CS&S was founded in 2016 with a mission to advance the power of data to improve lives. We built technology, offered fiscal sponsorship to mission-aligned projects, and ran community events.
Our approach has developed over the years, though our core mission is the same.
Today, we focus on the social and organizational infrastructure required for data to improve lives. We invest in individuals and communities through grants and programs. We maintain efficient operational infrastructure to support public interest technology. We research and advise on governance, grant-making, and policy.
Our work centers on social and organizational structures that support research, education, and technology, rather than on the tools or practices alone.
We believe that cultural practices and social infrastructure are often overlooked and under-resourced in scientific and technical spaces. Data, software, research, and education cannot on their own improve lives.
We invest in work that develops culturally and regionally relevant research and data practices, including explorations of the shortcomings of current data practices like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
At CS&S, we work with technologists and the communities they reach to explore how data-centered initiatives can best operate in the public interest today.
A guide to identifying your projects a core goals and enable better community collaboration.