Our Story
Out of the complexity of the COVID pandemic, the urge for a transformation and transition to a digital society became a top priority, as did the need for decision makers, policy practitioners, and politicians to deepen their understanding of digital technologies as enablers for economic recovery, and as a tool to respond to shared social challenges.
In line with this new reality, the PIT Policy Lab was born in 2020 as C Minds’ first spin out and as a key founding partner in change. Working in the field of Public Interest Technology towards advancing agile policymaking, the PIT Policy Lab builds on top of sound foundations created through years of multiple stakeholder engagement to craft solutions to complex challenges.
What is Public Interest Technology (PIT)?
Even though there are several definitions, there is an agreement that Public Interest Technology serves the public good. According to New America, “PIT adopts best practices in human-centered design, process re-engineering, and data science to solve public problems in an inclusive, iterative manner—continuously learning, improving, and aiming to deliver better outcomes to the public”. For PIT to thrive, Ford Foundation believes the field needs the talent and dedication of people across sectors. In the book Power to the Public, the Promise of Public Interest Technology the authors believe PIT provides a new framework to solve today's most pressing challenges, and describe a set of elements that are key to the PIT field: designing people-centered policies and programs, using data to inform decision making, and delivering impact through small scalable pilots.
For us at the PIT Policy Lab, Public Interest Technologists are part of a diverse community channeling their domain expertise into public interest activities, harnessing digital technologies as tools for change.
Do you want to join our community of practice?