Mapping the Public Interest Technology Landscape

So how, exactly, do we define “public interest technology”? Depending on context and conversation, the phrase can refer to a field, a profession, a methodology, a solution, or an aspiration. In turn, each of those has its own definition. Public interest technology, the field, is a space funders and foundations want to bring into being, but one still in the process of making itself. In its final definition and at its heart, public interest technology is an aspiration. It’s the hope that one day, the norm, not the exception, will be 21st-century technology and tools integrated horizontally, vertically, and daily into solving 21st-century problems faced by the public. It’s the move toward measurable, sustainable, long-lasting impact and equal access to modern solutions to improve modern daily life. It’s a small phrase for big dreams.