The simple “tech stack” behind leading people-powered campaigns

Having gone deep into distributed organizing lately, one of the questions we started receiving from groups that want to get started on this is what tech tools and platforms they need to build to support this. Luckily, for those with tight budgets, the answer is that you don’t need to build much of anything new to do this right.

From what we see out there in the world, technology supporting distributed organizing efforts serves largely as a connective tissue between organizers and remote groups and participants. The innovators who have made such systems work for large organizations are certainly tech-savvy but not focused primarily on digital technology. Rather, they display a utilitarian approach to the platforms they work with, often choosing tools that are simple to adopt, affordable to own and already used by a large segment of their peers. If there is one common principle employed throughout the technological design of such programs, it is that the platforms and tools chosen must present the least friction when it comes to adoption and use by organizers and supporters.

Overall, we observe that the tools and systems used are relatively inexpensive, “plug and play” – in the sense that they can rapidly be set up and deployed to support programs – and accessible in the sense that they are user-friendly or based on platforms that supporters and organizers already use and therefore do not require special training or a long adaptation period.

Common elements of a distributed organizing “tech stack”

The table presented below is a compilation of tools and platforms used by leading organizations that run distributed organizing systems including: The ACLU’s People Power program, 350.org, Indivisible, Movimiento Cosecha, the Bernie campaign, Canada’s Dogwood Initiative, Sierra Club, Hollaback!, Team Internet – Free Press and the Stop Adani network in Australia.

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Finally, a reminder that we offer tailored guidance to organizations around the world seeking to implement or optimize distributed organizing programs.

Contact us at trainings (at) netchange.co to discuss this further and see our trainings page for more information on the workshops we deliver.