Insights

Closing the loop on our inquiry-driven approach means we share what we’re learning. Click on the filters below to explore insights from us and our network.

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September 14, 2023/From Our Grantees, Q&A, Reflections

Funding Students in Need Past the Finish Line

We sat down with Last Mile’s founder and CEO, Ruthe Farmer, to discuss the practical challenges that college students from low-income backgrounds face, Last Mile’s “abundance approach,” and what industry and higher education can do to better support students in their last mile.

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September 8, 2023/Case Studies, From Our Grantees

Case Study: Genspace

Our latest case study highlights how Genspace, the world’s first community biology lab is building meaningful connections and
redefining who can participate in science.

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August 25, 2023/News

A New Contract for Artists in the Age of Generative AI

So far, artist concerns over Generative AI has been tackled as a copyright issue, but Siegel’s Research Advisor for Emerging Technology, Eryk Salvaggio, suggests it is an opportunity to ask bigger questions about data rights.

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August 22, 2023/Research

Meet Our New Research Team Members

From shaping our big picture questions to unpacking the latest research studies and reports to keeping a pulse on the latest field-wide conversations, our research team drives and informs our work. We’ve further expanded our research function by adding three new team members. Meet them

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August 9, 2023/From Our Grantees, Q&A

Raising the Bar on AI Reporting

AI Primers for Journalists is the latest in a series of emerging tech primers researched, written, and published by Aspen Digital. We sat down with Siegel Research Fellow and Emerging Technology Researcher at Aspen Digital, Eleanor Tursman and Aspen Institute Director of Emerging Technologies, B Cavello, to discuss their approach to the work and what they hope to see come out of it in the future. 

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July 25, 2023/Research

Introducing Creative Research at Siegel 

As an organization committed to an inquiry-based approach, research is central to any foray into art and creativity. We define “creative research” simply as research with creative outputs. Creative research challenges and resists the dominance of traditional knowledge by widening the aperture of “research” to include different perspectives, ideas, and ways of knowing.  

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July 11, 2023/Research

How User-Designed Social Media Could Create Healthier Online Communities

Social media, despite its flaws, may have heralded a golden era of participation. Yet participation hasn’t become the norm at the level of designing and developing social networks. For years, people have asked: where is the alternative? Read Eryk’s thoughts in Tech Policy Press

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July 1, 2023/News

Op-Ed: AI: It’s not magic; it’s computer science

In order to prepare students for the world they are set to enter, our education systems ought to prioritize teaching AI, rather than banning it. Thankfully, we already have much of the curriculum in place to do so. Our Executive Director Katy Knight, explains that while AI may seem like magic, it actually rests on skills that CS educators have taught for decades.

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June 26, 2023/News

Event Recap: JFF Horizons 2023

Our focus on innovative finance options and work-based learning programs stems from our commitment to creating an equitable innovation economy, one that enables all people and their communities to achieve economic prosperity. It’s with this frame that members of our team attended Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) Horizons conference last week.

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June 20, 2023/Research

Multiple Timescales as an Ingredient for Resilient Scale: Lessons from Advanced Manufacturing Case Studies

Time plays a crucial, but insufficient role in scale. Three case studies in advanced manufacturing produced by UNC Chapel Hill’s Department of City and Regional Planning and the Urban Manufacturing Alliance elucidate the role that context and circumstances play alongside time to determine the paths to scale.

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June 19, 2023/News

Op-Ed: Let’s Use This Juneteenth to Focus On Narrowing Racial Housing Gaps

Low rates of homeownership mean Black households lack a tremendous source of wealth generation that could allow them to enter competitive fields like real estate. And without enough diverse developers with proximity to the challenges facing urban and low-income neighborhoods, it’s no surprise there continues to be a lack of affordable and accessible housing within these communities.

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