Your tech toolbox: free digital tools for grassroots, liberatory social change
At Comotion, we use the 5Ps as a lens for advancing social change: Purpose, Power, Presence, Partnerships, and Practice. In this tech toolbox, we’ve aligned digital tools to the P where they can be most useful, so you can see at a glance which tools:
- define what you stand for (Purpose)
- map where you have influence (Power)
- amplify your voice (Presence)
- organise with others (Partnerships)
- build and sustain the work (Practice)
Note: if you have the resources, consider funding the collectives, co-ops, and projects who are building civic tech for activists. More on that at the end of the post.
Purpose: Tools that help you clarify your cause
These tools help you define your values, craft your message, and turn ideas into clear plans.
- Inoreader → track issue news, media narratives, and movement developments in one place
- Sticky Studio or Excalidraw → brainstorm ideas and workshop values and direction collaboratively
- Anytype → take notes, store research, and build knowledge securely
- Goblin Tools → make sense of ideas and break down complex tasks (great for neurodivergent folks)
Power: Tools that help you understand and build influence
These tools help you map where you can create change, understand where your influence lies, and mobilise actors effectively.
- Kumu → visualise power relationships and movement ecosystems
- Mapped or Ushahidi → create and share maps of networks and crowdsource information
Presence: Tools that help you show up
These tools help you express your purpose and power in ways people can see, hear, and engage with.
- Affinity or Penpot → design graphics, publications, and interfaces
- Kdenlive or CapCut → craft and edit videos
- Audacity → record and edit audio stories and podcasts
- WriteFreely → publish blogs or articles outside corporate platforms
- Carrd → create one-page websites to spread your message quickly
- Bluesky or Mastodon → reach people on decentralised social platforms
- Tito → organise events and gatherings
- Movements → build campaigns with tools for petitions, publishing, events, and contributions
Partnerships: Tools that help you organise collectively
These tools help you coordinate, communicate, and collaborate with fellow organisers, allies, and networks.
- PlaceCal → see what’s happening in your local community (and set up your own calendar!)
- Signal → message securely with partners
- Rallly → schedule group meetings through simple polls
- Riseup or Disroot → communicate, collaborate, and manage files with an activist-led suite of tools
- Discourse → build your community through discussion forums and messaging
- Fluxer → communicate with your community through chat, channels, and video calls
- Citizen OS → make decisions based on participatory discussion
- Balotilo → organise online voting for democratic decision-making
Practice: Tools that help you build and sustain action
These tools help you develop sustainable workflows and create capacity for change.
- Nextcloud or kSuite → collaborate, communicate, and organise your files ethically
- GlassFrog → organise your collective with transparent roles, circles, and decision practices
- Open Collective → use open financial tools for transparent fundraising and money management
- Kan → manage tasks and projects intuitively
Civic tech collectives to support
If you have the resources, make it a priority to support and fund the collectives, co-ops, and projects that are making civic tech tools available to grassroots organisations. Here are just a few:
- Geeks for Social Change → a collective creating community technology, led by trans and disabled people.
- Common Knowledge → a worker cooperative creating digital infrastructure for social movements.
- Awana Digital → a non-profit building decentralised technology hand-in-hand with Indigenous partners.
- Disroot → a project providing online services based on principles of freedom, privacy, federation and decentralisation.
- Riseup → an autonomous tech collective providing communication infrastructure controlled by movement organisations.
Now, get out there and cause a comotion!
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If this toolbox was useful to you, consider also exploring:
Worksheet: Begin Anywhere
Article: Misinformation in the Era of AI and Media Oligarchy
