Our Work
What is Public Interest Technology?
Public interest technology refers to the study and application of technology expertise to advance the public interest, generate public benefits, and promote the public good.
Interdisciplinary by nature, technology expertise refers to a set of capabilities to create, apply, study, and use new technologies and an understanding of the core ethical, legal, policy, and societal dimensions of technological change.
Read the founding definition of PIT and learn about the field’s ongoing evolution on the member-created PIT Wikipedia page. Each of our member institutions pursues PIT in a unique way, depending on its student body, research agenda, and community interests. Learn more about our members here.
What is PIT-UN?
PIT-UN is a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund (NVF), a 501(c)(3) public charity that supports innovative and effective public interest projects.
Tech for Change Hackathons are civic-focused, community-driven, and deployed by students to address local injustices in health care, elections, education, and other public interest areas. Winning proposals include the participation of students from across both technical and nontechnical disciplines.
Regional Hubs provide a framework for synergistic programming in higher education and workforce development. Hubs focus on inter-institutional efforts to provide expertise, experience, and training to the regional workforce to scale their impact.
The Annual Summit brings together members to share best practices, seed collaborations, gather inspiration, and build community.
Working Groups offer space and resources for members from different institutions to share ideas and develop new frameworks and research agendas for PIT.
Hybrid and In-Person Events increase the awareness of PIT, engage new and existing stakeholders, and demonstrate how PIT can support the mission and goals of organizations and communities.
Thematic & Seasonal Requests for Proposals allow members and partners to pilot collaborative projects and advance work that builds the next generation of civic-minded technologists.