PrintJoel Whitaker
Senior Adviser, Center of Innovation for Science, Technology and Peacebuilding
Joel Whitaker is senior adviser to the Center of Innovation for Science, Technology and Peacebuilding at the United States Institute of Peace. Current major projects include:
- “Smart Tools for Smart Power” – identifying high-impact opportunities for technology to bolster peacebuilding and stability operations, including improving training through simulations and serious games;
- “Blogs & Bullets” – understanding the impact of online discourse in conflict zones, including the Middle East, and the potential to analyze new media for crisis early warning;
- “Climate Change and Conflict” – assessing the effects of droughts, floods, and ecosystem breakdown on international hotspots, and identifying potential climate-impacted conflict flash points;
- “Science & Engineering Diplomacy for Conflict Prevention” – benchmarking the impact of international technical collaborations on preventing and managing conflict, and using science diplomacy to improve regional stability in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Previously, Joel was senior director at Corporate Executive Board (CEB), where he advised technology and strategy executives on best practices in management and innovation.
In CEB’s IT Practice, Joel led research programs for CIOs and IT leaders at more than 1,000 corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations around the world. Focus areas included IT governance and portfolio management, business intelligence and analytics, enterprise architecture, end-user technology adoption, and Green IT.
Joel previously led research initiatives on collaborative innovation, R&D project management, technology roadmapping, scenario planning, and managing international operations for the Research & Technology Executive Council and Corporate Strategy Board programs.
Before joining Corporate Executive Board, Joel worked in the White House Press Office under Press Secretary Michael McCurry and Rahm Emanuel. Joel received his degree in International Politics and Economics from Oberlin College.
Joel can also be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joelwhitaker, where his comments are purely personal and are not intended to represent the views of USIP.
Resources & Tools
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The Center pursues collaborations and research to predict the potential of climate change in sparking or exacerbating conflict. Issue Areas: Science and Technology
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The Center of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding is proposing the evaluation of select scientific and technical collaborations between countries to identify the active ingredients that makes them channels of peacebuilding. Issue Areas: Science and Technology
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The Center of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding has partnered with Education and Training Center/ International (ETC/I) to explore in-depth Serious Gaming and Simulations as tools for improved decision-making by peacebuilders. Issue Areas: Education, Science and Technology
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Through this initiative, the Center for Science, Technology & Peacebuilding finds ways to utilize quantitative and analytical tools to map online discourse and content in USIP’s priority conflict areas. Issue Areas: Science and Technology
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Events
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July 16, 2009
USIP's Center of Innovation for Science, Technology and Peacebuilding hosted a full-day multimedia showcase of state-of-the-art simulation and "serious gaming" tools that promise to transform the way that peacebuilding organizations train, plan and collaborate. The "Smart Tools for Smart Power" event featured presentations from such innovators as IBM, the Army War College, EBay, Lockheed Martin, Second Life, and USIP's own Education and Training Center. U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Beth Noveck presented the keynote address. |
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June 17, 2009
This panel discussion presented findings from an unprecedented comprehensive mapping of the Arabic-language blogosphere, and explored its implications for political change and conflict in the Middle East. Issue Areas: Communications and Media, Science and Technology
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March 12, 2009
USIP/National Academies (NA) Roundtable Planning Session on “Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding”
The Center of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding partnered with National Academies of Science and of Engineering to launch a major, multi-year roundtable on science, technology, and peacebuilding. An initial planning meeting co-organized by the National Academies and USIP was held on March 12 to clarify the scope of the proposed roundtable’s activities. Issue Areas: Science and Technology
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