The Collaboration Studio is Civic Software Foundation’s public-facing production center, which accepts client requests to partner with institutions and organizations seeking to take action by building sustainable technology infrastructure and creating impact with data in the public interest using modern contextual methods.
Whether you have an existing project or are just in the brainstorming phase, our approach supports partners at every stage to provide strategic guidance, experimental pilots, or full-scale project implementation of Context-Aware technology.
Context-Aware Systems is a field of research and applied practice developed by Civic Software Foundation that considers how digital architectures can contain and evolve situated knowledge. Rooted in real experience and developed through dozens of applied case studies, Context-Aware Systems centers an equity-bedrock approach to more deeply understand and clarify embedded assumptions which can distort the structures, interpretations, and societal effects of data.
Learn more about Context-Aware Systems Learning Modules
Different from venture-backed software models or consultancies, CIVIC Collaboration Studio conceptualizes technology development similar to creative filmmaking. We start by creating a call to action around what we want to achieve or transform, and ‘cast’ a unique team with skills and domain expertise tailored to the needs and capacity for the project goals. CIVIC’s philosophy treats technology as an artifact of collaboration, and as an organization, we think deeply about labor models, attribution, and invest heavily in continuous training of our multidisciplinary talent network.
After implementation, the team dissolves back into the talent network or is restructured for a maintenance, distribution, or growth plan. This allows us to have access to top-tier professionals who may not be possible to hire on a full-time basis and want to apply their skills toward interesting projects and challenges. Not only does this approach to production keep our work fresh and innovative, but it reduces cost overhead and protects against profit distortion that can limit the quality of a technology outcome. By focusing on modular developer components rather than platform economies, we can produce highly custom and contextualized work without sacrificing scale.
Creating public resonance and culture change is fundamental to our work, and designing for this influences every aspect of the product development lifecycle. To learn more about what we value and CIVIC’s commitment to public interest technology, see CIVIC Brand Promise
The first step of working with CIVIC’s Collaboration Studio is to submit an inquiry form. We accept project and training requests from government, academic, nonprofit, and private sector organizations.
If you are an independent artist or contributor, please refer to Intersectional Futures Network or ‣
Keep in mind, CIVIC receives more requests than we have capacity to fulfill and it’s important that our projects are aligned with our mission. See CIVIC Brand Promise for more information.
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➡️ If you are a member, client, or sponsor and require access to the workspace, please email [email protected] with your project title and role.