About the Information Project

The Information Project (TIP) was launched in 2023 by the Information Futures Lab at Brown University’s School of Public Health. The project pioneers a new approach to understanding and addressing peoples’ information needs while training the next generation of leaders in researching and managing information challenges. TIP fosters collaboration among students, researchers, community organizations, public officials, journalists and other stakeholders in local information ecosystems.

In fall 2023 while researching what people in Rhode Island talk about on social media, TIP students discovered a large volume of conversations and information needs around the housing crisis in Rhode Island. They compared recurring online questions and concerns to what was available in accessible, easy to understand answers, and discovered many gaps. This website features a suite of information assets aimed and filling some of the gaps in housing information in Rhode Island with multilingual, accessible content.