The partnership between Spark! and the Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS) began in 2023 to apply data science and computational skills to social science research, according to the CISS website. CISS and Spark! partnership was made possible by funding from the College of Arts and Sciences dedicated to experiential learning, initiated by Dean Stan Sclaroff, according to the CISS website. The interdisciplinary nature of the partnership aligns with Spark!’s goals, “to be the bridge between the computing and data sciences and the rest of the university,” Ziba Cranmer, the director of Spark! said.