2013 Digital Societies and Social Technologies (DSST) Summer Institute
(a joint effort of the Consortium for Science of Sociotechnical Systems (CSST) 
and the Summer Social Webshop)

July 28 – August 1, 2013
University of Maryland -- College Park, Maryland USA

APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 5, 2013  

MOOCs, Education and learning; personal health and well-being; open innovation, 
eScience, and citizen science; co-production, open source, and new forms of 
work; cultural heritage and information access; energy management and climate 
change; civic hacking, engagement and government; disaster response; 
cybersecurity and privacy – these are just a few problem domains where 
effective design and robust understanding of complex sociotechnical systems is 
critical.  To meet these challenges a trans-disciplinary community of scholars 
has come together from fields as wide ranging as CSCW, HCI, social computing, 
organization studies, information visualization, social informatics, sociology, 
information systems, medical informatics, computer science, ICT for 
development, education, learning science, journalism, and political science.

Through summer institutes (CSST), extended workshops (Social Webshop), 
preconference workshops at a wide variety of venues, and other activities 
(Digital Societies and Technology Research Coordination Network) this community 
of researchers from academia and industry has developed a strong focus on 
problems and opportunities arising from the interplay of social and 
technological systems which span individuals, groups, organizations, and 
societies.

The 2013 Summer Institute builds on this tradition to strengthen and expand 
this diverse community by bringing together graduate students, post doctoral 
students, faculty, and other researchers in four groups at the University of 
Maryland, College Park on July 28-August 1:

Doctoral students, post doctoral students, pre-tenure faculty, and early career 
researchers – Through mentoring, peer networking, and skill-building tutorials, 
doctoral students, post doctoral students, pre-tenure faculty, and early career 
researchers will identify substantive ways that the theories, approaches, and 
tools within the larger community can advance their work with the design and 
study of sociotechnical systems.

Established researchers – Prior summer institute/workshop participants and 
established researchers will network with other researchers (senior and 
junior), explore ideas and new directions, shape emerging research agendas, 
articulate critical challenges, and share knowledge about practices, tools, and 
approaches which have the potential to advance the design and study of 
sociotechnical systems.

Emerging multi-disciplinary research teams – Nascent groups of researchers 
seeking to develop cross-disciplinary collaborations will work with peers and 
mentors to refine problem statements and research goals; connect with 
collaborators with complementary skills and interests; and create actionable 
research agendas and funding proposals.  Preference will be given to groups 
interested in designing and studying sociotechnical systems that address 
societal grand challenges such as (but not limited to) healthcare; energy 
management and climate change; cybersecurity and privacy; education and 
learning; disaster response; technology development and innovation; economic 
development and work; and civic engagement and participation.

Research infrastructure development teams – Groups of researchers interested in 
creating computational or analytic tools, data resources, training materials or 
other infrastructure to support the design and study of sociotechnical systems 
will work with one another, other Summer institute participants, and local 
developers.  These infrastructure “hackathon” sessions will result in the 
creation of use cases, prototypes, draft materials, and when possible 
deployable systems and resources.

APPLYING FOR DSST 2013

Applications are encouraged from all academic, industry, NGO, and public sector 
organizations worldwide.  To apply for the 2013 Summer Institute, select the 
group that best fits your needs and situation and send the appropriate 
materials to the Summer Institute co-coordinator (Brian Butler) at 
[email protected] by April 5th, 2013: 

* Doctoral students, post doctoral students, pre-tenure faculty, and early 
career researchers should send their CV and a short (~ 1 page) response to: 
“How does/will your work advance our ability to design and understand critical 
sociotechnical systems?”  Several core references should be included to situate 
your work within the larger research community.  Doctoral students should also 
provide a letter of recommendation from their advisor/department chair 
indicating their expected graduation date.

* Established researchers should send their CV and a short (~ 1 page) response 
to:  “What are the most interesting challenges and opportunities related to the 
design and study of critical sociotechnical systems?  What activity (30 minutes 
to 4 hours long) could you run that would help the Summer Institute 
participants better engage these challenges and opportunities?”  Proposed 
activities can be for any (or all) Summer Institute participants and might 
include, but are not limited to: focused presentations; brainstorming sessions; 
in-depth problem descriptions; method, tool, or data tutorials; or research 
agenda setting exercises.  

* Emerging multi-disciplinary research teams should apply as a group, sending 
their CVs and a short (~ 1 page) response to:  “What is the research 
focus/problem domain?  What types of activities/studies are needed to engage 
that domain?  How will pursuing this agenda help advance our ability to design 
and understand critical sociotechnical systems?” References potential funding 
sources can be included, if known, to situate the proposal within the larger 
research community.  Groups invited to the Summer Institute will have between 
4-6 people.  However, only 3 individuals need to be part of an application for 
it to be considered (assistance will be provided prior to the Summer Institute 
to help invited teams recruit additional participants as needed).  Preference 
will be given to cross-institutional teams in which junior/mid-career 
researchers play significant leadership roles.   

* Research infrastructure development teams should apply as a group, sending 
their CVs and a short (~ 1 page) response to:   “What is the problem you are 
seeking to address?  What will you do to address that problem?  How will 
creating these technologies, tools, materials or infrastructure improve our 
ability to design and understand critical sociotechnical systems?” References 
to examples from other domains can be included to situate your proposal.  Teams 
invited for the Summer Institute will have between 4-6 people from multiple 
disciplines and institutions.  However, only 3 individuals need to be part of 
an application to be considered (assistance will be provided prior to the 
Summer Institute to help invited teams recruit additional participants as 
needed).

Lodging, meals, and other onsite costs will be covered for all Summer Institute 
participants.  Limited travel support is available, if needed, for participants 
from US and Canadian institutions (with preference given to doctoral and 
post-doctoral students). Travel support may also be available for other Summer 
Institute participants. To be considered for all available financial support 
you should provide the following information when you apply:
* What college, university, or organization are you affiliated with?
* What is your primary department affiliation?
* If you are applying from a Canadian university, are you a member of the GRAND 
network?

Materials should be sent to Summer Institute co-coordinator (Brian Butler) at 
[email protected] by April 5th, 2013.  Applications will be reviewed by the 
Summer Institute Advisory Group beginning April 6th, 2013 using the following 
criteria:   
* Clear articulation of the hoped-for contribution to the theory, practice, or 
design of sociotechnical systems
* Likelihood of Summer Institute participation providing significant practical 
benefit for the individual/team
* Contribution to a balanced and diverse group of participants
The number of participants selected will depend on the available funding and 
the fit between applicants’ interests and goals. 

For more information about the Summer Institute, contact the Summer Institute 
co-coordinators, Brian Butler ([email protected]) and Susan Winter 
([email protected]).  For information about the broader community of researchers 
interested in design and study of sociotechnical systems, see:  CSST 
(www.sociotech.net), Social Webshop (http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/webshop2012/), 
the "Researchers of the Socio-Technical" Facebook group, or the CSST listserv 
([email protected]).

DSST 2013 ADVISORY GROUP

Diane Bailey (University of Texas, Austin)
John Bertot (University of Maryland, College Park)
Jeremy Birnholtz (Northwestern University)
Amy Bruckman (Georgia Tech)
John Carroll (Penn State University)
Derrick Cogburn (American University)
Nosh Contractor (Northwestern University)
Dan Cosley (Cornell University)
Jonathon Cummings (Duke University)
Laura Dabbish (Carnegie Mellon University)
Leslie DeChurch (Georgia Tech)
Paul Dourish (University of California, Irvine)
Nicole Ellison (University of Michigan)
Susan Fussell (Cornell University)
Matt Germonprez (University of Nebraska at Omaha)
Sean Goggins (Drexel University)
Jen Golbeck (University of Maryland, College Park)
Rebecca Grinter (Georgia Tech)
Anatoliy Gruzd (Dalhousie University)
Caroline Haythornthwaite (University of British Columbia)
Libby Hemphill (Illinois Institute of Technology)
Pamela Hinds (Stanford University)
Erik Johnston (Arizona State University)
Nicolas Jullien (TELECOM Bretagne)
Sara Kiesler (Carnegie Mellon University)
Aniket Kittur (Carnegie Mellon University)
Mark Klein (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Bob Kraut (Carnegie Mellon University)
Karim Lakhani (Harvard University)
Natalia Levina (New York Univesity)
Wayne Lutters (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
Kalle Lyytinen (Case Western Reserve)
Gloria Mark (University of California, Irvine)
Anne Massey (Indiana University)
Bonnie Nardi (University of California, Irvine)
Mark Newman (University of Michigan)
Gary Olson (University of California, Irvine)
Felipe Ortega (University Rey Juan Carlos)
Jenny Preece (University of Maryland, College Park)
David Ribes (Georgetown University)
Tony Salvador (Intel)
Steve Sawyer (Syracuse University)
Ben Shneiderman (University of Maryland, College Park)
Marc Smith (Social Media Research Foundation)
Charles Steinfeld (Michigan State University)
Kate Stewart (University of Maryland, College Park)
Susan Straus (Rand Corporation)
Andrea Tapia (Penn State University)
Michael Twidale (University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign)
Youngjin Yoo (Temple University)

DSST 2013 SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

The 2013 DSST Summer Institute is offered in conjunction with the following 
partners:
* The Consortium for the Science of Sociotechnical Systems (CSST),
* The Summer Social Webshop

Financial support for DSST 2013 is being provided by the following Enabling 
Sponsors:
* U.S. National Science Foundation via Digital Societies and Technology 
Research Coordination Network (DST-RCN)
* GRAND-NCE

Facilities, administrative, and logistical support for DSST 2013 is provide by 
the following Host Sponsors:
* The University of Maryland, College of Information Studies (UMD iSchool)
        *The Center for the Advanced Study of Communities and Information 
(CASCI)
        * Human Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL),
        * Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC)  






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