Program Overview

Code for Science & Society (CS&S) is announcing a conference fund to support events that promote inclusion and broaden participation in open data science that drives scholarship. This project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant GBMF8449 to Code for Science and Society (DOI: https://doi.org/10.37807/GBMF8449).

The fund is managed by the CS&S Data Science Community Conference and Events Fund Program Manager, Dr. Emily Lescak. She came to the program with nearly 10 years of experience working in research data science focused on population genetics, evolution, and management of Alaskan fish populations. She has a strong background in mentoring and leadership experience in science advocacy initiatives. She is supported by Dr. Danielle Robinson, President and Co-Executive Director of CS&S, other CS&S staff,  the conference fund's advisory committee, and Kris Wade, Client Operations Manager at the Sans Souci Group.

Our mission is to create an inclusive model for how grants to events are made, using a transparent submission and review process that enables events addressing emergent topics and individuals from historically underserved and underrepresented populations to access support. We are taking a community-centered approach to supporting conferences in the research-driven data science space that center on tools, practices, and communities.

Our goals are to:

• Bring transparency to the ecosystem
• Put significant effort into tracking, analyzing, and communicating the impact of our awards on the community

Our objectives are to:

• Administer grants that support established conferences and meetings of new communities to broaden participation in research-driven open data science
• Take a community-centered approach to funding by assembling advisory and selection committees comprised of individuals actively engaged in data science to meet the emergent needs of the community

By having a transparent process, we aim to ensure that:

• Applicants understand how they will be assessed
• Funders and the broader community understand how decisions are made
• We increase access to funds for those working on emergent issues and individuals from historically underserved and underrepresented populations
• We collect and report data on conferences’ impact, including diversity, equity, and inclusion, to measure reach and breadth of participation in data science events

Questions can be addressed to [email protected]