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What We Do and What We’re Learning

SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN 2013, THE NETWORK’S EFFORTS HAVE FOCUSED ON 5 TYPES OF ACTIVITIES AIMED AT INCREASING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE OPEN GOVERNANCE PARADIGM.

BRINGING DIVERSE EXPERTISE AND DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES TO BEAR
Promoting the study and practice of institutional innovation

The Network itself fosters work within and collaboration across disciplines on questions of institutional innovation. The Network also regularly organizes conferences, events, and workshops bringing together researchers and experts from across sectors and disciplines to advance our understanding of 21st century institutional innovation.

Collective Intelligence Conference

An annual interdisciplinary conference dedicated to advancing our understanding of collective intelligence and the workings of groups.

Research Network Convenings

Convenings of Research Network Members

Network of Innovators

The knowledge-exchange network for open government and open data professionals

Collaborative Problem Solving Convenings

The Network brought together computer and political scientists to develop new insights into approaches for effective collaborative problem-solving.

Academy of Management Annual Meeting

In 2015, the Academy of Management held its annual meeting with the theme of "Opening Governance."

Quantified Communities – Distributed Heat Solutions and Reinvent Phoenix

Using data and citizen engagement to improve urban design and health outcomes.

LabWorks

An ongoing collaboration between actors in the innovation labs community.

Documenting the shift to more open governance

The Network is drawing attention to the unfolding revolution in opening government by identifying, curating, and broadening the awareness of the key examples, scholarship and evidence in the field of opening governance.

Americans' Views on Open Government Survey

A survey series intended to gauge public and government familiarity with, understanding of, and interest in open government and open data.

Open Data Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

An assessment of the network of businesses using open government data as a key business asset.

Tools of Digital Democracy

Research into some of the pioneering innovations in digital democracy which are taking place across Europe and beyond today.

Increasing understanding of the variables that determine impact

Through both direct action and research the Network is gauging what works and what does not when it comes to efforts to promote open governance and public innovation.

Harvard Ether Dome Challenge

The Ether Dome Challenge is an open innovation contest seeking solutions to pain points identified by front line staff at MGH.

Learning to Not Wait

Led by Erik Johnston at ASU, Learning to Not Wait is study of the citizen science and open source hardware movement in health, focusing especially on the Open Artificial Pancreas Program

NETmundial Solutions Map

A crowdsourcing and collaboration tool geared toward improving Internet governance.

Smarter Crowdsourcing

Smarter Crowdsourcing is a method that combines rigorous problem definition with crowdsourcing to attract diverse ideas from global experts and rapidly develop those ideas into actionable proposals.

Fostering Collaboration Between Fire Departments

An effort to improve coordination and knowledge-sharing between fire departments.

Training

We look to provide both the current and next generations of public problem solvers (within and outside government) the skills, research insights, and guidance needed to increase their impact.

GovLab Academy

Training the Next Generation of Public Problem Solvers. Designed for public entrepreneurs, the GovLab Academy offers hands-on, personalized training and coaching to help cross the chasm from idea to practical reality.

City Challenges

Competitions and coaching to solve urban problems.

People-Led Innovation

Engaging people at different stages of the innovation process for more effective and participatory interventions.

PROMOTING THE UPTAKE OF FINDINGS

The Network has used its research – often research undertaken in a real-world setting with institutional partners – to accelerate the application of relevant findings in other governing contexts.

Solid

Today, in a world of cloud-hosted software, every application is a kind of trap.

Open Governance Research Exchange (OGRX)

A research platform for sharing new, curated learnings around new approaches to solving problems.

At the Roots of Collective Intelligence

A one-day conference on collective intelligence and the challenges of social cognition.

Ideas Lunch Series

An ongoing discussion series featuring experts working in fields relevant to opening governance.

ICANN: Finding Expertise

Identifying more effective means for engaging diverse expertise to improve Internet governance.