We have developed the Responsible AI for Climate Action Framework, a practical tool to support organizations and communities in making thoughtful, context-aware decisions about AI. We are now inviting civil society organizations, researchers, practitioners and community members to help us review and strengthen the framework through a series of community validation workshops.
Across Latin America and Africa, civil society faces information disorders, shrinking civic space, restrictive government policies, and collaboration between Big Tech companies and governments that enables increased surveillance. Upcoming elections in 2026 may take place amid anti-NGO legislation, restrictive cybersecurity laws, and uses of artificial intelligence that put civil society under pressure. To help organizations and collectives prepare for this critical election period across both regions, the Engine Room is launching an open call for support.
We are excited to welcome the Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT) to our 2026 Matchbox Program. IMPACT champions Indigenous rights and self-determination in Kenya.
We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Puentes, an organization dedicated to strengthening the narrative power of social justice movements in Latin America
We’re excited to welcome Oír Más as one of our new Matchbox partners. Oír Más is a radio collective dedicated to amplifying the voices of diverse communities through radio experimentation.
Beginning in 2025 The Engine Room will be hosting and maintaining the Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT) in our support programming.
Starting this month, The Engine Room will be service providers in OTF’s User Experience & Discovery (UXD) Lab.
We’re especially offering support for groups who are advocating for access to information for their community, working to build healthier info systems, or monitoring the impacts of info disorder.
This month we kicked off our collaboration with Education as a Vaccine (EVA), a Nigeria-based organisation working on improving the health and development of children and young people in the country.
We are extending a targeted offer of free tech and data support to Black feminist organizers
Learn about our collaboration with the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).
In January we launched the pilot of our new cohort learning programme, designed to equip social justice leaders with the knowledge and tools needed for implementing responsible data. Here are some updates on what we’ve covered so far.
During the first three months of this year, we had 13 partners in our Light Touch Support (LiTS) Programme! We worked with organisations and individuals based in seven countries, all of whom are doing inspiring, impactful work in sectors such as civic tech, transparency and accountability, migrants rights, peacebuilding, and reproductive justice.
Are you a civil society organisation or collective working within or with the health sector? Are you thinking about ways to collect, manage and store data more efficiently and securely? Are you looking to strengthen your organisation’s capacity around responsible data practices? Please read on, our Light Touch Support programme might be a great fit […]
We are thrilled to announce two new Matchbox partners for the upcoming cycle: Albinism Umbrella and Y-Fem Namibia. Read more about these two organisations below!
With support from Sigrid Rausing Trust, we are deepening our support to organisations who are going through digital transformation. We’re inviting organisations, collectives and movements facing challenges incorporating technologies in their work to reach out to us for light touch support (LiTS)!
Our support is direct, intensive and context-respecting. We meet you where you are, with focused support. If your organisation is interested in getting support from The Engine Room, please schedule a call with us!
We hosted a community call for organisations working on documenting institutional and police violence. Here are key takeaways from the conversation and a list of readings and projects that were shared by the participants.
Earlier this year, we released research on how legal empowerment organisations are using tech and data in their work. Inspired by that research, we’re excited to offer pro-bono, actionable and tailored support – through our Light Touch Support (LiTS) support programme – to legal empowerment organisations or activists who are interested in working more with […]
At The Engine Room, there are many different ways we strive to support our partners – our intensive Matchbox partnerships are year-long, dedicated collaborations, and our research work can take many shapes from helping build an organisation’s responsible data guidelines to conducting targeted field scans. Our Light Touch Support (LiTS) work, though ‘lighter’ in duration […]
As we near the Matchbox application deadline of September 28, here are our answers to some frequently asked questions that might help you in your application.
This month, we are launching a call for new Matchbox partners in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, and are looking forward to receiving your applications. Until then, read this post to learn more about how we offer in-depth support through Matchbox partnerships.
Are you working on issues of transparency and accountability or human rights related to elections in Latin America? Are you thinking about how responsible use of data and technology can intersect with your work around elections? If so, we would love to work with you through our Light Touch Support Programme (LiTS). Our LiTS programme […]
Why ‘light touch’ data and tech support matters In 2016, we launched our light touch support programme (LiTS) based on a hypothesis: targeted research and advice to social change agents can enhance effective and responsible use of data and technology. Last year, in partnership with Ford Foundation’s Internet Freedom programme, we continued to test this […]