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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Impact Collaborative (MIT SIC) is a research team within the Department of Urban Studies and Planning that is developing and testing new ways to harmonize science, politics and public policy in the management of natural resources and the resolution of environmental disputes. Our focus is on testing the effectiveness of a range of collaborative planning and decision-making techniques. Our tools and approaches include collaborative adaptive management, joint fact-finding, scenario planning, mediated multiparty negotiation, and the use of role-play simulation exercises.

Ongoing Projects

Offshore Wind Stakeholder Assessment

Decarbonizing the United States’ energy supplies to meet climate targets will require a rapid transition to renewable energy. Some estimates suggest that renewable energy capacity must expand by 38-67 GW per year by 2030, largely through utility-scale wind and solar deployment. Despite significant financial injections from landmark legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, roadblocks remain. Chief among these is the growing wave of local...
The Public Interest Technologist

The Public Interest Technologist is an online publication aimed at helping the MIT community think together about the social responsibilities of students, administration, faculty, staff and alumni who design and implement technologies of various kinds. Public Interest Technology (PIT) is a multidisciplinary field that emphasizes the lived benefits (and costs) that flow from both old and new technologies, and the way they are used. In our view, to be a public interest technologist requires taking...

Past Projects

Arctic Fisheries Devising Seminar

In September of 2014 the Science Impact Collaborative and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School hosted a devising seminar on the long-term management of Arctic fisheries. The session brought together senior diplomats, government agency staff, environmental activists, representatives of First Peoples, industry leaders, scientists, and legal/human rights experts. During the seminar these participants brainstormed possible new regimes to ensure sustainable management adapted to the...
Malaysia Sustainable Cities Project

Joint MIT-Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) five year effort to help sustainability practitioners from many countries in the Global South document and analyze efforts in Malaysia to implement sustainable development efforts. Involved IAP Practicum that brought 15 DUSP graduate students to Malaysia and matched them up with UTM graduate students to assist the international practitioners. Focus on Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor Bahru, George Town, and Kuching.

Ongoing Projects

Offshore Wind Stakeholder Assessment

The Public Interest Technologist

Past Projects

Arctic Fisheries Devising Seminar

Malaysia Sustainable Cities Project