(CLOSED) Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) Challenge – Year 5

The Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) is a partnership of colleges and universities committed to educating students who can better apply technical understanding and practice to questions of individual rights, justice, social welfare, and the public good, particularly for those members of our society least well served historically and today by existing systems and policies.

As it nurtures the pipeline of emerging technologists prepared to approach these questions, PIT-UN envisions a future where technology policy actively challenges structural inequalities in power, resources, and access by centering the needs of people and communities, particularly for those historically marginalized. In practice, this means that the traditional gatekeepers of technological advancement and public policy interrogate how they can better identify and work with communities in the development of Public Interest Technology as an ecosystem and elevate these communities as co-creators and leaders.

The goals of the network are to:

• Connect accredited nonprofit institutions of higher education in the US that seek to take the lead in establishing and defining the field of Public Interest Technology within academia;
• Spur the development of a strong pipeline of students seeking to pursue careers in Public Interest Technology, broadly defined; taking active measures to ensure that this pipeline is diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, ability, gender, and socioeconomic status; and characterized by a sense of inclusion and belonging for students and practitioners;
• Foster collaborations and connections across the network and to practitioners in the wider ecosystem.

More information regarding Penn State's participation in PIT-UN is available in this PSU News story. Faculty and students interested in learning more about the Penn State PIT Alliance and joining this community of students, scholars and practitioners in PIT should sign up here.

The PIT University Network Challenge

The Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) Challenge seeks to encourage new ideas, foster collaborations, and incentivize resource- and information-sharing among a national network of universities working to create a robust Public Interest Technology field. In 2022—PIT-UN’s fourth year—18 proposals from 48 institutions were awarded a total of $2.3 million in grant funds to further develop a research community and workforce as passionate about public interest as they are about developing breakthrough technologies.

In 2023, the Challenge will build on this foundation by focusing on two specific areas:

• Educational Offerings, especially those that foster cross-disciplinary perspectives,
• Career Pipeline/Placement efforts to develop the Public Interest Technology workforce in government, industry, and social impact organizations.

Projects may include:

• Experiential learning opportunities, such as clinics, fellowships, apprenticeships, or internships that give students real-world exposure to the practice of Public Interest Technology.
• New models of career training, placement, and/or financial support to develop the Public Interest Technology workforce.
• Partnerships with nonprofit, private sector, or affinity groups to educate current working professionals in Public Interest Technology.

The PIT-UN Challenge will prioritize projects that center the needs of communities that have historically been denied access to new technologies, systematically left out of conversations at the intersection of technology and policy, and denied opportunities to join the technology workforce. PIT-UN will prioritize these projects in an effort to further the positive social impact of technology for all communities. Projects may demonstrate centering community needs by creating a space for communities to play a role in shaping these technologies’ development. Successful applications will:

• have meaningful and equitable partnerships with one or more of the following entities:
  • other educational institutions outside of the PIT-UN network in particular Minority-Serving Institutions as well as two-year, community college institutions
  • affinity groups or organizations that support academic leadership among communities of color
  • affinity groups, or organizations that focus on non-tech disciplines including, but not limited to, ethnic studies, disabilities studies, history, humanities, and social sciences o community organizations that have a specific focus on workforce development and/or creating career pathways for populations currently underrepresented in public service or science, technology, engineering, or math fields.
• have clearly articulated major barriers to equity and access related to Public Interest Technology and identified gaps in the workforce pipeline that lead to exclusion of the majority of people of color, women, and people with disabilities in the current tech workforce
• have project objectives and methods to address the articulated barriers and gaps, ensuring that aspects of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity and equity are reflected in the design and reach of the project (i.e., students served) as well as the staffing of the proposed project team
• have a project team demonstrates the ability to serve ethnically, racially, socioeconomically diverse and underrepresented populations, perhaps supported by an actionable plan to use this funding to engage and serve those populations that is informed by best practices

PIT-UN is inviting proposals in two funding tranches. Budgets should be inclusive of an indirect rate, set at 20% of total direct costs.

1. Up to $90,000 ($0-$90,000) for direct and indirect costs
2. Up to $180,000 ($90,001-$180,000) for direct and indirect costs which shall be in collaboration with the Law, Policy and Engineering initiative

There is a limit to the number of proposals a PIT-UN Network university can submit:

• Network members can submit a total of three proposals for new projects.
  • Only one proposal can fall within Tranche 2: Up to $180,000 ($90,001-$180,000) for direct and indirect costs.
• Network members can also submit any number of proposals for additional funding to continue and/or scale a previously funded project.*
  • Any number of these can fall within Tranche 2: Up to $180,000 ($90,001-$180,000) for direct and indirect costs.
  • If you are applying for continued funding on an existing project you need not respond to this limited submission call.