Pinwheel graphic representing the Microsoft Research Summit
Return to Event: Microsoft Research Summit 2021

Microsoft Research Summit 2021 • Videos

Panel: Just tech: Bringing computer science, communities, and the social sciences together to build societal resilience

Technology is meant to make life easier, help us move faster, and create efficiencies that amplify our impact. In the world of community health, this impact can mean life or death. As we strive to bring healthcare to the doorsteps of communities often left out of our systems and structures, technology can make or break connections with those who need support the most in moments of crisis. But so often, technologies are built without communities’ input or may narrowly focus on what those in power need, regardless of the realities on the ground, creating more work and reducing impact in the process.

This panel will share progress from a four-month study of community-based health services responding to the pandemic. Leaders from Curamericas Global and Together for Resilient Youth will discuss the process of bringing a multi-stakeholder coalition of community-based organizations (CBOs) to the table to position them as ‘data trusts’ able to collect and preserve clients’ individual privacy, while also empowering CBOs to advocate for those most in need of resources—in this case, marginalized Black and Latinx communities across North Carolina. Many CBOs have been serving their communities for years, fighting to ensure equitable health outcomes in some of the hardest hit places in the US. They help provide crucial health education, access to food, shelter, and other social determinants of health, specific information on COVID-19, and vaccine access.

The study included research on improving intake forms for CBOs that have no resources for managing or purchasing sophisticated software systems. These CBOs rely on intake forms to do community outreach at vaccine events, door-to-door campaigns, and online or phone outreach. But the larger goal of the research was understanding what it means to build with, rather than for, community groups, and exploring social relationships more broadly. What does it mean to focus deeply on specific social interactions that are computationally hard to see but qualitatively invaluable? Panelists will also discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with partnering with a large tech company to build an open-source community healthcare toolkit.

Learn more about the 2021 Microsoft Research Summit: https://Aka.ms/researchsummit (opens in new tab)

Event:
Microsoft Research Summit 2021
Track:
Tech for Resilient Communities
Date:
Speakers:
Mary Gray, Andrew Herrera, Dr. Wanda Boone
Affiliation:
Microsoft Research, Curamericas Global, Together for Resilient Youth (T.R.Y.)

Tech for Resilient Communities