Two Major Awards to BU in Support of CDS Labs
Bolstering Boston University’s Public Interest Technology Capacities
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS --The Boston University Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) is excited to announce that it has been awarded two grants from New America’s Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) Challenge, for the express purpose of establishing both a CDS Impact Lab on Equity and a Justice Media co-Lab, a joint initiative of CDS and the College of Communication (COM). The lab construct is a critical building block for CDS, supporting students, faculty, and external partners in tackling challenges within thematic contexts. These labs will pursue research, curricular, and co-curricular programs aiming for real-world impact, in support of the University’s strategic goals.
The grant awards will build upon the deep foundation that has been established through BU Spark!’s years of working with public interest technology projects as a strategy for providing students with vibrant academic experiences. In recognition of its unique model for successful and impactful curricular and co-curricular programs connecting computing to real-world applications, Spark!’s programs have been integrated as a differentiating feature of the new Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences.
The planned CDS Impact Lab on Equity forms the infrastructure to support research programs as well as curricular and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities as they relate to addressing issues of inequality including race, gender and sexual identity, physical and mental ability, ethnicity and immigrant status, and more. A key feature of the lab is the involvement of external experts and partners alongside faculty and students to break down barriers between academia and the public square to ensure real-world impact. As an example, the Transit Equity Project, brought to Spark! by a Representative from the Massachusetts Legislature, evaluates demographics, cost, and ridership of bus routes to assess the cost-benefit of free buses routes to support low-income riders across the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The Justice Media co-Lab, a collaboration between CDS and COM, brings together a diverse set of students with backgrounds in journalism or computing and data sciences to work on computational journalism projects in partnership with external media partners like the Boston Globe, GBH, the Intercept, and the Bay State Banner. This program aims to prepare the next generation data-driven investigative reporters in service of the public interest. An example of the types of projects we envision continuing under the umbrella of the Justice Media co-Lab is the multi-year collaboration with GBH and the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, which collected 10 years of state procurement data to understand the share of contracts going to minority owned businesses in Massachusetts leading to a groundbreaking investigative series called the Color of Public money by GBH.
This announcement comes one year after BU’s joining of PIT-UN — a consortium of 36 universities and funders who are committed to building and growing a new generation of civic-minded technologists. Thanks to PIT-UN funding, the establishment of these labs marks the first major step forward for Data Science for Good, an initiative anchored in CDS which leverages the expertise in BU’s 17 schools and colleges to accelerate the public interest technology work of faculty and students.
The Public Interest Technology University Network is a partnership of colleges and universities convened by New America, the Ford Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation. The network and challenge grants are funded through the support of the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Mastercard Impact Fund, with support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, The Raikes Foundation, Schmidt Futures and The Siegel Family Endowment. The PIT-UN is dedicated to building the nascent field of public interest technology through curriculum development, faculty research opportunities, and experiential learning programs, in order to inspire a new generation of civic-minded technologists and policy leaders. Boston University joined 24 other colleges and universities across the country who received funding to continue their pathfinding work in the creation of this new field.