What the PIT Lab is
Established in 2023, the CUNY Public Intererst Technology (PIT) Lab is a collaborative, cross-campus, cross-sector initiative, based at the City University of New York focused on advancing technology for the public good. It brings together students, faculty, and community partners to design, critique, and apply technology in ways that center equity, justice, and real-world impact.
The Lab’s core mission is to make technology accessible, participatory, and responsive to community needs.
What makes it distinct
Most tech spaces focus on innovation for markets. The PIT Lab flips that:
- It treats technology as social, political, and ethical, not neutral
- It centers community voices and expertise to drive discussion not the tech
- It connects education, workforce development, civic engagement and lived experience
Core areas of focus
Across its work, the Lab consistently emphasizes:
- Civic data and open data ecosystems + public tech infrastructure
- Ethical and inclusive design rooted in diverse cultural futures
- Community-led, participatory technology development and policy making
- Accessible pathways to PIT skill development that challenge dominant tech narratives by equipping more people to design, critique, and direct technological systems.
At a strategic level, the Lab is trying to reshape the tech landscape by:
- Expanding who participates in building technology
- Equipping institutions (like nonprofits) to engage tech on their own terms
- Building a public interest tech workforce pipeline and transformative ecosystem for the whole city
- Positioning the Lab as a leader in equity-centered innovation and community-led tech empowerment
Overarching goals
The PIT Lab is focused on establishing a strong foundation for public interest technology work across CUNY and New York City. We aim to:
1. Strengthen civic data, open data, and public technology infrastructure
Advance projects and partnerships that help communities, institutions, and public agencies use data and technology in ways that are transparent, accountable, and publicly beneficial.
2. Model ethical and inclusive design rooted in diverse cultural futures
Develop programs, workshops, and public-facing activities that challenge narrow technology narratives and center equity, accessibility, cultural knowledge, and community imagination.
3. Support community-led technology development and policymaking
Create opportunities for community partners, students, faculty, nonprofits, and civic organizations to shape technology projects and policy conversations from the beginning, not simply respond to technologies after they are built.
4. Build accessible pathways into public interest technology skill development
Equip more people, especially students, community members, nonprofit staff, and public-sector partners with the skills to design, critique, govern, and direct technological systems.
5. Expand who participates in building and governing technology
Broaden participation in the technology ecosystem by creating entry points for people and institutions traditionally excluded from tech development, decision-making, and leadership.
6. Help nonprofits and civic institutions engage technology on their own terms
Support mission-driven organizations in developing the confidence, language, tools, and governance practices they need to make informed decisions about emerging technology.
7. Develop a public interest technology workforce pipeline for NYC
Connect learning, applied projects, apprenticeships, mentorship, and community partnerships to build a transformative PIT ecosystem that prepares people for meaningful work in civic, nonprofit, public-sector, and community technology contexts.
8. Position the Lab as a leader in equity-centered innovation and community-led tech empowerment
Demonstrate the Lab’s distinctive role as a convener, educator, project partner, and public platform for technology work that serves justice, democracy, and the public good.