Digital Sovereignty & Alternative Technologies NGO Job CIVICUS

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Scope of work

The consultant will research and produce a report (estimated 40–60 pages) examining emerging civic technologies and digital alternatives to Big Tech products that support democratic participation and strengthen civil society’s digital resilience. The research must address both external-facing civic functions and internal organisational operations, and will be grounded in CIVICUS’ three pillars of civic space innovation:

• Struggle (resisting digital repression and defending fundamental freedoms),
• Solidarity (enabling collective action and community-owned infrastructure), and
• Deliberation (fostering inclusive participation and new civic narratives).

The assignment will be organised around five interconnected task areas:

Research Mapping and Literature Review

Review and synthesise existing literature, initiatives, and debates related to:

• Civic technologies, digital sovereignty, and platform governance
• Digital commons and community-owned infrastructure
• Alternative and open-source tools for civil society (both programmatic and operational)
• Developments emerging from the From Platforms to Commons analysis, updating and extending that evidence base

Case Study Analysis

Identify and analyse concrete examples of civic tech tools, platform alternatives, and collaborative digital infrastructures used by civil society actors. Case studies should:

• Span diverse regional contexts, with particular attention to the Global South
• Cover both external-facing tools (e.g. federated social networks, participation platforms, crisis-ready infrastructure) and internal-facing alternatives (e.g. open-source project management, secure communication, finance and admin tools)
• Address adoption barriers, governance models, sustainability, and contextual safety risks
• Reflect the CIVICUS civic space innovation framework — identifying how each case embodies participatory design, systemic impact, or community-led approaches

Synthesis of Programme and Partner Insight

Consolidate insights from CIVICUS’ own research outputs, DDI programme activities, and partner organisation experiences, including evidence regarding digital tool development, adoption and challenges.

Strategic Analysis and Recommendations

Identify strategic opportunities for civil society to strengthen digital resilience and reduce dependency on extractive digital infrastructures. Specifically:

• Analyse identified gap in existing literature (local hosting capacity, language representation, governance capacity, sustainable funding, and regional coordination) and assess how they have evolved
• Identify sustainable alternative technologies for both external civic engagement and internal organisational functions, with attention to context-appropriate adoption
• Provide actionable recommendations for how civil society organisations can build, operate, and sustainably scale alternative technology solutions
• Assess funding and governance models that could support long-term infrastructure stewardship

Report Development

 Produce a well-structured, accessible research report that synthesises findings across all task areas and provides practical guidance for civil society organisations, funders, and CIVICUS partners. The report must be written for a practitioner audience and grounded in real-world examples.

How to Apply

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