Start a Project

Call for Projects

The Data Science Federation has an ongoing call for projects where we identify projects that we can match with a University partner and help rapidly prototype and deploy within the City.

Simply fill out our Project Scoping Document and submit it in the form below and we’ll be in touch. Feel free to leave sections blank (like University Partner).


What makes a good project?

With references to prior work, a key part of what makes a good project is you! That is, city employees who are engaged with a desire to learn more about data science and predictive analytics.

Often we’ll be looking for a single program and or intervention to look at, but plenty of times we’re building dashboards, helping clean data or organizing information systems. No project is too small or big to start with.  

Feel free to take a look at our projects list to get a sense of what we do and what we’ve done.


What tools to do we use?

We use mostly open source tools, including, Python, R, Postgres, Leaflet and more. We also utilize Github for code sharing and project management. We have also used proprietary tools such as Tableau and SAS when licensing is available. We have deployed on the AWS cloud but are able to use any deployment solution that works for your Systems Group.


How do we share data?

We negotiate data sharing agreements with our university partners, often with amendments or work orders for particularly sensitive. Ideally, we use the Open Data Portal if possible to share data but understand that some data is unable to be shared on the portal.

After establishing a scoping document to get everybody on the same page about project goals and outcomes, we’ll match the project with a University partner.

 From there, we setup a Github repository for the City and University side teams to collaborate and share  work. We’ll use that to create issues and milestones.

 Frequently, we’ll setup check ins at 3 points

Afterwards, we team often oversees deployment and the open-sourcing of code and materials to contribute back to the community. 


Still Stuck?

No idea of if your project qualifies or is ready? We're happy to have a scoping/intro meeting with you and your team. Email itadata@lacity.org to setup a meeting.