At the Digital Civil Society Lab, we conduct and support research to understand the transformations of civil society in the digital age. By design, the Lab is multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral. We are thus the proud home of research that leads to diverse outputs, from peer-reviewed academic articles and edited books to toolkits for civil society. Our commitment to academic rigor and excellence goes hand in hand with recognizing civil society’s potential to identify and investigate crucial research questions. As such, we see civil society as a space for theoretical and empirical co-creation. We not only do research about digital civil society but often with and for civil society.

Click below to learn more about our postdoctoral and practitioner fellows projects, our four thematic areas of current research, and our archived projects. 

PRACTITIONER FELLOW PROJECTS

Practitioner fellows are social sector leaders who work on developing ideas that benefit civil society in a digitally dependent world.

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POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW PROJECTS

Postdoctoral fellows conduct research on a wide range of priority issues related to digital technologies and social movements, activism, and philanthropy.

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GIVING IN A DATAFIED WORLD

This research cluster explores the shifting landscape of formal and informal philanthropic giving in a datafied world, from crowdfunding to donating our digitized personal data.

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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. 

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DIGITAL ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION

 This research cluster investigates how digital systems bound our opportunities for gathering and associating online and offline for community, civic, and political action.

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DECOLONIZING DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS

This research cluster explores the origins and meaning of current calls to decolonize digital ecosystems and examines their implications for research, design, regulation, and advocacy

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ARCHIVED PROJECTS

A list of past projects conducted by the Lab. 

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