Exploratory
Field Intelligence Loops
Gathering signals academic papers miss
Why Fieldwork Matters
Research loses fidelity when the only feedback it receives is a publication record. We want a continuous loop where schools, labs, and community organisations can signal what is and isn't working, and where prototypes evolve alongside those signals.
The ambition is to build communal intelligence infrastructure: shared dashboards, lightweight reporting, and regular convenings that keep research grounded in lived context.
Loop Components
What a loop looks like
Embedded Fellows
Researchers or students placed within partner institutions who collect qualitative insight, co-design experiments, and ensure findings travel both ways.
Narrative + quantitative logging
Combining lightweight metrics (usage, satisfaction, outcomes) with short field journals that capture nuance—confusion, delight, unexpected failure.
Quarterly synthesis
Structured reviews where insights are distilled into public briefs, informing both product direction and new research questions.
Current Work
We are piloting early loops with a handful of schools and civic data projects. These efforts are self-funded for now while we learn how to scale without bureaucracy.
Get Involved
Institutional partners
Field researchers
Reach out at tanay@ongroundlabs.org