Empowering Social and Environmental Justice: Understanding and Enhancing Resource Use

Executive Summary

The Commons Social Change Library (The Commons, or The Library) partnered with The University of Queensland’s Global Change Scholars Program to investigate how individuals, organisations, and communities use and engage with information to drive social and environmental justice efforts.

This report presents findings from a qualitative study examining stakeholders’ resource needs, access barriers, and content preferences. These insights provide a foundation for developing evidence-informed resources that are accessible, relevant, and effective in supporting contemporary social and environmental justice efforts across Australia.

Approach

To explore diverse experiences of information use, the research team conducted in-depth interviews (n=15) and a short response survey (n=11) with both users and non-users of The Commons, all of whom are engaged in social or environmental justice work.

Participants were recruited through purposive sampling, using a short expression-of-interest form to identify activists involved in a range of change efforts across different contexts and roles. The qualitative data collected were thematically analysed to address two key objectives:

1. To evaluate existing needs, access barriers, and content preferences related to resource use among current and potential Library users.
2. To develop actionable, evidence-based recommendations for enhancing The Commons’ relevance, accessibility, and strategic impact.

To support comparative insights across different orientations toward activism, participants were grouped into four broad categories: Reformers, Citizens, Change Agents, and Rebels.

Findings

Our analysis revealed three key insights that shape how activists engage with written materials and knowledge resources:

1. Archival infrastructure
   Written materials are vital for preserving activist knowledge, sustaining collective memory, and ensuring continuity across campaigns, communities, and generations.
2. Community as a conduit for knowledge exchange
   Peer networks are central to learning and sharing. Rather than relying on formal institutions or top-down media, many activists access and exchange knowledge through trusted community relationships
3. Knowledge translation as a relational and political practice
   There is no one-size-fits-all approach to information design. To effectively reach diverse audiences, resources must be adapted in format, tone, and delivery to reflect the varied contexts and capacities of activist users.

These findings highlight that effective resource use in activist settings depends not only on the quality of content, but on how knowledge is produced, shared, and received within specific social and cultural contexts.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, four key recommendations are proposed to enhance The Library’s effectiveness and accessibility:

1. Audit existing resources using the Resource Needs Compass framework (see Figure 1).
2. Tailor future resources to specific activist communities by adapting format, tone, and delivery using the Resource Needs Compass framework (see Figure 1).
3. Invest in shared archival infrastructure that preserves movement memory, sustains activist knowledge beyond moments of action, and supports long-term political, cultural, and educational continuity.
4. Adopt and maintain the Activism Question Bank (see Appendix C: Question bank maintenance) as a reflective design tool to guide ongoing resource development and community engagement strategies.

Acknowledgements

This report was produced as part of the Global Change Scholars Program at the University of Queensland. It would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of all staff at The Commons Social Change Library. We gratefully acknowledge The Commons Library team for their generous support, collaboration, and guidance throughout the course of this project, especially Robyn Gulliver and Holly Hammond.

The University of Queensland acknowledges and respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as First Australians. We value and celebrate the uniqueness of knowledges, cultures, histories and languages that have been created and shared for at least 65,000 years.

Authors:

• Minh Chanh Dang, PhD candidate, School of Communication and Arts
• Jordan Drochmann, PhD candidate, School of the Environment
• Hayden Mitt, PhD candidate, School of Music & School of the Environment
• Kiernan Thompson, PhD candidate, School of Public Health

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Empowering Social and Environmental Justice: Understanding and Enhancing Resource Use (39 pgs PDF)