"Research area reviews" are ways we work to organize and synthesize information and materials on Public Lab based on topic areas. 

## Review Phases

Currently, Research Area Reviews are run in three phases: 

   - **Phase 1**: Information Gathering
   - **Phase 2**: Convening
   - **Phase 3**: Synthesizing 

### Phase 1: Information Gathering

In Phase 1, the goal is to sift through and update all the existing resources on PublicLab.org related to a topic. This could include checking in on other projects' updates as well, and if there's been a previous review, that's also a great place to start. 

### Phase 2: Convening

Phase 2 involves hosting an [Open Call](/opencall) to bring folks together, to go through the collected materials from Phase 1, identify gaps and plan next steps.

### Phase 3: Synthesizing

In Phase 3, the notes from the call and the newly collected materials, shared goals, and tasks are organized and shared on PublicLab.org, tying the review together in a single post. 

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## Template

You can copy this template to organize the phases of a Research Area Review: 

Phase|Task Type|Who can do this|Difficulty|Task|I'll do this! 
-------------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|-------------------------
1|Garden|Anyone|Easy|Go through posts in the area and make sure they are properly tagged|LINK
1|Share|Anyone|Easy|Post questions on the topic area you have, or that you’re not able to find answers to on Public Lab.| LINK
1|Garden|One person|Medium|Make sure the wiki page has clear format|LINK
1|Research|Anyone|Hard|Help find answers to unanswered questions |LINK
1|Facilitate|Anyone|Hard|Invite, listen to, and record new stories related to the topic |LINK
2|Share|Anyone|Easy|Attend the open topic call and collaborate |LINK
2|Facilitate|One person|Medium|Host the public online meeting for group to collaborate to: Highlighting findings, ID gaps in available resources, highlight challenges in this research area |LINK
3|Synthesize|Anyone|Hard|Review existing material and call summary and write an update post on it with materials gathered |LINK
3|Research|One person|Hard|Follow up on gaps identified from the group and post materials to help support information around those gaps.  |LINK