Digital Civil Society Lab

Digital Infrastructure for The Public Interest

This research cluster expands awareness of software, hardware, protocols, and governance mechanisms that serve public interests and promote democratic principles.

How do we design and build digital infrastructures that specifically serve and protect public interests? Such systems should include software, hardware, protocols, and governance mechanisms that align with democratic principles and community practices. Models and ideas of such infrastructures exist at various development stages and come from many parts of the world. These efforts are fundamental to the existence and future of civil society and democracies. This research cluster expands awareness of, and encourages participation in creating, the alternative digital infrastructures that we need.

Reclaiming Digital Infrastructure for the Public Interest

A three-part event series exploring how to design and build digital infrastructures that specifically serve and protect public interests. (2020)

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Mapping the Policy Infrastructure of Digital Civil Society

This research project investigates how digital public policy implicates civil society in democracies and how to strengthen, expand and diversify the practical connections between civil society support organizations and digital policy experts. (2018-2020)

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Open Source Projects as Critical Digital Infrastructure

This research project explores the legal definition of critical digital infrastructure as it relates to open source projects, and investigates the values, methods, and funding relationships of groups that build these projects. (2018-2020)

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Digital Technology and Democratic Theory

The goal of this three-part workshop and publication series is to examine the meaning and implications of the growing role of digital technology in democratic institutions. (2017-2018)

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