Happy Friday readers! 

I’m Kelly, co-founder of Impact Edit and guest editor of this week’s newsletter. I’ll be sharing some insights and practical tips as I reflect on our upcoming first birthday! 

Impact Edit exists to partner with organisations that are changing systems and tackling social, economic or environmental justice issues. We actually don’t define ourselves as ‘tech for good’, but rather tech for organisations changing systems. We’re an agency that takes a needs-based approach to innovation; helping social enterprises, charities and impact businesses build stewardship and digital capacity within their organisations and the systems they act in - as well as developing great solutions and platforms. We believe with this approach technology can be the guardian of regenerative and equitable change.So what have we learned so far?

The power of partnership: Impact Edit is a collaboration - bringing the amazing design, product management and technical development capabilities of digital agency Studio Graphene together with my experience of social innovation and digital justice. Clients tell us this combination of building digital solutions within social and economic justice contexts, is why they chose to work with us.

Great design matters for backend systems too: We worked with a leading financial inclusion organisation to build a money advice platform. As well as developing a seamless, intuitive user experience for financially vulnerable customers, we also spent as much time designing a beautiful backend client management system for the team. This ensures that sustainable technical stewardship of the service belongs to the organisation, without creating long-term dependency on agencies.

Digital spaces are our new parks and playgrounds: Collaborating with a public health funder, we explored the porous and fluid nature of digital spaces and the role they play in underpinning new social infrastructures. I wrote about these ideas for Stir Magazine in an article called ‘Another Internet is Possible.’

Look for what is working at the community level: On a new project with an organisation that provides services for young adults with learning difficulties and autism,  our designers are taking inspiration from the tools and routines that work for these young people in the physical caring space. Replicating and reimagining these experiences in a digital setting will enable them to manage their own behaviours and feel more independent.

Have a point of view: As a new social tech agency, founded in the midst of a global pandemic, it’s certainly not been an easy first year! But I always come back to the insights and hypotheses that led us to start Impact Edit in the first place, and the amazing conversations I had with peers and collaborators across this community and beyond. We didn’t always agree, but tension and support can co-exist and I’ve been immensely grateful for it. Having an opinion is important - writing this article on femtech even landed us a new client! 

Have a great long weekend,

Kelly 
Come and find me on LinkedIn or Twitter

#Stewarding tech ⛵

At Impact Edit we take inspiration from a range of international, diverse and exciting people, organisations and institutions who share our commitment to cooperative innovation and promote the values of carefully stewarding tech. I’ve curated a few of them for you here:

🔐 The Consentful Tech Project raises awareness of how we can design and develop consent-based technology that is centred on the self-determination of its users. 

🏞 New public is a constant source of ideas and provocations for me. Their mission is to convene designers, thinkers and technologists to reimagine the internet as a public space - ‘digital urban planners’. 

🏗 The design justice principles inform and guide much of my practice and are a great way to start any new project or collaboration. 

📰 Is it a bit meta if this tech for good newsletter recommends another tech for good newsletter? Oh well! Sari Azout’s Check Your Pulse was one of my favourite lockdown discoveries. So. Much. Great. Content. 

💫 Could not not shout out the brilliant Outlandish and their open source Playbook. From the kings and queens of digital cooperativism, these folks are bringing stewardship and capacity building home

👀 We can all be stewards of a more ethical internet - this list of resources, from search engines to analytics tools,  is a must-have for anyone who’s curious about tech for good.

News in tech for good:

🛴 How sustainable are e-scooters? In this piece from Sifted, Conor Bilboe looks into swappable batteries and carbon emissions, and compares the biggest e-scooter startups in Europe.

🎤  This is a great interview with Khyati Sundaram is CEO of Applied - a tech platform taking the bias out of hiring. 

🌱 Spanish startup Bioo is drawing on natural energy in the ground to power farms and cities. Find out more in this analysis from Sifted.

⚤ Emily Sharpe, the policy director at the World Wide Web Foundation, talks here about barriers to closing the digital gender gap and how we can close them. 

🌿  LettUs Grow CEO and co-founder Charlie Guy shares his insights into why they’re different, the impact LettUs Grow is having and his lessons on being a young founder. Watch the interview here or read it here. 

🧑‍💼 Deepfakes have generally been associated with porn and potential online harassment, but now they are being used to make business pitches. Read the full story here.

🇦🇫 The news of the Taliban’s control of Afghanistan has been shocking, and a lot for many of us to process. The NewScientist explores Afghan people’s impossible choice over their digital footprint here. If you are looking for a way to show support or help those in need, consider donating to this urgent fundraiser from Choose Love.

🤳 Ethan Zuckerman takes a look into the content report from Facebook. His reaction varies from relief at Facebook releasing more open data, shock that this is the first time they have and confusion over some of the results. Read his take here. 

👀 Check out Tech Round’s Top 33 Tech for Good Companies here.

The Tech for Good Newsboard 📍

• Read this global study analysing digital algorithmic accountability policy for the public sector, from The Ada Lovelace Institute (Ada), AI Now Institute (AI Now), and Open Government Partnership (OGP).

• Struggling with crowdfunding? Join these crowdfunding power hours every Tuesday 4-5pm to meet others on the same journey and get advice from professionals and peers. 

• AI for Good is a digital platform where AI innovators build and connect to identify practical AI solutions to advance UN SDGs. Check them out here.

• In the spirit of stewarding tech, check out this guide from CAST, on how to communicate well with a digital agency.

#Opportunities and Funding

If you have a funding challenge, grant opening, speaking gig or another opportunity that you want to share - let us know!

• The William Sutton Prize for Social Innovation 2021 Theme is “A Home for All.” The call is for innovative ideas tackling homelessness and addressing temporary accommodation needs, creative solutions for housing an ageing population, and for tech supporting sustainable tenancies. Apply by 6th October for your chance to win up to £20,000.

• The 4Revs Innovation Challenge 2021 aims to help humanity solve survival challenges in one generation (2020-2050). Open call for proposals until 8th September - apply here.

• Check out the MozFest TAI Working Groups Call for Interest here. Definitely worth applying if you would like to contribute to community-led projects that create and promote more Trustworthy AI (TAI).

• The Geovation Accelerator Programme, backed by Ordnance Survey and HM Land Registry, is now open for applications! Apply by 30th August for your chance to receive up to £20,000.

• The Halo Incubator provides education and resources to early stage women entrepreneurs to help more build, scale and fundraise. Apply here for the September 2021 programme.

What’s going on? 📅

• Join Bethnal Green Ventures on the 7th September for their Spring 2021 Showcase event. There will be lightning pitches and a panel discussion on angel investing. Register for free here.

• Dama Sathianathan will be speaking about tech ethics in private markets at the next Hattusia meetup on 9th September. Sign up here.

• Get your tickets for the Startup Summit happening on 25th-28th October - there are only 70 in-person tickets left. 

Working in tech for good 💼

We’ve trimmed the job section to new arrivals and featured ads only. For the full list head to our website.

• Organise is hiring a Campaign Coach to work with their members to run and win their workplace campaigns. Apply by 13th September.

• 7Graus is looking for a DevOps Infrastructure Engineer to join their team in Portugal. Apply by 30th October.

• Carbon Co-op is looking for a Software Engineer to work on their energy systems projects in the area of smart energy/home. Apply by 3rd September.

• CitizenLab is looking for a Business Development Manager to lead their expansion in France. Apply by 15th September.

• Women Win is looking for a Junior Salesforce Administrator to join their team. Apply by 8th September.

• Simprints is looking for a Technical Project Manager to oversee the delivery of robust solutions. Apply by 20th December.

If you have an opening or know of a job opportunity to do with tech for good, please head to our website and we can look into adding it to the jobs board.

techforgood/highlights is powered by Bethnal Green Ventures.