CIS - Researchers At Work

Centre for Internet and Society, Researchers At Work (CIS-RAW)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CIS-RAW?

CIS-RAW stands for Researchers at Work, a multidisciplinary research initiative by the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore. CIS firmly believes that in order to understand the contemporary concerns in the field of Internet and Society, it is necessary to produce local and contextual accounts of the interaction between the internet and  socio-cultural and geo-political structures. The CIS-RAW programme hopes to produce one of the first documentations on the transactions and negotiations, relationships and correlations that the emergence of internet technologies has resulted in, specifically in the South.

The CIS-RAW programme recognises ‘The Histories of  the Internet and India’ as its focus for the first two years. Although many disciplines, organisations and interventions in various areas deal with internet technologies, there has been very little work in documenting the polymorphous growth of internet technologies and their relationship with society in India. The existing narratives of the internet are often riddled with absences or only focus on the mainstream interests of major stakeholders, like the state and the corporate. We find it imperative to excavate the three-decade histories of the internet to understand the contemporary concerns and questions in the field.

How does the CIS-RAW programme work?

In these first two years, CIS-RAW is interested in working with theoreticians, scholars, practitioners and interventionists who have had a stake and experience in researching the field of Internet and Society. We are looking at a model of collaboration whereby different individuals and/or organisations are invited to come up with proposals for constructing historical and contextual accounts of the internets in India, from their own perspectives and interests.

What is the role of CIS in the CIS-RAW programme?

The Centre for Internet and Society sees itself as involved in research in many different ways. We would, of course, be involved in providing critical input, ideas and comments to the original proposals by the different collaborators. We will also, depending upon the individual expertise at CIS, be providing research and intellectual infrastructure required for several projects.

However, we do not believe in doing everything ourselves. The role of the enabler is a pivotal one that we see ourselves playing.  By giving financial support, establishing networks, and providing physical and intellectual infrastructure, CIS hopes to enable multidisciplinary and unique research that inaugurates the field of Internet and Society in India.

CIS also believes in a longer commitment to the CIS-RAW projects beyond the scope of the immediate research. We shall be committed to disseminating the findings and the information contained in each individual project through public media like blogs and newspapers, and also through publishing of the individual projects as approach papers, journal articles and curricula design in various peer-reviewed and respectable academic spaces.

What are the responsibilities of a CIS-RAW researcher?

CIS quantifies the research responsibility of a CIS-RAW researcher in consultation with the researcher, based on  individual expertise, interests and skills. Different projects, depending on the object of analysis, lend themselves to different processes of documentation and historiography. Hence, each individual project will have the scope to define the methods by which the researcher wants to work and the modes of documentation. We believe in multidisciplinary and innovative methods and forms of documentation as critical to creative thought and would encourage these in all our research programmes.

Each research project will be committed to producing the following minimum research outputs:

1. An approach paper that charts in detail the larger scope of the field, with analysis and information (approximately 50–60 pages with additional appendices and annexures).

2. A working paper that can appear in a scholarly journal; the working paper is a condensed and more precise version of the approach paper. (approximately 5,000 – 7,000 words including references and footnotes)

3. Contribution to our various media forms, like blogs, newspapers, curricula design, etc., depending upon the scope of the project.

4. A detailed annotated bibliography and resource list to build our library and information archives.

5. A commitment to peer review, public outreach and engagement with the CIS networks, defined in consultation with the researchers.

What is the nature of financial support that the CIS-RAW programme offers?

Currently, we do not have a specified budget for the CIS-RAW researches. Depending upon the scope of the project and the skills of the researchers, a budget is arrived at by mutual agreement. We follow precedent when costing projects in different sectors but are sensitive to the varied needs of different projects and the research costs involved.

Does the CIS-RAW programme have a fixed time-line?

We see the CIS-RAW projects as spanning 6-9 months, leading to the producing of quantifiable research outputs. However, we also look upon the CIS-RAW projects as works in progress. Moreover, there are no fixed beginning and termination time-lines for the CIS-RAW programme itself. New ideas and innovative approaches to the field of Internet and Society are always welcome to find us; we can initiate the project based on further conversations.

Do I work in your office if I am a CIS-RAW researcher?

The Centre for Internet and Society currently has its offices in Bangalore. If you are based in Bangalore (or relocating to Bangalore for the scope of the project), we would be more than happy to offer you office space and research infrastructure that might be required, including research equipment and your own space in the office.

I have an idea but it is more about an activity rather than research…

We at the Centre for Internet and Society believe that research happens in many forms – through theoretical apparatus, through philosophical debates, through proactive interventions, and through dialogue and exchange of ideas and information. We like to think of research as a broad umbrella term to encompass many different activities.

However, we also believe that any project deserves (and indeed, needs) a contextualisation and historicisation document which helps achieve more clarity about the aim, scope and relevance of the project. We offer the CIS-RAW programme as a space to think of these various histories and contexts and thus offer resources and infrastructure for projects which might eventually develop a life of their own beyond the CIS-RAW programme.

If you have an idea for a new field of inquiry, or a more active intervention oriented project, and if it fits within the scope of our interests and measures against our vision statement, we would be happy to collaborate with you on the idea in its initial state and help, if possible, with more resources and administration. You might also be interested in looking at our Advocacy Programmes for more information.

I have a research idea which does not fit your theme. Would you still be interested?

All of us at CIS are always excited by new research questions and ideas. Even if you have something in mind that doesn’t fit anything that we might have documented on this website, please feel free to approach us with the idea. As a young and growing centre, we see ourselves as much in the learning mode as we imagine ourselves as in the enabling mode. To learn through dialogues and exchange is our central aim, and we have the fortunate flexibility of resource allocation to engage in projects which might have been outside of our earlier visions or imaginations.

In other words, if you have an idea, please call us, email us or walk into our offices. We promise really good coffee and, we hope, interesting conversations.

Are there any other forms of research outside the CIS-RAW programme?

CIS engages in many different kinds of research programmes that cover a wide spectrum of areas and a huge galaxy of modalities. For more information you might want to look at the other programmes available under the Research and Advocacy Portfolios.

I don’t have research experience but I am interested in the CIS-RAW programme…

CIS-RAW, as a programme, is focussed specifically on individuals or organisations which have already been in the field of Internet and Society or related areas. It is designed to document existing knowledge using new perspectives and frameworks that are not available as a useful resource right now due to lack of such an initiative.

However, we are also committed to looking at younger researchers in the field and have many interesting ways of collaborating – through teaching, workshops, projects, internships, etc. We also have an interest in creating inclusive pedagogic practices and would love the opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas with you. Just write to us or walk into our office and we can take things from there.

If you are looking at involving yourself with CIS, you might want to take a look at our Advocacy Portfolio, which is always looking for motivated volunteers who are ready to learn, intervene and make a contribution in the fields that we are concerned with.

You can also look at the other programmes in the Research Portfolio to see if we might have something that caters to you.

Are you looking at more international research involving comparative studies across countries?

The Centre for Internet and Society considers itself an international research centre based in India, with a particular interest in South-South exchange and dialogue. We are certainly interested in opportunities of collaboration, exchange and engagement with researchers from other contexts or researchers in India who have larger cross-boundary projects in mind.

However, for the CIS-RAW programme, we are focusing largely on India and its contexts. If you have a much larger project in mind, you might be interested in our Project Inception Grants Programme.