Findings and collective visions from our recent research.
Research Report
Bridging the LGBTI digital divide
New report with ILGA World on how the digital divide impacts LGBTI individuals and organisations globally, and what’s needed to bridge it.
Risks and Threats related to Data Sharing in Humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance
New research: What to consider when evaluating or building new technological approaches to data sharing in CVA contexts.
Chatbots in humanitarian contexts
Research on the use of chatbots in humanitarian and civil society organisations.
Report: Biometrics in the humanitarian sector [2023]
In 2022-2023 we took a renewed look at the risks and benefits of biometric collection in the humanitarian sector.
Weaving tech into human rights work: case studies with Amnesty Tech
Working with Amnesty Tech, we looked at how Amnesty International has woven a critical understanding of technology into their human rights defence work.
Report + Workbook: Ethical considerations for open source investigations
Ethical considerations for conducting open source investigations for human rights advocacy or legal accountability.
Website Launch: Tech Tools for human rights documentation
Rsearch findings and practical advice for human rights documenters.
Report: At the confluence of digital rights & climate justice
Read our 2022 report about the intersections between digital rights and climate & environmental justice.
Report: Intersectional approaches to data and digital rights advocacy during the pandemic
Read our research report exploring intersectional collaboration between social justice communities and data and digital rights (DDR) communities during the pandemic.
New report: Digital IDs rooted in justice
Read our new research report: Digital IDs Rooted in Justice – lived experiences and civil society advocacy towards better systems
Predictive analytics for children: New research by The Engine Room and UNICEF
In partnership with UNICEF, we looked into predictive analytics specifically in relation to children. Read our report.
Tech Tools for Human Rights Documenters
A resource for human rights documenters, tool developers and funders.
Report: Tipping the scales – what it takes to fund an equitable tech & human rights ecosystem
Research into equity in funding.
Weaving research learnings into an organisational security community revamp
Explore our research and digital security toolkiit
Understanding the lived effects of digital ID systems
We worked with in-country researchers in five different sites to understand how communities are experiencing the implementation of digital ID systems.
Successful tool re-use in open contracting
For organisations interested in deploying an existing open contracting tool.
What digital tool re-use looks like among UK charities
This year, we researched how digital tools are re-used in the UK charity sector.
Report: Data protection & privacy in beneficial ownership
Our research assesses if publishing beneficial ownership data in public registers is lawful, if it is an effective way of tackling the abuse of anonymous companies, and how any potential impacts to privacy can be minimised or mitigated.
Technology and legal empowerment around the world
We partnered with the Open Society Justice Initiative to research how legal empowerment actors worldwide are using technology to give people information about the law, connect them with legal advice, and provide them with legal services.
How small data can improve access to justice for the poor
Learnings from our report on the use and impact of technology in case management in Indonesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa, informed by interviews with a range of civil society organizations, technologists, and government representatives.
Report: Improving Access to Water Services in Sierra Leone
In 2017, we partnered with Code for Sierra Leone through our Matchbox Program to collaborate on a project that aimed to improve access to water in Sierra Leone through information and communication technologies (ICTs). Last month, we shared a blogpost detailing opportunities we identified, and highlighted the need to build upon existing local solutions. This […]
Our new review on the use of biometric technologies in the humanitarian sector
Our new report outlines the ways biometrics are being used in the humanitarian sector, and reviews the context in which Oxfam is deciding whether (and how) to integrate biometrics into its programmes.
Ties That Bind: introducing our new research on organisational security for civil society
We partnered with the Ford Foundation to look at how civil society can strengthen their digital security, what and who is out there to support them, and how they can develop better digital security practices.
Alidade: an interactive tool to help you bring technology strategically into your project
We created Alidade – an interactive guide that helps social change organisations ask the questions that can help them decide what kind of technology tool would fit with their project.
Announcing our new research on humanitarian futures for messaging apps
Messaging apps are the fastest growing form of digital communication ever, with smartphone ownership rising rapidly around the world and messaging becoming many people’s favourite way to communicate. But what does this mean for humanitarian organisations? Our new research report, produced in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the messaging […]
Our new report on technology tools in human rights is here
Launching our new scoping study on the use of technology tools for human rights documentation
Launching new Responsible Data in Agriculture paper
We’re very happy to share our new paper on Responsible Data in Agriculture, commissioned by Global Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN), and co-authored together with Lindsay Ferris.
DatNav: New Guide to Navigate and Integrate Digital Data in Human Rights Research
Launching DatNav: a guide designed to help you navigate and integrate digital data into your human rights research. DatNav is the result of a collaboration between Amnesty International, Benetech, and The Engine Room which began in late 2015 culminating in an intense four day writing sprint facilitated by Chris Michael and Collaborations for Change in May 2016, […]