The Data Challenge Cooperative - is an outgrowth of the data analysis workshops and the Data Driven Modeling and Analysis team developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory from 2001 to 2008. The essential nature of this creative collective is

• Cooperative - Participation in a grass roots project is based on cooperative principles.

• Generous - Prolific innovation flows from a generous atmosphere rich in ideas.

• Problem-driven - An integrated approach to innovation that can never be achieved by a discipline-driven perspective.

• Multidisciplinary - Real problems are born multidisciplinary, so broad capabilities yield the most natural solutions.

• Expertise Deep - Depth should not be sacrificed for breadth because depth is necessary for achieving robust, versatile innovation.

To see the guiding vision imagine a prolific garden of ideas, alive with innovation, or a lab crammed with active experiments, the air teeming with insights. For every handful of ideas followed to completion, there are dozens more waiting to be started. There is such an exuberance of new ideas that they diffuse out, creating a rich environment which the generous atmosphere spreads even further, creating cascades of new ideas and innovations. And there is time and space for deep thought, abundant energy for intense work, a distinct atmosphere of generosity, and an air of adventure -- of pure fun.