COMMERCE DATA SERVICE

Who We Are & What We Do About Commerce Data Academy Contact Information

Who? What?

Natassja Linzau Lead, Data Education Initiatives Front End Engineer Commerce Data Service U.S. Department of Commerce Data Academy questions: DataAcademy@doc.gov

Mission A startup within the Department of Commerce that helps its 12 Bureaus create, develop & validate data products and services to advance the Department's mission.

What We Offer Data Science Data Product & Service Development Data Education

How We Work Collaborative, agile and lean; employing user-centered design, driven by outcomes, and open by default

Commerce Data Academy We train Commerce employees in ux/ui design, data science, and software engineering skills.

Commerce Data Academy Pilot Project Compiled needs analysis. Made introductory courses available to all DOC staff. Conducted training for select staff via intensive Data Bootcamp. Granted select staff opportunity for forward deployment via In-Residence Program. As a part of its mission, the newly-minted Commerce Data Service employed Lean Startup methodology to create a pilot program in January 2016, called the Commerce Data Academy, that would facilitate DOC staff to acquire data skills for the growing information economy. The pilot was conducted in four phases: 1. Analysis An inventory of the skills of Academy participants was compiled. 2. Preparation Four introductory courses were offered for individuals with no prior background in data. 3. Training via an extensive and intensive Data Bootcamp Participants spent two to four weeks in extensive and intensive classes learning skills in either ‘Data Analysis & Discovery’ or ‘Data Viz for Policy’. 4. Forward Deployment via Data Service Training is extended through project-based work alongside expert technologists within the Commerce Data Service.

Commerce Data Academy Short Courses In-Residence Program Registration priority is given to sponsoring bureaus Short Courses In-Residence Program Training for Leadership Commerce Data Academy as it is now (continuing to build it out and iteratively develop) Short Courses: Seats available for up to 30 people in-person and 250 people online via WebEx. Topics: Software Engineering, UX/UI Design, and Data Science In-Residence Program: Ability for bureau employees to take a data intensive bootcamp course and do a non-reimbursable, three-month detail working on a bureau project immediately after intensive Training for Leadership:  Our first two-course series is titled “Data Science for Leaders” and is focused on providing individuals with the background they need to lead technical data teams and manage data science products and services. We plan to offer other courses in this series, going forward.  

Continuous Learning https://dataacademy.commerce.gov/previous- courses.html http://lynda.com http://pluralsight.com http://codeacademy.com http://udacity.com https://www.edx.org/ https://www.mooc-list.com/ Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Short Course Program Statistics As of October 21, 2016: 4,737 DOC total registrants and 1,882 total attendees. 1,943 DOC unique registrants and 1,081 unique attendees. 17 courses offered since January 2016. Short Courses: FY 2016 Excel at Excel Intro to Agile Development Intro to HTML & CSS Intro to Storytelling with Data Data Science Basics Introduction to Git and Github Intro to Python Introduction to Design & Photoshop Intro to R Intro to Data Analysis with R Data Storytelling with R Data Wrangling with Pandas Intro to Machine Learning Intro to HTML and CSS Intro to Javascript FY 2017 Using APIs (Intro to REST) Intro to Design & Photoshop How To Work With and Build APIs Upcoming 2017 Excel with Excel Intro to Data Analysis Intro to Object Oriented Programming

Short Courses Testimonials “These courses are great for beginners; can't wait to take more.” --Intro to JavaScript student “I hadn't worked with CSS before - that was very helpful. Also, using the codepen.io website was fantastic! What a great tool to get instant feedback on your coding!” --Intro to HTML/CSS student Short Courses: FY 2016 Excel at Excel Intro to Agile Development Intro to HTML & CSS Intro to Storytelling with Data Data Science Basics Introduction to Git and Github Intro to Python Introduction to Design & Photoshop Intro to R Intro to Data Analysis with R Data Storytelling with R Data Wrangling with Pandas Intro to Machine Learning Intro to HTML and CSS Intro to Javascript FY 2017 Using APIs (Intro to REST) Intro to Design & Photoshop How To Work With and Build APIs Upcoming 2017 Excel with Excel Intro to Data Analysis Intro to Object Oriented Programming

In-Residence Program Interested employees apply for admittance 4-week immersive code bootcamp 3-month residency with CDS working on solving problem for bureau Work in cohorts to learn from each other First cohort of 13 for In-Residence program finished work in September 2016 Short Courses: Seats available for up to 30 people in-person and 250 people online via WebEx. Topics: Software Engineering, UX/UI Design, and Data Science In-Residence Program: Ability for bureau employees to take a data intensive bootcamp course and do a non-reimbursable, three-month detail working on a bureau project immediately after intensive Training for Leadership:  Our first two-course series is titled “Data Science for Leaders” and is focused on providing individuals with the background they need to lead technical data teams and manage data science products and services. We plan to offer other courses in this series, going forward.  

In-Residence Program Testimonial “The beginning of the detail cohort involved a STEEP learning curve. I rapidly absorbed knowledge from a vast array of programming languages and tools, including Python, R, JavaScript, and jQuery. Everyday it seemed like I was studying a new software tool or resource that may better suit my project’s needs. As I saw my technological skills blossom throughout this detail, I could not have been happier with this priceless experience.” --Steven Finkelstein, U.S. Census Bureau

Training for Leadership Pilot course: Data Science for Leaders launched 10/18/16 31 unique registrants, 22 unique attendees Political and career leadership Two-part series, 4 instruction hours per course DATA SCIENCE FOR LEADERS COURSE I: Data Science Use Cases and Building Teams 10/18/16 Data Science Use Cases and Frameworks 10/25/16: Data Science Tools and Technologies 11/1/16: Data Science Challenges - Getting It Right 11/10/16: Building and Managing a Data Science Team COURSE II: Data Product Management and Implementation 11/22/16 Planning and Scoping a Data Product 11/29/16: The Architecture of a Data Product 12/6/16: Executing and Implementing a Data Product 12/13/16: Data Products as Living Systems - Maintenance and Evolution Training for Leadership:  Our first two-course series is titled “Data Science for Leaders” and is focused on providing individuals with the background they need to lead technical data teams and manage data science products and services. We plan to offer other courses in this series, going forward.  

Commerce Data Academy http://DataAcademy.commerce.gov

Tech Program of the Year 2016 Congratulations, Commerce Data Academy! http://DataAcademy.commerce.gov

Natassja Linzau Lead, Data Education Initiatives DataAcademy@DOC.GOV Thank you Natassja Linzau Lead, Data Education Initiatives DataAcademy@DOC.GOV