What is the CIVIC Contextual Metadata Lab?

The Contextual Metadata Lab is the applied research group leading CIVIC's development of Context-Aware Systems (CAS) frameworks and connected technologies. The Contextual Metadata Lab is led by CIVIC’s global network of multi-disciplinary practitioners, scholars, and industry experts trained in Context-Aware practices.

Together, we collaborate with selected member organizations and offer access to emergent workspaces and unpublished materials while creating opportunities for applied learning, custom project support, and exclusive benefits to our partners.

For non-member organizations, the Contextual Metadata Lab offers a range of expert-led workshops and custom experiences to fit your needs.

What is Context-Aware Systems?

Context-Aware Systems is a field of research and applied practice developed by Civic Software Foundation that considers how digital infrastructure can contain and evolve situated knowledge. Rooted in real experience and developed through dozens of case studies implementing technology projects, CAS methods center an equity-bedrock approach to more deeply understand and clarify embedded assumptions which can distort the structures, interpretations, and impacts of data.

Learn more about Context-Aware Systems Learning Modules

Who can be a member?

Contextual Metadata Lab memberships are available to governmental, academic, and nonprofit institutions that are actively seeking to build skills and capacity to develop Context-Aware technology.

• Membership is limited on an annual basis to 10 new member organizations per year.
• The Contextual Metadata Lab does not offer individual membership models at this time.

What are the benefits of membership?

✅  Access to unreleased technology and materials

• Technology may include beta tools, prototypes, schemas, methodologies, and codebases not yet available to the public.
  • Members have opportunities to test and inform the development of Context-Aware technology systems that inspire features or improve usefulness for their specific needs.
• Materials may include frameworks, case studies, blueprints, and audio & video content not available to the public.

✅  100 Free consulting office hours

• Access to our network of Context-Aware specialists across engineering, data science, design, engagement, policy, DEI, and a wide range of domain experts who can give hands-on guidance to your projects.
  • Includes applied technical and nontechnical multidisciplinary support
  • Ideal for projects or initiatives in discovery, active production phases, or managing the legacy of existing systems.
  • Each office hours consulting session provides 1-3 curated CIVIC specialists according to the strategic goals and challenges of the scenario
  • Office hours are private by default and are not shared in member workspaces unless desired by the partner group.

✅  Exclusive Training Cohorts

• CIVIC offers multi-week, action-based virtual workshops which are only available to member organizations.
  • The Contextual Metadata Lab hosts a minimum of 4 workshops per year
  • Two participants from each member institution may enroll in each live workshop series.
  • Each member institution will receive access to recorded sessions which may be shared across their organization.
• Learning content for workshops rotate throughout the year to cover various in-depth aspects of Context-Aware Systems practice
  • Workshops are practical and dynamic, designed to create deeper levels of competency with a mix of principles and applied practice
    • Topics range, some may be technical and require prerequisite experience.

✅  Priority for grant funding, publishing partnerships, Build Cycles

CIVIC prioritizes partnerships with member organizations in the Contextual Metadata Lab.

This means that we can work with our partners to:

• Jointly apply and receive grant funding for collaborative projects and research
• Partner on academic publishing efforts
• Gift services and capacity to member organizations when CIVIC’s external grants support such activities
• For special Build Cycles, select member organizations will have an opportunity to partner with CIVIC teams to develop, launch, and co-brand new public-facing technology and resources

✅  Discount member rate for services and custom workshops

• 50% discount on custom or private workshops (virtual or on site)
• Membership rate on CIVIC Collaboration Studio
  • Saves 50% on “applied scope”
  • Saves 20% on flat rate “pilots”
• 60% off Consulting Office Hours