Innovation for Change

I4C Global Strategy

This new Global Strategy sets the network’s collective direction for the next 4 years to the end of 2028.
Download the full strategy
Innovation for Change was codesigned from 2016 onwards by civil society in seven regions across 143 global majority countries to explore how civil society could innovate to defend and strengthen our fundamental civic rights. These are rights that protect the spaces for people to express their views, to engage with each other, and come together to advocate for positive changes in their communities and societies.

Since 2016 we have engaged with over 30,000 community members by creating local, national, regional and global spaces for collective action to solve civic rights issues using innovation, technology and human-centered methodologies.

This new Global Strategy sets the network’s collective direction for the next 4 years to the end of 2028. We publish this at a time when the challenges faced in our regions by our network of NGOs, activists, community organizations, technologists, lawyers and social movements have grown in number and severity, from increasing attacks of various kinds to existential sustainability challenges.

As we look ahead and consider the potential impacts on our civic rights, including from authoritarianism, Artificial Intelligence and the multiple impacts of the climate crisis, this living strategy will enable our network to be agile in responding to these and other drivers of change in our dynamic contexts.

In navigating uncertainty, through our work to date we have seen the positive impacts of bringing diverse actors together to innovate, test and scale ways to strengthen collective action. As a result our members believe that by powering social innovation our civil society-led ecosystem is needed now and into the future.

In order that we may contribute to the creation of cohesive, peaceful and equitable societies our Global Strategy to 2028 focuses on three global priorities:

I4C Global Strategy

Global Priorities

  • The network supports social innovation through funding solutions, innovation challenges, labs, and hackathons. Successful examples include the I4C Africa Hub’s Social Innovation Challenge and the development of platforms like Communidas and MENA Tabadol. 
  • Global research agenda on technology’s impact, socio-economic contributions, digital rights, disinformation, geopolitical power shifts, and alternative funding models.
  • The I4C Center for Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights researching surveillance and censorship in the digital technology and AI landscape.
  • Co-designing solutions with diverse stakeholders, including social movements, grassroot networks, CSOs, activists, technologists, researchers, campaigners, journalists, academics, the private sector, and governments.
  • The I4C Civic Tech for Good Network leverages technology to address challenges faced by civil society, providing open source and white-label solutions, such as apps for digital security, emergency aid, chatbot builders, and sharing economy platforms.
  • Capacity strengthening efforts include annual events like the Global Inter Regional Retreat, the Civic Innovation Fair, and Innovation Festivals, along with training programs, resources, and digital transformation toolkits.
  • Strengthening grassroots inclusion through initiatives like capacity-building programs, seed funding, regional co-creation meetings, and collaborative programmatic pilots. 
  • Leading innovative campaigns addressing strategic civic space advocacy issues.
  • Producing locally co-created interactive knowledge resources.
I4C Global Strategy

Our Theory of Change

Innovation for Change envisions societies in which civil society-led, social innovation contributes to the creation of cohesive, peaceful and equitable societies.
Read More..
I4C Global Strategy

How we work?

I4C takes an evidence-driven approach, informed by the I4C Research Network.
Read More..
I4C Global Strategy

How we co create locally-led global change?

Innovation for Change envisions societies in which civil society-led, social innovation contributes to the creation of cohesive, peaceful and equitable societies.
Read More..
Learn more about our work
as a Global-Majority Civil Society-led
Civic innovation network
Learn more about our Hubs' structures

Our Theory of Change

Innovation for Change envisions societies in which civil society-led, social innovation contributes to the creation of cohesive, peaceful and equitable societies. 

Our mission as a global majority country-led civil society social innovation network is to strengthen civil society by bringing diverse changemakers together to co-create solutions to human rights and civic space challenges. 

The complex, dynamic civic space challenges we face are often intersectional and experienced across regions and globally. As a result, since 2018 the network has developed an increasing number of inter-regional programmes. We have positioned ourselves as a global south-led network working across global south regions. 

Our innovation ecosystem of seven regional Hubs in Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Pacific give us the perspectives, footprint and agility to address these challenges globally. We do this by exchanging knowledge, by codesigning and testing inter-regional programming and by scaling and adapting successful interventions across the network.  

We have three global priorities, built on the strategies of our regional Hubs and pulling on global levers of change.   

  1. Imagining positive civil society futures and new ways to strengthen civic space that may emerge unexpectedly from major environmental, technological, economic, political and cultural system changes. 
  2. Strengthening the capacity and resilience of civil society to create change opportunities, by being a learning and exchange network that nurtures social innovation, secures and diversifies resources, and provides protection and support to the next generation of activists.
  3. Building trust in civil society through advocacy and positive narrative campaigns and by strengthening our inclusion of grassroots organizations, through movement and alliance building.

How do we deliver on our Theory of Change?

  • Global and Inter-Regional collaborations powered by Regional Hubs.
  • Research as evidence to inform the co-design of Social Innovation solutions.
  • Training, and learning and exchange to build the capacity of civil society.
  • Imaging and then shaping alternative civil society futures.
  • Bridging and connecting sectors together to deliver positive change.

How we work?

Evidence-Driven Approach:

  • I4C takes an evidence-driven approach, informed by the I4C Research Network. The Research Network is a civil society-led, global ‘think and do’ group of multi-disciplinary global south researchers that contributes to our growing global research library and generates actionable insights that inform Hub and global strategies and programming.”

Localized Global Research Agenda:

  • Our locally-led global research agenda includes: tracking the impacts of technology on human rights; assessing the positive socio-economic contributions of civil society; mapping digital rights and tracking disinformation; monitoring the civic space impacts of geopolitical power shifts; tracking the use of digital currencies in different civic space settings; and researching alternative funding models for civil society. Download the full strategy for more details. 

Social Innovation and Inclusive Design:

  • Social innovation powered by inclusive design thinking is at the heart of our movement building and solutions development approach, and is key to creating and testing ways to address perennial and emerging threats to civil society. We believe that sparking new ideas through unusual collaborations helps bridge between communities and sectors, and creates social inclusion and the conditions for locally led solutions to shift power in favor of marginalized communities. Download the full strategy for more details. 

Capacity Strengthening and Global Collaboration:

  • We endeavor to help strengthen the capacity of civil society by being a learning and exchange network that focuses on the needs of movements, provides convenings, and demand-driven training programmes and communities of practice. Download the full strategy for more details. 

Leveraging Civic Technologies:

  • As part of both our capacity strengthening and social innovation work, the I4C Civic Tech for Good Network of technologists, leverages civic technologies to meet challenges the sector faces, including resourcing, capacity building and research. Download the full strategy for more details.

How we co create locally-led global change?

 

  • Global and Inter-Regional collaborations powered by Regional Hubs
  • Research as evidence to inform the codesign of Social Innovation solutions
  • Training, and learning and exchange to build the capacity of civil society
  • Imaging and then shaping alternative civil society futures
  • Bridging and connecting sectors together to deliver positive change