Research & Development
BFI occasionally engages in the research and development of projects and ideas which align with our mission and further our goals. Our role in these projects varies depending on our level of engagement and can range from fiscal sponsor, to producer, to initial catalyst. These endeavors often derive from the inspiration, experience and individual initiative taken by a member of our network.
EarthScope (ES)
A research and design project conducted over a five year period, aimed at developing online tools for displaying the profound, yet often invisible trends affecting global and local communities. The prototype version allows organizations to publish their information as engaging "geo-stories": downloadable presentations that combine dynamic maps with supporting graphics, sound, and text. The EARTHscope was recently modified to serve as an education component of the viral web-campaign, the BioDaVersity Code — a joint project of BFI, the Harvard Center for Health and the Global Environment and Free Range Graphics.
Spaceship Earth: The Game
In collaboration with Cal(IT)2's Game Lab, BFI conducted an 18 month research process to develop a Multi-Player "Reality" Game that couples the engagement and creative motivation of concerned citizens with the "hard fun" of network computer games as a catalyst for systemic global change.
World Shelters Project
A Hurricane Katrina collaboration with World Shelter, Inc. on the installation of Fuller-inspired autonomous shelter units in Mississippi, used by the staff of two destroyed fire stations.