We’ve put together a list of some awesome places to find more tools for social change. If you know another great website we should add here contact a Commons Librarian.
Click the + button on each section to expand it. Click on the section again and it will open the linked site in a new window.
350.org Trainings
350.org Trainings aims to equip activists to share knowledge, build relationships and lead effective workshops. The resources are divided between the roles of organisers, trainers and meeting facilitators. The organising story-telling labs features inspiring and informative case studies.
Blueprints for Change
Blueprints for Change is an open library of advocacy how-to’s put together by campaign innovators. It features how to guides on distributed organising, peer to peer texting campaigns and more. The resources are collaborative, iterative and freely available for sharing.
Australian Progress
Australian Progress aims to revitalise civil society movements, enabling them to win social and environmental progress, while strengthening our democracy. The Progress Network features messaging guides, how to guides and crowd source directories on everything form social change films to costume hire for stunts. There is also an extensive collection of recorded videos from Progress conferences.
Beautiful Rising
Beautiful Rising harnesses the insights of changemakers worldwide to help make our movements more strategic, creative and effective. Inspired by the concept of a “pattern language,” Beautiful Rising teases out the key elements of creative activism: stories, tactics, principles, theories and methodologies.
Beautiful Trouble
Beautiful Trouble aims to make grassroots movements more creative and effective. The toolbox features an impressive list of tactics, principles, theories and case studies shared through informative articles and illustrative images.
Campaignstrategy.org
Campaignstrategy.org was created by campaign consultant Chris Rose and provides resources for campaigners on strategy and values modes. The website features research and analysis on campaigns and a searchable archive of newsletters.
Communities in Control
Communities in Control offers thought leadership for the not-for-profit sector. It's aimed at community leaders and includes resources on getting started, networks and collaboration, advocacy methods and tools, communication, case studies and media contacts.
Community Tool Box
A free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change. Includes 46 chapters from assessing community needs to developing community interventions, cultural competency and spirituality, evaluation of interventions, and much more.
CounterAct
CounterAct aims to support communities in taking effective, creative, strategic action on issues of environmental and social justice. There are some excellent guides in direct action, nonviolence and solidarity as well as legal support for activism.
Digital Library of Nonviolent Resistance
Nonviolence International and the Rutgers University International Institute for Peace (IIP) have created the Digital Library of Nonviolent Resistance, an open access online digital collection of training manuals and related material, such as reports on training workshops, tools, exercises, preparatory material for campaigns, and legal and direct action handouts. It includes materials from the 1960s onward, used in a wide variety of struggles, from the Anti-Nuclear, Peace, and US Civil Rights movements to Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, and Black Lives Matter.
International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC)
The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) focuses on how ordinary people wage nonviolent conflict to win rights, freedom and justice. The ICNC develops and shares knowledge and resources on civil resistance with interested recipients throughout the world.
Mobilisation Lab
Global learning and collaboration network powering the future of social change campaigns. Mobilisation Lab is a space of collaboration and features useful guides, case studies and articles for progressive leaders and people powered campaigns.
New Economy Organisers (NEON)
Neon is a network of over 1,600 UK organisers from 900 different civil society groups. They run powerful trainings and support campaigns to help progressives win social, economic and environmental justice. Topics covered include framing the economy, systems and power, leadership, campaigns, organisations and movements.
New Tactics in Human Rights
New Tactics in Human Rights aims to inspire and equip activists to change the world through strategic thinking and tactical planning. The resources are divided into a strategy toolkit and a library with searchable tactics and detailed case studies. It's aimed at human rights defenders although the information and resources are broadly applicable to any change-maker.
Our Community
Our Community provides advice, connections, training and easy-to-use tech tools for people and organisations working to build stronger communities. Our community is a collection of sites focused on various topics including grants and fundraising, boards, governance and leadership, finance, insurance and risk management and people management.
Reason in Revolt
Reason in Revolt brings together primary source documents of Australian radicalism as a readily accessible digitised resource. By 'radical' we refer to those who aimed to make society more equal and to emancipate the exploited or oppressed. The Reason in Revolt website is an expanding record of the movements, institutions, venues and publications through which radicals sought to influence Australian society.
Rhizome
Rhizome are a UK network of facilitators who support groups and communities to grow in resilience, and be better able to organise collectively, dynamically, innovatively and effectively towards a just and sustainable world. They have a range of resources for grassroots organisations focused on working in groups, facilitation, communication, navigating conflict, consensus and decision making.
The Change Agency
The Change Agency is an independent social movement education initiative to help people win social and environmental change. Specifically aimed at community organisers and activist in the Australia Pacific region, the website has extensive resources, process guides and case studies in the areas of campaign strategy, community organising and working in groups.
Tactical Technology Collective
The Tactical Technology Collective investigates the way in which digital technologies changes society and impacts on individual autonomy and agency. They aim to use their findings to drive practical solutions for an international audience The collective website is the parent website for a number of different interactive issue based websites and resources that look at digital security, privacy, technology and gender and exposing hidden information.
Waging Nonviolence
Waging Nonviolence is an independent, non-profit media platform dedicated to providing original reporting and expert analysis of social movements around the world. They are focused on people power and the ways it is shaping our world, grounded in both history and the latest research. The information is searchable by topics or regions and is also available via podcast, radio and an excellent weekly newsletter.
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