The Digital Ecosystem Research Challenge Report
Understanding the Digital Ecosystem: Findings from the 2019 Federal Election
April 2019 — This large-scale collaboration included 18 research teams from across Canada and internationally who each worked with digital data collected during the 2019 Canadian federal elections. Running between April 2019 and March 2020, the Digital Ecosystem Research Challenge (DERC) mapped the digital ecosystem in order to support increased civic and digital literacy. Findings from the DERC are presented in the Understanding the Digital Ecosystem report, which highlights the importance of collaboration and communication between researchers to address the challenges of navigating trace data and the difficulties of keeping up-to-date with rapid innovations in digital media.
About the Media Ecosystem Observatory
The Media Ecosystem Observatory is an interdisciplinary research initiative dedicated to analyzing the complex web of online harms and digital threats to democracy, while actively working to safeguard against them.
About The Pol Comm Tech Lab
Based at the University of Ottawa, The Pol Comm Tech Lab is an academic research group focused on exploring the intersections of politics, communication, and technology.
Funding for DERC was provided by the Government of Canada's Canada History Fund Grant and the Digital Citizen Initiative, Government of Canada.