Emerging Consensus on Digital Dynamics – Knight Foundation
Learning and Impact

Emerging Consensus on Digital Dynamics

THE KNIGHT RESEARCH NETWORK IN ITS FOURTH YEAR

This report analyzes activities of the Knight Research Network (KRN) in its fourth year. Established in 2019 through Knight Foundation’s $50 million commitment to catalyze a new field of academic research at the intersection of technology, media and democracy, the KRN now enters its fifth year. As several of Knight Foundation’s initial grants creating or scaling research centers now draw to a close, the KRN is approaching a significant milestone. It is appropriate that Knight Foundation and grantees begin to reflect on what has been built and what might come next. The fourth in a series of evaluation-and-learning assessments, this report focuses specifically on outputs and outcomes in the calendar year 2023. It also consolidates longer-term perspectives from grantees about progress and challenges for KRN. This assessment finds:

  • In 2023, KRN researchers published 820 articles across a wide array of high-impact venues, including more than two dozen studies in the world’s top general science journals—such as Nature, Science and PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)—and dozens of articles in major media outlets. This compares with about 900 articles over the last period studied (2021–2022).
  • KRN researchers participated in or hosted more than 800 speaking engagements through podcasts, webinars and conferences. These included briefings to branches of the U.S. federal government such as Congress and the White House, institutions across civil society and the technology and media sector. This also compares with about 900 speaking engagements during the last year-long period studied.
  • The network saw a considerable rise—a doubling—of media coverage. Researchers were mentioned or were involved in nearly 2,900 written, audio or video media pieces, compared to 1,400 over the last period studied (2021-2022).
  • KRN continues to face significant challenges to enhancing its access to data for research purposes since its establishment.
  • The network’s connective capabilities continue to improve. There is substantial evidence that researchers are finding more ways to connect, collaborate, amplify one another and plan projects and events together.
  • Newer themes in the research and scholarship appeared in 2023, expanding KRN’s collective scope of research. Researchers are responding to external events, such as increased public attention to questions of trust, safety and ethics related to artificial intelligence (A.I.), harms to minors and the study of digital platforms from the perspective of economics and law.
  • There is a need to synthesize disparate lines of research and make their implications clear to policymakers and industry professionals. Knight Foundation or the Knight-Georgetown Institute might convene field leaders to consider paths toward reaching academic consensus on key topics, ultimately to help craft policy-relevant outputs that inform public policy, industry decision-making and future philanthropy.
  • Knight Foundation should continue to monitor the speed and scale of research translation efforts, particularly as KRN’s new Knight-Georgetown Institute builds its full capacity. The speed at which KRN’s research is made actionable for society’s decision-makers directly bears on its impact.