Outside-In Signals: Outsider Innovation as Foresight Infrastructure
Short description
Open-source communities, civic technologists, small businesses and marginalised users often notice the effects of new technologies before regulators do. This project asks how their insights can become part of a reliable early-warning system, and why institutions sometimes overlook them.
The researcher will trace signals in sources such as issue trackers and incident reports, then prototype ways for authorities to receive, assess and escalate them. The aim is to make outsider knowledge useful to regulatory foresight while preserving legality and proportionality.
Interested in this project?
Applications are now open for this position.
Deadline: 15 November 2026, 23:59 CET
The intended start date is 1 January 2027 or by agreement.
View the BI DC03 job advertisementSubmit your application through the “Send application” button in BI’s official vacancy. Follow the document requirements there; applications must be submitted through the recruitment system, not by email.
What the project involves
- Map outsider innovators, their networks and the ways their early signals emerge.
- Study why authorities overlook or discount signals from outside established institutions.
- Prototype intake, triage and escalation protocols, supported by a curated dataset and practical guidance.