Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR): Data Science Corps (DSC)

In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of “Big Ideas,” 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering (see https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/index.jsp ). The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. As such, when responding to this solicitation, even though proposals must be submitted to the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), once received, the proposals will be managed by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors

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NSF’s Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) Big Idea is a visionary, national-scale activity to enable new modes of data-driven discovery, allowing fundamentally new questions to be asked and answered in science and engineering frontiers, generating new knowledge and understanding, and accelerating discovery and innovation. The HDR vision is realized via a coordinated set of program solicitations resulting in an ecosystem of interrelated activities enabling (i) research in the foundations of data science; frameworks, algorithms, and systems for data science; and data-driven research in science and engineering; (ii) advanced cyberinfrastructure; and (iii) education and workforce development—all of which are designed to amplify the intrinsically multidisciplinary nature of the data science challenge. The HDR Big Idea will establish theoretical, technical, and ethical data science frameworks, and apply them to practical problems in science and engineering, and in society more generally.

The Data Science Corps is one of the components of the HDR ecosystem, focusing on building capacity for harnessing the data revolution at the local, state, national, and international levels to help unleash the power of data in the service of science and society. The Data Science Corps will provide practical experiences, teach new skills, and offer teaching opportunities, in a variety of settings, to data scientists and data science students. It will also strive to promote data literacy and provide basic training in data science to the existing workforce across communities.

As a first step in establishing the Data Science Corps, this solicitation focuses specifically on enabling participation by undergraduate students in the Data Science Corps, by supporting student stipends for participation in data science projects and supporting integration of real-world data science projects into classroom instruction.

Application Instructions

Please submit:

1. a 4-page-limited letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach that should provide a brief description of each of the as per the NSF solicitation:
   1. Integration into curriculum in data science, or in related areas. Details of current programs/courses in data science, or in related area(s); and how the Data Science Corpsprojects/experiences will be integrated into the current curriculum, and into which courses/course sequences at each of the participating organizations.
   2. Participant/student preparation. Data Science Corps projects may be incorporated in the curriculum, as part of course-based undergraduate research experiences, in more than one course in a data science or related program—from introductory to advanced (e.g., capstone) courses. Since students in different courses will likely be at different levels of skill and maturity in data science, proposals must describe how they plan to prepare students for projects in order to facilitate mutually-beneficial experiences. The student preparation should include cultural and ethical considerations, as appropriate, in order to help students understand the community(ies) of interest associated with a project. 
   3. Projects/Communities. Details of how Data Science Corps projects will be sourced, vetted, and developed; which data science communities will be served; how these communities will be integrated into the project design and implementation phases; and how students will be matched to the projects, based on project needs and student skill levels.
   4. Communication within and among Data Science Corps awards. Details of award-level communication among collaborating organizations, as well as plans for communication with other funded Data Science Corps awards.
2. Biosketch or CV of the PI
3. A letter of support from the Dean or Chair. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair have ensured that the nominee and application are likely to be of sufficient quality to be competitive nationally

to research@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Thursday December 6, 2018. Required preliminary proposals are due to the sponsor 2/4/19, so you will need to have your materials in to OSP by 1/25/19.