DSSG 2014 - Workshop on Data Science for Social Good

Social Good organizations such as Non-profits and Governments have started to realize the value of data-driven decision-making. Many of them have started collecting better (and more) data. They are starting to investigate how data can be used make decisions. The challenge they now face is a lack of resources (both people and tools) to turn that initial interest into action. There is an urgent need to take this enthusiasm and interest from non-profits and government organizations and jumpstart efforts to help them along this path.
In order for data science to be used effectively for social good, three things need to happen:
1. Data Scientists need to understand the kinds of problems social good organizations face, and be interested and excited to work on them.
2. We need to develop tools/algorithms/methods that are tailored for problems facing social good organizations and social causes.
3. We need to give proof-points and case studies to social good organizations that can help them understand the role of data science and how it can help them solve some of their critical challenges.
The KDD 2014 Data Science for Social Good workshop is aimed at filling these three needs. Since KDD 2014 already has the special theme of Data Mining for Social Good, we want to use this venue to bring together researchers, practitioners, and organizations focused on social good in a smaller, more discussion-focused setting. The problems we want to focus on span a wide range of issues that face the world today such as education, healthcare, energy, transportation, climate change, public safety, disaster relief, poverty, and community development.