About

ABOUT

Our mission is to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse.

WHAT WE DO

We have assembled world-class researchers, labs, thought leaders, and practitioners to translate research about misinformation and disinformation into policy, technology design, curriculum development, and public engagement. We want to shorten the cycle between research and implementation. We do this through our strong network of urban and rural libraries, national network of educators, and institutional partners. Our nonpartisan Center brings together diverse voices from across industry, government, nonprofits, other institutions, as well as those from communities and populations typically underrepresented in research and practice in this field.

This interdisciplinary effort at the University of Washington is led by the Information School, Human Centered Design & Engineering and the School of Law, with collaboration from numerous other university and community partners.

To learn more, view a video from our launch event in December 2019:

RESEARCH

We support cutting-edge research and are committed to expediting the translation from research design to implementation. Our research is conducted by faculty, research scientists, graduate students, post-docs and research fellows. Our Innovation Fund seeds promising new ideas and generates proofs-of-concept. Our three core research thrusts each address a key aspect of how information is transformed into knowledge and action within a society:

How do misinformation and disinformation flow through modern systems?
How does information translate into values, beliefs, and actions?
How can researchers, educators, librarians, and policymakers intervene in these misinformation and disinformation processes in a non-partisan way, in order to foster a more informed society?

EDUCATION

We educate a new generation of thought leaders dedicated to the CIP’s mission. Students are trained at the intersection of information systems, human behavior, communication, and policy. We do this through coursework, capstone projects, internships, and directed research seminars. We aim to be leaders in shaping the emergence of a new field that addresses this large-scale societal challenge. It will be the students who will lead the way.

LAW & POLICY

We address policy issues around misinformation by generating analyses of the current legal frameworks governing domestic and international information flows, as well as the available levers for intervention.

ENGAGEMENT

We engage with external partners and collaborators to co-create and apply new approaches emanating from the research. Through a Community Fellows program, we collaborate with technologists, journalists, high school teachers, civil society representatives and others. We have partnered with “Community Labs” around the country through public libraries and other community institutions. The Community Labs function as extensions of our lab space for experimentation, co-creating research-based interventions, and developing promising approaches that can be scaled.

Founders

The Center for an Informed Public officially launched in December 2019 and was co-founded as an interdisciplinary collaboration by these University of Washington schools and departments:

FUNDERS

In July 2019, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation made a $50 million investment to develop a new field of research around technology’s impact on democracy, including $5 million for the University of Washington to launch what would become the Center for an Informed Public. The center’s other launch funders include:

Since launch, the Center for an Infomed Public has regularly pursued funding opportunities to help fund its research, projects and collaborations. Other funders have included:

CIP OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

Anind Dey, Dean (chair), Information School
Mireille Butler, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, School of Law
Steve Majeski, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure, College of Arts & Sciences
Jihui Yang, Vice Dean, College of Engineering
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Campus Partners

The Center for an Informed Public regularly pursues research, event and other collaborations with partners across the University of Washington, including these schools, departments, labs and research centers.

EXTERNAL Partners

The Center for an Informed Public is a member of the Public Technology Leadership Collaborative, a peer learning collective of scholars, researchers, and government leaders committed to addressing the social and cultural implications of data and technology.

The CIP regularly pursues research, event and other collaborations with non-profit, educational and community partners across Washington state and beyond, including:

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.