Introduction
The right tech tools can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of a campaign or organising project. The code for the following tools is available open source. Depending on your skill levels you may need to engage a developer to set these up and customise to your needs.
Open Source Tech Tools
Tijuana – Campaigner CRM
Tijuana is a sophisticated campaigning tool for campaigners and organisers. It comprises the main platform application housing content, action modules, e-mail blaster, constituent relationship manager and events. It’s been used around the world to help mobilise thousands of people, raise millions of campaigning funds, and demonstrate people-power hundreds of times on a huge range of issues.
The tool was cited as a key component of GetUp’s impact on the 2016 Federal election – referred by the Financial Review as “a highly secure central system of record, storing tens of millions of online actions, which facilitated millions of individual letters and calls to decision makers, newspaper editors and voters on top of raising over $30 million for GetUp’s campaigns and tactics.”
It is now available to other organisations and community groups to use as their own platform.
This tool is permissively licensed under a commercial arrangement to form the basis of The Purpose Platform – a global open source project committed to building multilingual campaigning and organizing tools for social good. Currently, this codebase is used by AllOut, TheRules, United Nations Human Rights Office, Jhatkaa and Fight for the Future.
Access the Tijuana GitHub repository
Neighbourly – Doorknocking ‘Walk List’ Tool
This state of the art walk list tool has been custom built to support community door-knocking efforts. It enables the user to – on a mobile device – produce a map of doors to knock, complete with accurate names and addresses. And then to knock the doors and accurately record responses electronically.
This tool is now available under open source licensing to grassroots community groups.
Access the Neighbourly GitHub repository
Spoke – Peer-to-Peer Text Tool
Spoke is an open source text-distribution tool for organizations to mobilize supporters and members into action. Spoke allows you to upload phone numbers, customize scripts and assign volunteers to communicate with supporters while allowing organizations to manage the process.
Spoke was created by Saikat Chakrabarti and Sheena Pakanati, and is now maintained by MoveOn.org.
Access the Spoke GitHub repository
Explore Further
- OpenCampaign
OpenCampaign is a curated open source library with the best field-tested resources created by campaign staff. - Civic Tech Field Guide
Digital tool suites to facilitate political or community organizing with CRMs, emails, groups, events, and other actions. - Digital Tools for Activism
A curated list of awesome digital tools for activism. These are tools for individuals, ad-hoc groups or formal organizations that are campaigning, organizing or communicating for social change. Some of these tools are open source projects that requires some technical knowledge to set up and host yourself. Some are software-as-a-service tools that you use by going to a webpage in your browser.
More resources from the Commons Library
- Innovative Tech for Social Justice Causes: Resources from Democracy Labs
- Digital tools to support effective meetings, training and conferences
- Tools Roundup Apps and Digital Platforms for Organizers
- How to use WhatsApp for campaigning
- Digital security basics for campaigners
- Online Organising: Working Together Remotely
- Digital Organizing Frameworks and Models
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