The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a “Summer Data Challenge” competition for emerging and established scholars to analyze how federal labor policies, protections and programs reach traditionally underserved communities. The department’s Chief Evaluation Office will make up to five awards of $10,000 to $30,000 each to researchers to help the department better understand how to use publicly available data and other external data sources to analyze equity implications of department policies, protections and programs. The analyses may cover many topics, and may involve programs such as unemployment insurance, workforce training programs and enforcement protections. The competition will also encourage labor-oriented researchers to focus on questions of equity in their ongoing work. “Understanding how our programs reach underserved communities will help the department provide the best possible service,” said Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, deputy assistant secretary for research and evaluation. Learn more about the Summer Data Challenge at this link. The deadline for applications is April 19.