month follow-up with your organization to discuss implementation of the project.
  • Data Science partners who are committed to doing and supporting social good in our communities.
  • Experienced mentors to support competent students in the work associated with the data science project.
  • Honesty in defining the scope and capacity of the program to meet the needs of the organization and the community.
  • Professionalism and a strong work ethic among program directors, mentors, and students.
  • Description of the wicked social problem your organization is dealing with and primary questions that will be the focus of this project.
  • Description of how the project contributes to social good and your organization's mission.
  • Description of organization's commitment to the project.
  • Description of any potential ethical and data sharing issues, from sharing data with FL-DSSG team to dissemination of results.
  • Description of the data available to use for this project. (Size, variables, completeness, availability, privacy, etc.)
  • Complete the Project Partner application at   2024 Project Partner Application   before March 8, 2024, 5 PM.
  • FL-DSSG Program Directors will select several applicants for an interview during third week of the March to first week of April.
  • The final project selection results will be communicated by April 30, 2024.