Chris Coward
Chris Coward is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at the University of Washington Information School, director of the Technology & Social Change Group, and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public. Chris studies issues of information access, digital equity, information and digital literacy, misinformation, and civic engagement. As an applied researcher Chris employs participatory methods when engaging with communities. Many of Chris’s research projects are centered in public libraries, generating practical as well as academic outputs.
Chris directs the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA), a research center he co-founded in 1999 (then Center for Internet Studies) as a nexus for multidisciplinary research on digital technologies and society. Under his leadership, TASCHA has grown in size and stature with projects spanning more than 50 countries. Chris has worked with a wide range of donors and partners to co-design projects that result in applied knowledge. His efforts have influenced Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Program, the Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Program, and the International Telecommunication Union’s Digital Inclusion program, among others.
In 2019 Chris was one of five principal investigators to co-found the Center for an Informed Public (CIP) with a mission to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse. In addition to his research Chris develops partnerships to study, co-create, and test new approaches for addressing misinformation.
Chris holds a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in International Studies, both from the University of Washington.
Works
- Publications
- Projects
- Updates
Namibia’s Regional Libraries: Final Report of the Regional Study and Resource Center (RSRC) Activity Evaluation
Namibia’s Regional Libraries: Interim Report of the Regional Study and Resource Center (RSRC) Evaluation
- LIS Forward
- Misinformation Escape Room
- Examining the Role of Public Libraries in Combating Misinformation
- Workshop: Public libraries as platforms for civic engagement
- Digital Skills for Digital Equity
- Development & Access to Information
- Data for Democracy in Myanmar
- Mobile Information Literacy
- Information Strategies for Societies in Transition
- Namibia Regional Library Evaluation
- Perceptions of Libraries as Development Partners
Libraries pilot ‘The Euphorigen Investigation’ escape room
An investigative journalist suspiciously vanished last night, and the last thing they did was hand their laptop over to their trusted …
2020: TASCHA year in review
As TASCHA’s 20th year comes to a close, the events of this past year are a reminder of why TASCHA was founded in the first place …
Gates Foundation awards TASCHA with 10-year grant to advance public libraries as agents of social change
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington …