Social Science Research Council

Between 2000 and 2005, the Information Technology and International Cooperation program sponsored individual research and collective inquiry into the role of new information technologies in an increasingly-networked, global public sphere.  The program focused on emerging domains of cooperation and conflict among state actors, from internet governance to the potential for cyberwar, and on the growth of a new layer of civil society organizations capable of effecting social and political change at an international level.  Through meetings and research partnerships, the program sought to bridge researcher and practitioner communities, producing knowledge that was relevant to policymakers, activists, scholars, and business leaders alike.

Over five years, the program had three main targets of inquiry:

• The ways in which information technology change the capacities and practices of civil society organizations as they participate in local, national and transnational public spheres;
• The growth of global governance venues and other factors that shape that activity, from international standards setting bodies to emergent authorities for Internet governance.
• A range of more basic normative questions about the goals and directions of the new technologies, from their implications for privacy to their impact on conventional notions of democratic accountability and participation.

The ITIC program was funded by the Ford Foundation through 2005.  Many of the program's goals and activities--especially those related to bridging academic and practitioner communities--continue forward in other SSRC programs, such as 'Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere' and 'Culture, Creativity, and Information Technology.'