The Technology and Public Purpose Project

Technological change has brought immeasurable benefits to billions through improved health, productivity, and convenience. Yet as recent events have shown, unless we actively manage their risks to society, new technologies may also bring unforeseen destructive consequences. Making technological change positive for all is the critical challenge of our time. We ourselves - not only the logic of discovery and market forces - must manage it. To create a future where technology serves humanity as a whole, we need a new approach. 

To this end, Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs launched the Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project in 2018. Led by Belfer Center Director, MIT Innovation Fellow, and former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, the TAPP Project works to ensure that emerging technologies are developed and managed in ways that serve the overall public good.  

Much as the reforms of the Progressive movement softened the edges of the farm-to-factory migration a century ago, we aim to create a set of conditions that leaven today's technological change across three domains: digital, biotech, and the future of work. 

TAPP leverages a network of experts from Harvard University, MIT, and the Greater Boston Area, along with leaders in technology, government, business, and civil society to work on the following priorities: 

Training & Mentorship – Training today's practitioners and tomorrow's leaders in the responsible development and management of new technologies. 

Convening Stakeholders – Convening leaders in tech, policy, academia, and civil society to develop solutions to the societal dilemmas of emerging technologies. 

Publishing Leading Edge Research – Conducting world-class research on high-risk technologies and frameworks for effective development and governance.

Ash Carter

Ariel Higuchi in the center of the picture

    • Staff

    Ariel Higuchi

    Ariel Higuchi in the center of the picture

    • Senior Research Assistant, Technology and Public Purpose Project


Students will have the opportunity to work within the various TAPP workstreams. See below for a list of teams seeking student researchers. 

Technology Factsheets for Policymakers

The Technology Factsheet Series offers a brief overview of the technical aspects of salient technologies and their public purpose relevance for policymakers and their staff. As a collaboration between policy and technical experts, this series aims to provide the policy professionals with an accessible resource that brings its readers up to speed at a conversational level. Each brief is accompanied with a series of questions that policymakers should consider as they pursue future work on these evolving issues.

Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative (DIGI)

 The Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative (DIGI), a joint initiative between Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, will convene a range of stakeholders across government, business, and civil society to address the growing public concerns about digital platforms. This new initiative is co-chaired by Ash Carter, the Director of the Belfer Center and former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Nancy Gibbs, the Director of the Shorenstein Center and former Editor-in-Chief of TIME. Dr. Joan Donovan, the Research Director of the Shorenstein Center, will lead the Shorenstein Center initiative.

Over the next year, the DIGI team will convene leading experts and stakeholders to evaluate policy and self-governance options for both short- and long-term action on high-priority issue areas; the Initiative's output will consist of recommendations for U.S. policymakers and private sector actors to address the harms of digital platforms.

The Technology and Public Purpose Fellowship

The TAPP Fellowship, crafted in response to a greater need to train people to carry out tech policy and practitioner analysis in both government and industry, is tailored for individuals from all disciplines with a demonstrated interest in technology and public purpose. Fellows are appointed for a one-year term and are part of a cohort responsible for conducting research in a tech and public purpose field.

TAPP Project Summary. Develop a robust assessment framework to analyze the potential impacts of various science and tech-related policy legislation; leverage the frameworks to address pressing gaps caused by an absence of the OTA.

TAPP Project Summary. Build a digital “policy hub,” or an online database of information and resources, for smart city oversight. The tool will help guide best practices for smart city regulation and procurement standards.

TAPP Project Summary. Survey the economic impact of the digital divide on marginalized communities; working with education, housing and workforce development to highlight to draft legislation for policymakers on bridging the divide.

TAPP Project Summary. Create and analyze a positive reinforcement system on online platforms in order to increase positive content on platforms (and subsequently decrease negative / harmful content).

TAPP Project Summary. Shift the product development approach by private sector tech companies to account for high-risk, lower-probability scenarios. Digital applications should be built for high-risk occurrences that are seen to be “on the margins”—but ultimately, designing and developing with safety and security in mind for all end users

TAPP Project Summary. Develop policy recommendations for the federal government to invest in a better lab-to-market ecosystem to translate scientific discoveries into consumer products. The project will use case studies to analyze the success stories, including that of Vaxess, to propose high-leverage investment and policy areas for the U.S. government.

Interested in working with TAPP? Follow the steps below to apply! 

  1. Fill out our interest form so we can receive news and updates from the TAPP Project. 
  2. Students who have signed up to receive our emails will receive a link to our application form. Application forms will be sent out the week of September 27th. 
  3. Applications will be due Wednesday, October 6th -- no extensions! 
  4. The TAPP team will review applications. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis. 
  5. Student offer letters will be sent out on Wednesday, October 13th. 

*Please note, only Harvard students are eligible for TAPP Student Research Assistant Positions. 

Please reach out to our team for any additional questions. We look forward to working with you!