Research Projects
Since 2010, the Engagement Lab has established itself as a leader in the space of civic media, with faculty, staff, and students employing participatory methods to co-create media and technology with those most impacted by the problems the interventions are designed to address.
We have worked locally and in over a dozen countries, forging partnerships with local institutional and community stakeholders to build media interventions that enable greater, more equitable, participation in public life.
Fairmount Stories
2023
A website designed share the history of advocacy along the Fairmount Line and goals for the future
Meetr
2020 - Present
A tool for engagement journalism, fosters trust by involving communities in reporting.
Mapping Impactful Media Literacy Practices
2020 - Present
A project exploring how impact and equity are understood and applied in media literacy practice and research.
The Deep Listening Project
2021 - Present
The Deep Listening Project is a multidisciplinary effort to create a sustainable communication infrastructure for collaborative climate adaptation.
Act to Adapt
2017
A curriculum consisting of games and playful activities that create real world action around climate change.
Boda Boda
A game designed to reinforce the Red Cross’s training in motorcycle maintenance and first aid to boda boda drivers in Uganda.
OurCluj
2019 - 2022
OurCluj redefines urban innovation by prioritizing well-being and values of care and trust.
Solving for Trust: Innovations in Smart Urban Governance
2021
A report that examines how city governments gain and retain the trust of their constituents in a time where distrust in institutions has risen.
Getting Connected
2021
Getting Connected empowers Boston's older adults with user-friendly guides for video conferencing software, addressing social isolation.
Beta Blocks
2018 - 2021
Beta Blocks promotes community involvement in Boston's smart city development through fun and safe exploration of new urban technology.
People’s Collaborative Governance Network (PCGN)
2019 - 2021
PCGN sought to narrow disparities in housing, wealth, education, and health in Boston by practicing collaborative governance.
Just Engagement
2021
A guide that defines desired community engagement practices to promote equity and inclusion in decision-making related to development in Boston.
Make FOIA Work
2018 - 2019
Using Freedom of Information Act Requests to Engage Students and Communities in Local Investigative Reporting
Make the Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon
2018 - 2019
A project that catalyzes equity-centered innovation in postpartum healthcare.
Making a Civic Smart City
2018 - 2019
A workshop aimed to disrupt the common practice of implementing smart technologies without public input
Port(land) of Opportunity
2018 - 2019
An educational game empowering immigrants and refugees in Portland, ME to navigate city services and acquire skills for successful integration.
Civic Data Ambassadors
2018 - 2019
A project addressing the challenge of librarians lacking an understanding of civic data and its practical applications.
Handwashing with Ananse
2018 - 2019
A game-based curriculum for 7- to 11-year-olds in Ghana that teaches the importance of handwashing.
Civic IDEA
2018 - 2019
A media literacy intervention to help build the capacity of youth to be more engaged citizens through the creation and distribution of media
CoVR: Collaborative Virtual Reality for Reentry
2018 - 2019
A VR reentry program to ease anxiety and better prepare female inmates for life after incarceration.
Emerging Citizens
2016 - 2018
How can media literacy enable a more civic-minded participatory culture?
Hygiene with Chhota Bheem
2017 - 2018
A play-based curriculum designed to raise awareness of and encourage best practices for health and hygiene among young children.
@Stake
2015 - 2018
A game designed to address conflicts in civic and political issues by encouraging players to consider various perspectives, invent creative solutions, and make collective decisions
AR_Stories
2017 - 2018
AR Stories Hack Day empowered Boston's youth to enhance augmented reality games with local history.
Room at the Top
2016 - 2017
A massively multiplayer card game designed for in-person engagement that challenges assumptions and biases about creative collaboration.
Public Engagement Roadmap
2015 - 2016
A 18-month accelerator program focused on civic methods to incorporate public participation into government processes in a way that’s meaningful and impactful.
Unlocking Health
2015 - 2016
An exploration and strategy game for teaching the principles of Results Based Financing.
Civic Media Project
2015 - 2016
A collection of case studies divided into four sections: Play + Creativity, Systems + Design, Learning + Engagement, and Community + Action.
Risk Horizon
2015 - 2016
A game allowing participants to learn risk management through experiential gameplay.
Sub-project of Community PlanIt: Work Flow
2014 - 2015
A game developed in response to youth unemployment challenges in Bhutan.
UpRiver
2013 - 2014
A game developed to address the issue of predictable floods.
Civic Seed
2012 - 2013
An online multiplayer RPG, developed to prepare students for community service.
Community PlanIt
2011 - 2012
Community PlanIt aims to transform traditional engagement by fostering diversity, learning, and trust while curbing one-issue activism and incivility.
Participatory Chinatown
2010
A multiplayer game where players embark on missions that later are shared with decision-makers and help the development of Chinatown.