Tech Impact’s Data Innovation Lab Receives $3M in ARPA Grant Funding
WILMINGTON, DE – April 18, 2022 – The Data Innovation Lab, a division of Tech Impact that accelerates the use of data insights and intelligence to address societal issues, today announces it has received a $3 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The grant will fund a new Fellowship program that aims to support Delaware state agencies in leveraging data and technology to develop pandemic relief solutions and better serve the community.
Allocated in $1 million increments per year, the funding will support cohorts of Fellows. Each cohort will complete year-long Fellowships, with a focus on service and community. The Fellows will advance the lab’s world-class research by identifying, implementing, and scaling solutions to complex challenges – from public health and safety to housing, finance, and education. Upon completion of the program, the Data Innovation Lab will aim to place Fellows in roles with Delaware-based companies.
“We are honored to receive funding for our new Fellowship program,” said Patrick Callihan, Tech Impact CEO. “Our goal is to identify exceptional fellows, welcome them to our community, leverage data to create solutions, and land job placements for the fellows to enable them to continue their work in Delaware. Together our data scientists, technologists, and storytellers will super-charge the data coming from Delaware state agencies and ultimately develop ways to better serve our community.”
“DOL is proud to partner with the Data Innovation Lab in its efforts to further innovation education across Delaware,” said Delaware Department of Labor Secretary Karryl Hubbard. “Federal ARPA dollars will help so many Delawareans seeking to improve their employment and educational prospects. We recognize the growing importance of data analysis in helping to interpret solutions to improve employment and economic outcomes for the state, employers and employees.”
An example of how the Data Innovation Lab supports Delaware agencies by leveraging data is a recent collaboration with the Delaware Health Information Network. “Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) worked closely with the Data Lab to develop interactive reports to assist care providers, researchers, and lawmakers with identifying the burden of disease in communities statewide,” said Richard Schroder, Director of Data Analytics at DHIN. “Using innovative census tract logic, the Data Lab team was an invaluable partner in both developing and promoting the reports, which support the State’s efforts to provide effective health and social care programs within underserved communities.”
The Data Innovation Lab is currently recruiting to fill Fellowship roles with data scientists with master’s degrees or PhDs, in addition to data experts and storytellers to support them including data engineers, data visualization developers, and virtual reality engineers. The first cohort will begin this June.