On March 7, 2018, Opportunity Insight co-founder, Dr. John Friedman, gave the Reaffirming University Values: Campus Dialogue and Discourse lecture at Brown University.

The “Reaffirming University Values” project, sponsored by the Offices of the President and Provost, includes lectures, panel discussions, and workshops that draw on the use of dialogue to frame campus conversations, build community, and encourage effective speaking and listening.

The purpose of project is to apply rigorous scholarship and engage in thoughtful and informed discussion around some of society’s most pressing challenges. The university seeks to address difficult issues by convening people from different disciplines and perspectives to engage in an open and balance dialog using facts and logic.

During his lecture, Dr. Friedman demonstrates how big data offers new opportunities for scholars to diagnose problems and develop policies specific to each setting – in effect, precision medicine for social science.

Discussing his research with Opportunity Insights (previously the Equality of Opportunity Project) he outlines how children’s opportunities to climb the income ladder vary substantially depending upon where they grow up. Using both higher education and place-based policies as examples, he highlights how big data can be used to take the next step in addressing such neighborhood issues.