project
Information Environment Project
Assessing National Information Ecosystems
Geopolitical shifts and technological innovations are rocking policymaking internationally. While many countries are concerned about over-reliance on foreign-sourced technology and services, all are grappling with the introduction of artificial intelligence in various forms. Yet few, if any, have a full picture of the state of their national information ecosystem, limiting strategic options as a result.
The Information Environment Project fosters evidence-informed policymaking for governance of national information ecosystems. It is unique in that it takes a comprehensive approach accounting for human skills, various technologies from infrastructure to digital services, and the materials consumed within an information ecosystem. In this way, IEP aims to identify the conditions making information ecosystems more resilient to disturbances, such as the introduction of new technology or foreign interference, to inform more effective policymaking.
Project Advisors
Alicia Wanless
Senior Fellow, Technology and International Affairs, Director, Information Environment Project
Alicia is the director of the Information Environment Project and the author of The Information Animal: Humans, Technology and the Competition for Reality. Alicia was a technical advisor to the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder and is a founding member of its Global Cybersecurity Group.
Heidi Tworek
Director, Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions
Heidi is the Canada Research Chair and professor of History and Public Policy at the University of British Columbia. Tworek is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada’s New College of Scientists, Artists, and Scholars.
Claire Wardle
Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Cornell University
Claire’s research focuses on user-generated content, verification, and misinformation. She has spent the past two decades working across sectors, including as an academic at universities in the U.K. and the U.S., working with different international news organizations and the United Nations, and advising policymakers. She also co-founded the non-profit First Draft and the Information Futures Lab at Brown University.