Research Sprints
The BKC Research Sprint program is an educational initiative that gathers experts and emerging scholars to address current social, ethical, and policy concerns in digital technology.
BKC's Research Sprints employ an explicitly participatory model for approaching issues on the frontiers of rapidly changing fields, from education innovation to democratic reform. The Sprints’ model is educational and responsive: each Sprint picks a niche and moves fast, developing an in-depth, issues-focused dialogue among leading and emerging scholars. For example, a policy-focused Sprint might connect academia experts with public-sector partners to create viable approaches to policy change that include the voices of those whom the policy will affect.
For the eight to ten weeks of the sprint, student participants are put in active dialogue with senior academics, and practitioners. They then co-create outputs such as research reports, policy briefs, practitioner guidelines for participatory stakeholder engagement processes, technology oversight recommendations, Wikipedia entries, web dashboard mockups, and explainer infographics.
Since 2020 the Research Sprint program has embodied BKC’s investment in reimagining the "how" of research. The program propels an innovative format that includes as many and as varied voices as possible in one focused mission at a time. Sprints are often held in collaboration with partnered organizations and allow participants to generate real-world practical solutions constrained by the organization’s resources, timelines, and interests. Each Sprint delivers unique and actionable outputs fitted both to the stakeholders involved with the Sprint and to generalizable practices adaptable in the broader field.
List of Research Sprints
- Spring 2024: Exploring Urban Sustainability with Open City Data
- Fall 2022: Digital Identity in Times of Crisis
- Spring 2022: Takedowns and Transparency Research Sprint: Global Norms, Regulation and the Nature of Online Information
- Fall 2021: Alternative Data Futures: Cooperative Principles, Data Trusts, and the Digital Economy
- Summer 2021: AI Policy Research Clinic with the City of Helsinki
- Spring 2021: Digital Self Determination Research Sprint
- Fall 2020: Digital Ethics in Times of Crisis: COVID-19 & Access to Education and Learning Spaces
![[Video] Digital Self-Determination Research Sprint Showcase](/sites/default/files/styles/image_thumbnail/public/2021-06/DAH-BKC-Research-Sprint-2.jpg.webp?itok=8rnnuIL4)
![[Video] Re-Imaginations: COVID-19 and Access to Education and Learning Spaces](/sites/default/files/styles/image_thumbnail/public/2021-02/pexels-snapwire-412842.jpg.webp?itok=4r4q-TkE)
