Aggregating Informal Leader Networks
Stanford University, Spring 2016
Problem Statement
The State Department Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) needs a way to help embassies and diplomats get more information about informal leader networks.
Problem Scoping and Discovery
The team conducted 87 interviews with policy makers, diplomats, and desk officers.. They discover that CSO diplomats have access to information about informal leader networks, but it is unstructured, inefficient, or difficult to access. The determined that CSO needed a way to help diplomats manage and sort their contacts without interrupting their regular workflow.
Solution Proposed
The team recommended a program called Aggregate DB. This program would analyze data from diplomats’ known contacts as well ast Twitter, newspapers, and RSS feeds using natural language processing to identify possible informal leaders. The platform would give CSO the ability to identify most important actors in rapidly evolving situations.