The Data Science by Design (DSxD) initiative plans to showcase the work being created by the newly established DSxD community in an upcoming anthology entitled “The Future of Data Science,” a project named intentionally to reflect DSxD's desire to design a future in data science with more of a focus on creativity, and with more transparency, inclusiveness, and personal responsibility.
Data Science by Design (DSxD) Grants & Anthology, "The Future of Data Science"
Apply for Grants June 1–18, 2021
Award Notifications by July 1, 2021
Submit for Anthology August 1 through September 3, 2021
Grant awards for $250 – $600
DSxD invites recent Creator Conference attendees as well as the broader public to act on their ideas in the above areas. Ideally, each participant would contribute a piece to “The Future” anthology — this first project will take the form of a data science magazine — and DSxD is open to any and all creative ideas about what form contributions might take. For example, if you want to create a data sculpture, you could photograph the piece to enable its inclusion in the magazine medium. You could use a QR code to send people to an interactive or audio piece online. If there’s enough interest, DSxD may develop an accompanying audio anthology to feature orally narrated pieces, music, data sonification, or spoken word poetry. Other ideas are welcome! Here aresome examples of anthology contributions that are being considered so far:
- A cheatsheet or tutorial on how to use or apply a technical design tool;
- A preliminary analysis accompanied by a pitch for a data-driven story or narrative tailored to specific audiences;
- A teaching activity that leverages data-centric creativity in the classroom;
- Short essays on how to design for the future of data science (accessibility, transparency, ethics);
- Tactile or 3D mixed media piece (textile, 3D printing, etc.);
- Excerpt of a zine, graphic novel, or illustration;
- How to present a finding to a new audience or community who may not have understood or had access to the data previously;
- Presenting a methodological process you or someone else you know of uses (this could be from your perspective or in the form of an interview with someone else);
- Describing the process and bringing the difficult parts into view of getting into a data field;
- Sonification of a dataset or another form of audio piece;
- Introducing a new tool (package, library, software) or interface;
- Using and creating dashboards as an example of best practices;
- Remember, you don’t have an expert in the topic or medium of your proposal. This is a chance to dive deep into a topic you’ve wanted to learn, and then present it to a community that can’t wait to hear about it.
Grant funds (each grant applicant is eligible for between $250 - $600) can be applied towards anything that helps you complete your submission piece successfully and to the best of your ability. For example, you could use it to pay for:
- your own time,
- an illustrator to help you visually explain your idea,
- an editor to give feedback on your writing,
- someone to user-test your work,
- childcare while you work on your piece,
- a software tool subscription to help you create your work (ex. Adobe Suite) or books or reference materials for supplies for your piece,
- outreach activities to further showcase your work,
- Is there something else you’re thinking of? Just ask.
- Do you have an idea that might require more than the maximum individual grant allotment of $600? Reach out to DSxD to see if they can accommodate the request.
The grant application includes prompts to help you specify your idea, project scope, audience, and budget. The entire application should be no longer than 500 words.
Please visit DSxD Grants & Anthology for full details, and contact the DSxD team at datasciencebydesign@gmail.com with your questions, ideas, and suggestions.
