Visioning is at the core of what the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) does, but it can be a nebulous concept. What does it mean to actually “do visioning”? Why does it matter for computing research? And where does CCC come into the picture?

Our new Visioning in Action series aims to answer those questions and more by providing a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of our current visioning initiatives. Learn about how our workshops, reports, Community Chats, and more come to be through the words of community members who work with us. 

For the first part of this series and to learn more about the Defining the Role of Computing Interfaces in Neural Interface Design visioning initiative, check out this CCC blog post. There, you can also read about what the proposal process for organizing a CCC workshop looks like.

Organizing a Multi-Field Workshop

The Defining the Role of Computing Interfaces in Neural Interface Design workshop took place April 22-23, 2025, about one year after the acceptance of the final proposal for the workshop. For co-organizers Abhishek Bhattacharjee (Yale University), Raghavendra (Raghav) Pothukuchi (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and Nishal Shah (Rice University), much of that time was spent on tasks like deciding who to invite, developing small group discussion questions, and selecting speakers to energize the conversation at the workshop. In addition to managing logistics like location, registration and invitations, meals, and equipment, CCC staff also share the institutional knowledge that CCC has gathered over the years to help organizers develop a well-rounded, engaged, and fruitful workshop.

According to Abhishek, the most challenging aspect of organizing the workshop was creating a list of invitees. To produce a meaningful understanding of the future of computing in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), the workshop needed a wide variety of experts, including neuroscientists, bioethicists, regulatory agents, and, of course, computing researchers across domains. And more than just representing their field, these individuals had to be a fit for visioning itself — to be willing to work collaboratively with such a diverse group and to think boldly about the future of the field.

While considering the various perspectives that may enrich the discussion and developing the invite list, the organizers were even fortunate enough to connect with a few individuals with implanted BCI devices. “Many bioethicists get their cues from the actual individuals, and we had a few people at the workshop who themselves had these implants… it’s one thing to have neurosurgeons sort of present to computing people on behalf of those patients, but it’s another thing entirely to get those individuals in the same room as the computing folks,” said Abhishek.

The Workshop Comes Together

During the actual workshop, the organizing committee helped lead the proceedings with support from CCC staff. The agenda blended thought-provoking speakers and Q&As with breakout sessions designed to prompt open-ended discussion in small groups over two days. 

At first, there was some settling in as folks from different domains got comfortable with each other’s research terminology. But ultimately, the conversations flowed freely and illuminated the numerous considerations going into computing in BCIs. The organizing committee noted that, in a way, the workshop went against what is typically viewed as a “success” in technology. Success is often defined as not necessarily needing to have a full understanding of how all other aspects of a technology work for a specialist — in hardware, software, or neurosurgery, for example — to expertly do their specific job. Rather, at this workshop, participants were able to share their perspectives and listen, learning about each other’s work with a goal of advancing BCI technology. 

By convening folks from across fields, with different accepted jargon and research areas, the workshop ran the risk of becoming too broad and losing sight of what the actual goal was: defining the role of computing, specifically, in shaping the future of BCIs. From Nishal’s perspective, “One of the things that Abhishek and Raghav did well was to remind people that it’s about computing at the end. Because there were so many diverse topics, we could just get lost, and everyone had their own specialties. So, it was important to remind them that there was a central goal: computing.”

Finally, Abhishek highlighted the particular value of having CCC staff live onsite to assist with running the workshop and adapting to last-minute changes. “We didn’t feel comfortable cutting speakers off, because the Q&A… signifies engagement, and we blew over the allotted budget significantly,” he said. “What helped was [CCC staff] telling us this was normal, and [giving us] a plan to redo the other sessions so that by the end of the day, we were still on schedule.”

Shaping Future Research

After bringing the computing community (and beyond) together at the workshop, Abhishek, Raghav, and Nishal pivoted to developing a report with findings and recommendations informed by the conversations that took place. For Raghav, “At the end of the day, when this report gets sent out, it has the implication that it’s a field consensus. And we [made] sure that the discussions that we had at the workshop carried that weight.”

Being so comprehensive, however, means that the organizing committee needs to keep in mind the same challenge that the workshop discussions themselves had: staying within scope. Doing justice to the multitude of topics that arose has been the biggest challenge during the report-writing process, but is a testament to their commitment to making a real impact through this visioning initiative.

Through this report, the organizing committee hopes to guide future research directions as well as make the case for funding in areas that will support computing applications in BCIs. But more than that, they hope to create a future for this nascent domain. 

“Computing for BCIs doesn’t really exist wholesale… I hope [the report] empowers senior people to feel that they can make more grounded claims in the importance of this work, so that junior practitioners are given the long runway which they need to succeed and for the field to succeed,” Abhishek said. 

Stay Tuned for the Full Workshop Report and Get Involved with CCC Visioning

If you’re interested in learning more about how to get involved with CCC visioning initiatives or want to propose one yourself, we encourage you to read more about visioning proposals here. For the full scope of what it’s like to organize a visioning initiative with CCC, you can read our Visioning Best Practices document.

The full workshop report for Defining the Role of Computing Interfaces in Neural Interface Design will be released in Summer 2026, laying out key findings and strategic recommendations for the future of computing in neural interfaces. Subscribe below or follow us on LinkedIn to be the first to know when it’s released.

Tune in to the CCC LinkedIn Showcase Page for updates and more Visioning in Action. Stay connected with CCC for the latest insights, publications, and opportunities to engage by subscribing here.