The Media Research Hub is part of the SSRC's Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere program, which works to ensure that debates about media and communications technologies are shaped by high-quality research and a rich understanding of the public interest.

The program is premised on the belief that good public policy and an inclusive democracy flourish in a rich knowledge environment, supported by broad-based research capacities and access to data.  To this end program focuses on building a stronger culture of collaboration between scholars, advocates, practitioners, and policymakers in the field.   It works to make the field 'better' at producing research and bringing it effectively to bear.  

The NK program operates primarily through collaborative grant competitions, workshops,  and initiatives designed to expand access to data and other resources in the field.  Three of its principal activities are represented on the Research Hub.

• The Resource Database--a community-editable tool for mapping and navigating the media and communications field.  Learn more...
• The Data Consortium for Media and Communications Policy, which works to expand access to datasets about the media and communications environment.
• The Collaborative Grants project, which includes research fellowship competitions and mechanisms for signaling research needs within the community.

The program is run in partnership with the Center for International Media Action (CIMA) and the Donald McGannon Communication Research Center at Fordham University.  It is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation and the William Penn Foundation.