The Office of Data Science Research (ODSR) multidisciplinary workshop support fund provides financial and in-kind support to organizers of events on the Urbana-Champaign campus. This process supports new multi-disciplinary and/or multi-unit collaborative activities around data science-focused research.
Program Scope
We define “workshop” broadly to include meetings focused on research proposal development, exploratory meetings for new collaborations and initiatives, symposia, research training events, and other similar activities. All events should take place on the Urbana-Champaign campus, online, or in a hybrid format.
Proposed activities can be exploratory to develop new and novel collaborative activities, or can build on existing work. Proposals from researchers new to applying data science and AI approaches to their research are welcomed.
Allowable Support
Examples of allowable support requests include: catering; room rental and audio/visual fees; participant/speaker travel; meeting planning, promotion, and operations support; professional facilitation; pre-/post-event surveys; report writing; outcomes assessment. ODSR can provide funds as well as in-kind staff support in some cases. A budget is not required at the proposal stage.
Disallowed Support
This program has a research focus, so curriculum development and other activities focused on instruction are not supported by this program. Costs to license data sets or software tools are not supported. Personnel costs for non-ODSR personnel involved in the proposed event (administrative staff, student RAs, faculty summer salary, etc.) are not allowed. Individual students or student organizations are not eligible to lead an event or receive funds through this program, but student group leaders and faculty advisors should contact ODSR to discuss whether support for activities is available through other ODSR programs.
Eligibility
Lead proposers must hold appointments at the University of Illinois on the Urbana-Champaign campus, as tenure-stream or specialized faculty, or as Academic Professionals affiliated with any academic unit or research institute. Collaborators from the Chicago and Springfield campuses of the University of Illinois may be included.
Proposal and Review Process
Please complete the template linked below to initiate the review process. If you wish to discuss the suitability of your concept to the program before submitting, please send an email to data-science-research@illinois.edu with a brief description of your concept. Proposals that are in-scope for the program will be reviewed by members of the ODSR leadership team and Faculty Advisory Committee on a rolling basis with a decision provided within 30 days of submission.
Review criteria
Capacity is limited, so the ODSR leadership and Faculty Advisory Committee use a standard set of review criteria to assess whether a proposed event aligns with the ODSR mission and goals. Review criteria are provided here to proposers for transparency and to help you assess the fit of your event to this program:
- Does the event include more than one academic discipline, department, research institute, or other campus unit?
- Does the event include a focus on topics closely aligned with data science and/or AI?
- Is the proposed event focused on research activities rather than instruction/education?
- Is this a new activity rather than an additional instance of a prior event?
- Does the event have a clear focus and reasonable timeline? (Event start date must be a minimum of 60 days from proposal submission.)
- Are there clear outputs, products, or next steps when the event concludes (report, grant proposal, data set, software, etc.)?
- Is the proposal clear about how the team will assess the success of the project when it concludes, and any anticipated long-term impacts?
- Have the lead proposers been awarded ODSR event support within the past 12 months? (Preference will be given to new proposers.)
- Do the proposers demonstrate the ability to carry out their plans, based on their past work?
Please complete the proposal template and email it to: data-science-research@illinois.edu
We held an informational webinar on this program on March 19, 2026. View the slides and the recording.