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IT Service Status
IT Service Status

Collaborative Project Support

Data Science and AI Project Support
Statistics Project Support
Visualization Project Support

Data Science, Statistics, and Visualization (DSSV) staff collaborate directly with Northwestern researchers on active research projects to incorporate data science, AI, statistics, and visualization methods, tools, and approaches.

DSSV supports both preliminary exploratory research and the creation of research and scholarly outputs:

  • Exploratory Projects assist researchers in determining the feasibility of an idea and developing a project plan. They are typically limited to a quarter in length and aim to produce a project plan for a Research Product Project. Exploratory Projects are appropriate for developing grant proposals for funding for larger projects.
  • Research or Scholarly Product Projects produce specific research or scholarly outputs, such as publications, data sets, data models, analyses, software, applications, or visualizations. These projects are typically 2-12 months long.

Visit our project portfolio for examples of past projects.

Eligibility

The service is available to all Northwestern faculty. Postdocs, research staff, and graduate students with faculty sponsorship can apply for support, but faculty-led projects receive priority.  Please review our Partnership Guidelines to ensure our support is a good fit for your team.

Researchers affiliated with the Feinberg School of Medicine and those working on NIH-funded research should first engage with, and may be referred to, the Biostatistics Collaboration Center, Quantitative Data Sciences Core, or other Core facilities as appropriate. Researchers affiliated with the Kellogg School of Management can seek support from Kellogg Research Support. These partners have specialized skills and resources to support research in their areas.

How to Apply

Submit an application with your project details, and we will follow up to schedule a meeting to learn more about your project.  Proposals are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Applying well ahead of any project deadlines increases our ability to allocate staff time to your project and fit your project into our schedule.

Information requested on the application includes:

  • Faculty member sponsoring the project
  • Other research team members who will be participating, if any
  • Type of project (Exploratory vs. Research Product)
  • For Research Product projects, what products is the project aiming to produce?
  • A one-page overview of the research question, proposed approach, and need for DSSV staff's participation.
  • A description of the data including whether the data has already been collected and any security considerations or access restrictions.
  • The availability of financial resources to support the project, if any. Existing financial resources are not required to apply for support.
  • Any time restrictions the project may need to meet.
  • Agreement to DSSV Partnership Guidelines.

Please email nuit_rcds@northwestern.edu if you have questions or would like to talk to someone about your project before applying.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications for project support are evaluated using several criteria.

  • Outcomes: What measurable research outcomes will the project produce?
  • DSSV Impact: Will research be significantly advanced through DSSV involvement in the project?
  • Data: Is the data available currently, or is data collection the project's primary outcome? If you plan to collect data in the future, please consider waiting to apply until you have the data available.
  • Skill fit: Do available DSSV staff have the skills necessary for the project to be successful?
  • Scope: Is the proposed project achievable with the resources and time available?
  • Faculty engagement: Is a faculty member actively engaged in the research project?

Cost

All researchers are encouraged to apply for DSSV support regardless of funding availability.

Costs for a project may include DSSV staff time, computing resources, or other tools necessary for the project. Discussion of the financial details is part of the project planning phase for accepted projects. Projects with existing funding are expected to cover at least some of the costs. For projects without funding, we can explore options for applying for funding when needed. Researchers are expected to bear the costs for any infrastructure, such as cloud computing services or data storage, needed beyond the end of the project.

Funding from Northwestern IT and the Office of the Provost enables the DSSV Collaborative Project Support Service.

Additional Details

What happens when the project ends?

DSSV staff will document their work and deliver any code, data, and other project resources to your research team. You will be responsible for ongoing maintenance and compute or data resource costs. As part of the project turnover, we will discuss plans for any minimal follow-up work needed beyond the end of the project, such as manuscript production or review.

I have restricted data. Can you still help?

Yes. We will need to review your data use agreement or other specific restrictions to determine how we can collaborate. You may need to amend any data use agreement or IRB protocols to include DSSV staff supporting your project. Our team is trained in data security practices and can access secure storage and compute resources.

Will you do the work on my project for me?

DSSV staff will write code as needed to conduct analysis, create visualizations, explore data, and perform other agreed-upon data science, statistics, visualization, or software development work that is part of the project. However, projects are collaborative, and active participation from the project lead and other research team members is expected and essential for success. We will develop the specific expectations for each project together at the start. Please see our Partnership Guidelines.

How can I acknowledge work by DSSV team members?

Please see our Authorship and Acknowledgment Guidelines. We also appreciate any testimonials you may be willing to share about the impact of DSSV services on your research. Authorship, acknowledgments, and testimonials help us communicate the value of DSSV services for the Northwestern research community.

Can you help with larger projects that require dedicated support?

Possibly. When funding is available to cover salary and benefits, we may be able to dedicate DSSV staff time to a project for a sustained period. We are always happy to discuss possibilities for writing support for DSSV staff into grant proposals. Please get in touch via nuit_rcds@northwestern.edu to discuss possible arrangements.

I have another question. Who should I ask?

Please email nuit_rcds@northwestern.edu to get in touch with DSSV leadership.

 

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