Artificial intelligence, digitalization, governance and institutional change; cross-boundary management; technology and government.
Jane Fountain's current research focuses on artificial intelligence, digitalization, governance, and institutional change, including how algorithmic systems affect democracy, equity, and public power. She studies cross-boundary management and how governments adopt and govern digital technologies. She co-founded and directed the National Center for Digital Government (2002-2022). Earlier work on information technology and institutional change includes Building the Virtual State. Her writing on AI and government includes work on the algorithmic state and on AI and power in the public sector.
Jane E. Fountain is Director of the School of Public Policy and Distinguished Professor at UMass Amherst, and an Adjunct Distinguished Professor in CICS. She previously served for 16 years on the faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School. She holds a Ph.D. from Yale and master's degrees from Harvard and Yale, and is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Fountain is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and served as secretary of its board (2020-2022) and as a board member (2017-2023). She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government in 2018 and 2019 by apolitical, and is a Federal 100 awardee. She chaired and served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government (2010-2014) and was appointed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor's Council on Innovation. She received the UMass Amherst Chancellor's Medal, the campus's highest faculty honor, and the Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity. Building the Virtual State (Brookings, 2001) was an Outstanding Academic Title and has been translated into Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Spanish. She is coeditor of Artificial Intelligence and Power in Government.