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PIT-UN
Working Groups

PIT-UN Working Groups explore key issues in building public interest technology as an academic discipline, offering recommendations, activities, tools, strategies, policy proposals, and research papers for PIT-UN members to adopt or review.

A working group is tasked for a period of 12 months and can begin in the first month of a quarter (January, April, July or October).

Individuals from any PIT-UN member institution can participate, and must commit to participation for the full 12 months.

Join a Working Group
Propose a New PIT-UN Working Group

Current Working Groups

Public Engagement via Wikipedia

Providing accurate information for students and the general public about our growing field by creating, editing and maintaining well-sourced PIT Wikipedia pages.

Chaired by Brenda Perea (PITUN).

Mid-West Regional

Building region-specific strategy, programming, and tools to bolster PIT projects, facilitate collaboration across institutions, and engage potential partners.

Chaired by Shilpa Kedar (Cleveland State University-Ohio)
and Nicholas Barendt (Case Western Reserve University).

DEI in Cybersecurity

Developing resources, recommendations and professional networks for strengthening DEI in cybersecurity research, clinics and careers.

Chaired by Kevin Harris (Stillman College)
and Ann Cleveland (University of California - Berkeley).

PIT @ NSF

Providing opportunities for members to spur the development of PIT research with National Science Foundation and other federal bodies.

Chaired by Latanya Sweeney (Harvard University
and Kenneth Fleischmann (University of Texas - Austin).
Propose a New PIT-UN Working Group

Past Working Groups

Career Pipeline & Placement

Piloted an inter-institutional Summer Program that provided students with experiential learning opportunities in public interest technology.

Faculty & Institution Building

Created funding strategy to engage the National Science Foundation, and facilitate relationships between federal & local government, and PIT projects.

The Elements of a Working Group

  • Working Groups shall determine their own meeting schedule. It is suggested that meetings take place at least monthly.
  • Working Groups shall document their meetings and processes. It is suggested that the role of note taker be rotated at every meeting.
  • Working Groups shall provide New America staff with draft outlines of any potential outputs before the output is created.
  • Working Groups are required to propose an actionable item or activity as a product of their 12-month process.
  • New America will aim to provide ongoing support for the Working Groups.
  • For reports and policies, Working Groups shall, in coordination with New America, run a two-week comment period among PIT-UN members.
  • During this comment period, the Working Group will provide its document to members for review (Sample Comment Document for PIT-UN member circulation). The Working Group will have an additional two weeks to address any suggested edits.
  • Outputs of all Working Groups must be approved by New America prior to publication and dissemination. New America will determine what, if any, PIT-UN communication resources will be deployed in support of the output.
  • A chair and co-chair must be identified and committed to leading the Working Group.
  • The chair and co-chair must complete sections I-V of the PIT-UN Working Group Formation Request form.
  • The charter shall then be provided to New America for review, comments, and edits.
  • The chair and co-chair shall address any edits and resubmit the charter to New America.
  • If appropriate, New America shall approve the new Working Group Charter.
  • After receiving approval, the Working Group chair and co-chair can, in coordination with New America staff, invite and accept additional members to join the Working Group. Potential members can be invited by the Working Group chair or co-chair, New America staff, or PIT-UN members. Faculty members of PIT-UN member institutions may also self-nominate by contacting New America staff.
  • Working Groups can begin at any time of the year and shall have a duration of one year.
  • Each Working Group must have a chair and co-chair to steer the Working Group toward agreed-upon outputs.
  • The committee chair or co-chair must be a PIT-UN member or co-members.
  • Any faculty member affiliated with a PIT-UN member institution may participate in a Working Group.
  • Although Working Groups can partner with or seek input from nonacademic entities, such as nonprofits, government organizations, or corporations, all Working Group members must be affiliated with a PIT-UN member academic institution and must commit for the entire year.
  • Working Group membership shall be capped at 20 people.