About Us

The Data Science Federation is a partnership between the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles area colleges and universities to tackle tough city problems. The Data Science Federation brings together students, professors, and City departments to innovate together and make a difference using data science and data-driven decision making for City government. 

These challenges address social, economic, and policy issues that could be better informed through data and come from departments, the City Council, the Mayor’s office, and citizens. Each challenge comprises a City champion, one or more involved departments, data, and a commitment to applying outcomes. Students and professors work with the City in a variety of ways, including paid internships, as part of a class setting, volunteerships, and internships for course credit.

Each project involves a local university partner, domain experts from the City, and staff from the City's Information Technology Agency. Each project is designed to produce either a predictive model or analysis for data-driven decision making within the City. Some of the challenges involve using machine learning and other techniques to produce key datasets that would allow the City to improve service delivery.