Working Groups
The Data, AI, and Computing (DAC) Initiative was launched in September 2025. The initiative’s core aim is to advance purposeful data, AI, and computing — excelling in foundational research while catalyzing interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world translation to address pressing societal challenges.
Call for Working Group Proposals
The DAC initiative invites proposals for faculty-led Working Groups that will explore emerging research areas in data, AI, and computing. These groups are intended to bring together interdisciplinary teams of faculty and resources to identify promising directions for future research, recruitment, team science, and translational impact in DAC. The deadline to apply is December 1, 2025, at 5 PM ET.
Download the call for working groups
Through the insights and recommendations generated, DAC aims to:
- Identify areas where Notre Dame can differentiate itself and lead through distinctive strengths and values.
- Create opportunities for building interdisciplinary bridges across colleges, schools, centers, and institutes to amplify collective impact.
- Position Notre Dame to attract external partnerships, funding, and top talent aligned with the Initiative.
Each working group will ideally focus on a specific thematic area (which may be methodological, domain-driven, or societal impact in focus) with the goal of assessing opportunities for institutional leadership and growth. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following key research areas:
- Foundational AI & Next-Generation Computing
- Data-Driven Computational Social Science & Digital Humanities
- Interface of DAC with other Strategic Initiatives
- Health Data & AI
- AI-Enabled Science and Engineering
- RISE (Responsible, Inclusive, Safe and Ethical) AI
Eligibility
- Primary applicants must be full-time Notre Dame faculty.
- Each Working Group may have 1–2 faculty leads. Each applicant may serve as a lead on only one working group proposal.
- Leads of funded Working Groups will nominate 3-6 additional faculty or staff as members of the group. (Only leadership will be considered during proposal review.) Proposed working group members are not required to be affiliates.
- DAC may also appoint a Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society or Scientific Artificial Intelligence Initiative or Center for Research Computing faculty/staff/graduate fellow to participate in each funded Working Group.
Key Dates
Proposals are due December 1st, 2025, at 5 PM ET and should be submitted through this form. Funded working groups will be announced on December 18, 2025.
The award period is anticipated to begin on January 12, 2026. Final reports and recommendations are due on April 15, 2026.
Funding
Selected working groups will receive up to $10K in funding to support their activities. Funds may be used for meeting expenses such as working lunches, workshops, inviting external guest speakers, or other costs associated with convening the group and developing the final report. Budgets may include honoraria of up to $1K of discretionary fund for each working group lead. Please note: all spending must align with the University’s latest guidelines.
Deliverable
At the conclusion of the project, each group will be expected to produce a succinct final report summarizing its findings and providing recommendations for future faculty recruitment, partnerships, and strategic investment to strengthen ND’s leadership in DAC. Working group leads will be invited to present their findings to the DAC Executive Committee.
Proposal Requirements
Cover Sheet (1 page)
- Title of working group.
- Working group leads (1-2), including name(s) and department / affiliation.
- Proposed team members (3-6), including name(s) and department / affiliation.
Working Group Description (2 pages max, single-spaced, 11 pt font)
- Motivation and rationale: One paragraph about why this emerging topic is important to explore and how it aligns with the DAC initiative.
- Detailed description of proposed activities and outcomes: Allowable activities include but are not limited to: monthly working group meetings (lunches), broader internal meetings for additional ND attendees, and inviting external speakers.
- Timeline and milestones: Schedule of planned activities, including the formation of the Working Group and the timeline for writing up the group’s findings and recommendations.
- Dissemination and advertising: A plan to share the group’s activities with the wider DAC community (e.g. publicly announcing meetings, speakers, etc.; establishing a University-based listserv and inviting Lucy and SAI fellows to subscribe).
- Success metrics: Define what success looks like and how it will be measured.
- Budget and budget justification (1 page): The total budget request must be no more than $10K. Budgets may include honoraria of up to $1K of discretionary funding for each working group lead. Please note: all spending must align with the University’s latest guidelines.
Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Topic alignment with DAC mission.
- Expertise and topic alignment of the proposed working group leads and proposed members.
- Feasibility, clarity, and practicality of proposed activities, timeline, and budget.
- Expected impact to Notre Dame's leadership in DAC.
Acceptance Conditions
- Leads of funded Working Groups must be affiliated with the DAC initiative, helping foster an interdisciplinary community of scholars.
- Awardees agree to submit a final report at the conclusion of the award period outlining their findings and recommendations by April 15, 2026.
Questions?
Please direct any questions to DAC Research Associate Alexander Thomas (athoma43@nd.edu).