Harvard Data Science Review, July 2024
Cross-institutional, data-driven collaborations are a growing trend, inspired by the idea that research can simultaneously have societal impact while also advancing science. This approach has become especially popular in place- or region-based efforts, sometimes referred to as ‘urban informatics,’ ‘smart & connected communities,’ ‘publicly engaged research,’ or, as we do here, ‘civic research.’ As such work proliferates, best practices have emerged for designing and sustaining collaborations to ensure success, including the quippy tenet, ‘partnerships over projects.’ This emphasizes how collaborators need to establish trusting relationships and shared vision for the value and use of data and science. And while partnership is necessary for projects to succeed, established partnerships are more likely to generate multiple meaningful, interconnected, impactful projects.
We can take the guidance of partnerships over projects a step further, however. Whereas a partnership might generate multiple projects, a civic research community might spawn dozens of partnerships and thus hundreds of projects. A civic research community spans the diverse array of researchers; policymakers; practitioners; and nonprofit, corporate, and grassroots leaders all committed to the use of data and science to address a broad set of opportunities and challenges. In place-based work, this entails the many issues facing a region, from housing to transportation and beyond.
