CISS and Spark! Announce 2026 Grant Recipients
The Center for Innovation in Social Science and BU Spark! have partnered to bring together faculty and graduate student social scientists with data science students to generate cutting-edge new research. BU Spark!, led by director Ziba Cranmer, is a technology incubator and experiential learning lab for student-led computational and data driven projects at BU.
Each year, CISS and BU Spark! support social science research projects that required data science or computational support. This joint initiative was funded by a generous gift dedicated to experiential learning initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), led by Dean Stan Sclaroff. Read on to learn more about the two funded research projects in 2026-27.
Yoonsook Ha
(SSW, Social Welfare). A Web-Based Orientation Management System for Child Care Providers
Our research team is collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and is interested in developing a web/mobile application to support the management of provider orientation sessions. EEC administers the state’s Child Care Financial Assistance Program, which provides child care subsidies for low-income working families. Child care providers who wish to serve subsidy-receiving children are required to attend an orientation session to learn about the program and the requirements for participation. These orientation sessions are currently offered by seven local Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) agencies contracted with the state. Each CCR&R conducts its own orientation sessions, and providers must attend an orientation offered by their local CCR&R agency.
Due to substantial variation in how orientations are conducted across CCR&R agencies, EEC is developing a standardized orientation session (in the form of a shared PowerPoint slide deck) to be used statewide. In addition, under the new approach, providers will be able to attend an orientation hosted by any CCR&R agency, regardless of their geographic location. In light of these changes, we propose developing a web/mobile application that allows child care providers to view upcoming orientation schedules and register for a session. The system would notify CCR&R agencies of provider registrations for their sessions. The application would also allow for the collection of provider demographic information and prior experience as part of the orientation registration process.
Yvonne Ilupeju (GRS, Political Science). Democracy in the Dark: Mapping Electricity Access and Political Distribution Using Satellite Nighttime Lights
The project examines patterns of electricity access and distribution over time in Sub-Saharan Africa using satellite-derived nighttime light data combined with electoral and administrative data. By integrating geospatial measures of electrification with political and temporal indicators, the project analyzes where electricity expansion occurs, how it varies across space, and whether distribution patterns change around election periods. The project will provide harmonized spatial datasets and visualizations that capture inequalities in infrastructure provision and reveal the political and developmental dynamics shaping access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa.