The University of Chicago

The University of Chicago has a wide range of scholarly and educational activities advancing the field of PIT. One example is the interdisciplinary master of science degree in Computational Analytics and Public Policy. Another example, funded in part by a PIT-UN grant, is the Civic Data and Technology Clinic, which connects faculty and students with public interest organizations to help them leverage data science, research, and technology to address social challenges; while at the same time providing practical training for the next generation of civic technologists.

Katherine Baicker, Provost of the University of Chicago

Career Pipeline and Placement

South Side Civic: A Community Approach to Public Interest Technology

The Community Data Fellows program will build sustained, year-long partnerships between Chicago-based community organizations and a diverse group of graduate students studying the application of data and technology to public policy. Building off UChicago’s annual Scope-a-thon event and Community Programs Accelerator initiative, this project will deepen and expand UChicago’s commitment to the Chicago community and promote a diverse pipeline of students to PIT careers. Beginning in January 2023, students will be selected as Community Data Fellows to partner with organizations that serve marginalized communities in Chicago. Students will thereby gain critical experience in the social impact work these organizations do to serve disadvantaged populations, while organizations will build their internal data and technology capacity through continued partnerships with the students. Quarterly workshops will also be arranged through this project, and these will focus on further building organizations’ data and technology capacities and fostering community among organizations, as well as on soliciting feedback from organizations on how the PIT work they are doing with students is impacting the communities they serve. The University will additionally hire a new Community Data Fellows Program Manager, who will be specifically charged with overseeing student-organization partnerships and with ensuring sufficient opportunity for community feedback.

Principal Investigator

David Uminsky, Executive Director, Data Science Institute

Career Pipeline and Placement; Faculty and Institution Building

The Civic Data and Technology Clinic

The Civic Data and Technology Clinic at the University of Chicago partners with public interest organizations to leverage data science research and technology to address pressing social challenges. The Clinic also provides students with exposure to real-world projects and problems that transcend the conventional classroom experience.

Principal Investigator

Nick Feamster, Neubauer Professor, Department of Computer Science; Director of Research, Data Science Institute; and Lab Director, Network Operations and Internet Security Lab

Educational Offerings

An Integrative Course in Public Interest Technology

We will develop a course and book prospectus to help establish the intellectual foundations and core competencies required for governing while awash in data.

Principal Investigators

Christopher Berry, William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor, academic director of the Center for Municipal Finance, and faculty director of the Master of Science Program in Computational Analysis and Public Policy and Nicole P. Marwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Service Administration, faculty affiliate of the Department of Sociology, and a faculty fellow at the Center for Spatial Data Science