THIS WORK PROMOTES THE CREATION OF A DATA SAVVY AND COMMUNITY-AWARE WORKFORCE AND SERVE TO BRIDGE THE GAP IN THE APPLICATION OF DATA SCIENCE TO PUBLIC GOOD PROBLEMS IN RURAL AMERICA THROUGH THE MARRIAGE OF DATA SCIENCE WITH AGRICULTURAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES.WE ENVISION A 10-WEEK DSPG SUMMER PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS ENGAGED OR INTERESTED IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, FOOD, HEALTH, NUTRITION, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, FORESTRY, AGRICULTURE, AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. THE STUDENTS AND FACULTY WILL FORM COMMUNITY-FOCUSED RESEARCH TEAMS AND EXECUTE A COLLECTION OF COLLABORATIVELY CONSTRUCTED DATA SCIENCE PROJECTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.WE WILL ELICIT COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH PROBLEMS, AT THE HEART OF OUR PROPOSED DATA SCIENCE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAMS, BY ENGAGING THE EXPERTISE AND COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE OF EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS IN OUR RESPECTIVE STATES. EXTENSION EDUCATORS, STAFF, AND FACULTY WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ACT AS PROJECT ADVISORS WHO COORDINATE WITH COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO IDENTIFY ISSUES OR CONCERNS, NOTE RELEVANT DATA SOURCES, AND HELP GUIDE THE WORK OF THE RESEARCH TEAMS. DURING THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM, WE WILL IMMERSE OUR STUDENTS AND FACULTY IN DATA SCIENCE, INCLUDING A SET OF WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING ON STATISTICAL COMPUTING AND VISUALIZATION TOOLS INCLUDING R, PYTHON, AND GIS; ACCESSING AND USING LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL DATA RESOURCES SUCH AS CENSUS PRODUCTS AND OPEN DATA PORTALS; AND LEARNING ABOUT POLICY, ETHICS, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP. EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE TRAINING ON DATA SCIENCE LITERACY, TO ACCESS AVAILABLE TOOLS AND RESOURCES, AND TO UNDERSTAND THE PROMISE OF DATA SCIENCE TO ADDRESS RURAL PROBLEMS.THE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH DSPG TEAMS IN EACH STATE WILL:VERTICALLY INTEGRATE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, POST-DOCS, RESEARCH FACULTY AND STAFF, EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP, ANDHORIZONTALLY INTEGRATE EXPERTISE ACROSS DIVERSE FIELDS OF STUDY RELATED TO RURAL COMMUNITIES, AND RESEARCH AREAS OF INTEREST TO USDA.THE FOCUS OF THE PROPOSED DSPG PROGRAMS IS AT THE INTERFACE OF DATA SCIENCE AND ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF RURAL COMMUNITIES. THIS INCLUDES LEVERAGING THE EXPERTISE OF OUR COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SYSTEMS COMBINED WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DIVERSE CHALLENGES THAT RURAL AND SMALLER COMMUNITIES FACE, IN ORDER TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, HEALTH, EDUCATION, SOCIAL JUSTICE, NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION, AND RELATED TOPICS. AS OBSERVED IN SUCCESSFUL PILOTS AT VIRGINIA TECH, THE RESEARCH PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN AT EACH DSPG SITE WILL LIKELY COVER A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS DETERMINED BY OUR STAKEHOLDERS, AND THE RESEARCH TEAMS WILL APPLY SIMILAR THEORY, DATA SCIENCE METHODS, AND GENERAL APPROACHES TO PROVIDING DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS TO THE ISSUES. THE PROGRAMS WILL BE TAILORED TO THE UNIQUE STRUCTURES OF COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WITHIN EACH STATE.