The National Science Foundation supports a wide variety of valuable technical and social civic innovation through its CIVIC Innovation Challenge and Smart and Connected Communities. While many of these

Texas coastal communities have historically been exposed to environmental threats from natural and industrial sources. In Ingleside on the Bay (IOB), a small, rural community situated along the shoreline of Corpus Christi Bay, tropical storms and high rates of relative sea-level rise cause extreme and nuisance flooding, while industrial expansion is placing stress on the community’s way of life and the natural resources upon which it relies.

Detained youth are a population that experience disparities in educational opportunities and in particular, have systemically fewer rich opportunities for STEM learning. Access to educational resources and STEM learning for detained youth are critical to position them to have marketable employment skills and potentially contribute to the STEM workforce of the future.

Lack of participation in the digital economy is an impediment to societal well-being and production which asymmetrically affects rural communities. The literature indicates that technological availability (e.g., broadband) is only a part of the problem: rural communities are not as active as their urban counterparts in technology adoption.

The breadth of artificial intelligence (AI) applications has grown significantly, particularly over the last decade, increasing productivity and efficiency across numerous sectors. Cities have become the primary sites of data collection and algorithm deployment, but the professional field of urban planning lacks a comprehensive evaluation of how AI can/should be used to improve analytical processes.

United States prisons exist in geographically bounded, technologically disconnected communities. Restrictions on services and isolation from the outside world, including lack of access to digital devices and the internet in prisons, has restricted prisoners’ opportunities for education and healthcare, has limited their future work and career prospects, and has reinforced divisions between incarcerated people and their communities.

Today we are entirely dependent on centralized infrastructures (aka Cloud) for pretty much all our everyday activities such as online education, neighborhood apps, access to driving directions, and restaurant suggestions in a neighborhood. This reliance on the Cloud has serious implications. Most importantly it is one of the primary causes for the increasing digital divide between the affluent and under-served communities.

Contrary to trends in most rural communities, which are shrinking and aging, many rural Midwestern communities have experienced rapid population growth since the 1980s, as migrants and refugees have been moving there to meet growing labor demand in the agroindustrial sector such as meat and poultry processing. The school-aged residents of these growing Midwestern communities, who are primarily the U.S.-born children of low-skilled workers, represent a significant untapped population of future STEM workers and entrepreneurs who are growing up in, and want to stay in, rural America.

In the age of the self-driving car, what role can autonomous technologies play in improving water systems? Floods are the leading cause of severe weather fatalities across the United States. Furthermore, large quantities of metals, nutrients, and other pollutants are washed off during storm events, making their way via streams and rivers to lakes and costal zones. To contend with these concerns, most communities across the United States maintain dedicated infrastructure (pipes, ponds, basins, wetlands, etc.) to convey and treat water during storm events.