Collaborative Research: The Charlotte Data Science Corps - Cross-Institutional Flexible Pathways and Immersive Community Capacity Building

About This Grant

The Charlotte Data Science Corps (Charlotte-DSC) project aims to expand regional and national data science capacity and education while bringing data science expertise to small community-serving organizations in the Greater Charlotte region. By forming student cohorts from three local institutions--UNC Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith University, and Central Piedmont Community College--this initiative will bring data science knowledge and skills to communities through hands-on collaborations with grassroots nonprofit and community-based organizations. These students will apply data-driven approaches to help local organizations make informed decisions that support economic mobility, public health, and community development. In turn, Charlotte-DSC will build a robust regional data science workforce by creating flexible and affordable pathways into the field for students from a variety of backgrounds. This project promotes the progress of science, enhances education and economic opportunity, and serves the national interest by increasing participation and capacity in data science--an increasingly vital domain for prosperity and societal wellbeing. The Charlotte Data Science Corps is a dual-focus initiative addressing community-based learning and flexible, affordable pathways to data science education. Through a partnership among two 4-year universities and a community college, the project will design and implement a Data Steward Program that places students in real-world data projects with small nonprofit organizations in the Greater Charlotte region. This hands-on, immersive model will offer students meaningful experience in applying data science to real challenges in sectors such as health and human services, while also providing partner organizations with much-needed data capacity. In parallel, the project will develop and enhance stackable and flexible academic pathways across the three institutions to support entry, transition, and completion of data science programs. Over the award period, Charlotte-DSC plans to support 54 undergraduate students with stipends and mentoring, while conducting outreach to approximately 150 high school and college students per year. The project will contribute to local and regional economic growth by empowering both students and community organizations with modern data skills and tools. This project is supported by the Data Science Corps program, which supports data science education and training to build a strong national data science infrastructure and workforce. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.