Guides and Tools

This library of "DemTools" consists of software, approaches, toolkits and guides that DemTech regards as trusted technology-related resources for the democracy community. It is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather a curated list of tools and resources known by DemTech experts to be valuable for enabling democratic actors to conduct their work in a safe, reliable, and cost effective way.

Before you get started, please read these important considerations for using digital tools

Transifex logo

Transifex

Transifex is a popular, well-established online translation platform, allowing a global group of volunteers, paid interpreters, or machine translators to collaborate on new “localizations” into any desired languages. While built for translating software, it can be used for other purposes as well…

Description Updated: Feb 13, 2023

Twilio logo

Twilio

Civic, political, and governmental groups need to keep in touch with their people, and reaching audiences on their near-omnipresent phones has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to do so. Twilio is a commercial provider of mobile device connectivity via text, messenger app, and…

Description Updated: Feb 13, 2023

Cover of Municipal Digital Transformation Guidebook

Municipal Digital Transformation Guidebook

Integrating technology can be a positive for local government,…

Description Updated: Feb 13, 2023

People Powered Logo

People Powered - Guide to Digital Participation Platforms

Interested in the world of participatory budgeting and or other forms of participatory democracy? PeoplePowered.org

Description Updated: Feb 13, 2023

KeePassXC Logo

KeePassXC

We all have too many passwords. The only way to create and safely manage them all is to use a password manager like KeePassXC. A free, open source tool, KeePassXC can secure your passwords and other important information easily, though without automatic cloud…

Description Updated: Feb 13, 2023

Tails logo

Tails

Without a trustworthy computer, no aspect of our digital lives is secure. For those with a strong desire to keep themselves safe online, and willing to make some sacrifices in ease of use to do so, the free, open-source Tails operating system is a great option.

Description Updated: Feb 13, 2023

Outline vpn logo

Outline Virtual Private Network (VPN)

VPNs are powerful tools to help avoid surveillance or censorship. Outline, by Jigsaw, a project of Google/Alphabet, is open source software to host your own VPN and share access with your community without risking that a service provider could violate your privacy. With some technical skill and…

Description Updated: Feb 10, 2023

webflow logo

Webflow

A simple website builder that doesn't require the ability to write code.

Description Updated: Feb 08, 2023

Graphic of a woman at a computer entering a password.

Online Course- Cybersecurity Basics for Democracy Activists

As someone who stands up for democracy, you are likely to find yourself –- if you haven't yet already –- the target of a cybersecurity attack. This is not intended to be alarmist; it is reality these days, even for individuals that do not consider themselves to be particular targets. The good…

Description Updated: Nov 18, 2022

Canva logo: The word "Canva" in cursive. The colour of the letters blends from light green in the upper left hand corner to blue to purple in the bottom right hand corner. The background is white.

Canva

Canva is a graphic design tool that enables users to drag-and-drop feature and layouts to easily design beautiful visual content and infographics.

Description Updated: Oct 18, 2022

Critical mention logo: four ovals in a rectangle with an orange oval in the upper left hand corner, a yellow oval in the upper right hand corner, a red oval in the lower right hand corner, and a blue oval in the lower left hand corner. To the right of the ovals are the words "critical mention" in all lowercase black letters, "critical" is written in a smaller font above "mention"

Critical Mention

Critical Mention is a media monitoring and media contact monitoring tool. Users have access to television, radio, print media, podcasts, online news, and social media. While the tool is in English, it draws from news sources in over 90…

Description Updated: Oct 18, 2022

think10 logo: the word "think" in lowercase blue text next to a green shield symbol with the number 10 inside. In small, grey writing in all caps below, it says" AN INITIATVE OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE". The image is trademarked.

think10

The #think10 safety planning tool provides women in politics guidance on how to enhance their personal security by combining scores from a self-assessment questionnaire and the country score from NDI’s new Women’s Political Participation Risk…

Description Updated: Oct 18, 2022

Airtable Logo

Airtable

Airtable is a spreadsheet platform with database functionalities that allows users to create visualizations, processes, and integrations for custom applications.

Description Updated: Jul 14, 2022

Building Trust in Democracy: The Potential of Blockchain Cover Art

Building Trust in Democracy: The Potential of Blockchain

This white paper examines blockchain technology's potential application to supporting democracy, improving government service delivery, fighting corruption, and demonstrating the integrity of elections and political processes.

Description Updated: Jun 24, 2022

5G and the Future Internet: Implications for Developing Democracies and Human Rights Cover Art

5G and the Future Internet: Implications for Developing Democracies and Human Rights

5G adoption is happening around the world, even in places with low internet penetration. As of February 2021, 131 countries had announced plans to invest in 5G and more than 60 of the 98 countries NDI…

Description Updated: Jun 24, 2022

Social Media by Stephen Copinger from NounProject.com

Data Analytics for Social Media Monitoring

This guide is designed to help democracy practitioners better understand social media trends, content, data, and networks. By sharing lessons learned and best practices from across our global network, the guide empowers monitors to make democracy work online by helping them:

•…

Description Updated: Jun 24, 2022

Strategy by Nick Bluth from NounProject.com

Combatting Information Manipulation Playbook

 A playbook for CSOs to identify, respond, and build resilience to info manipulation developed with IRI and the Stanford Internet Observatory. The playbook is intended to help leapfrog the first six months of the electoral preparation process and enable societies to effectively push back…

Description Updated: Jun 24, 2022

FOSStering Democracy: Threats and Successes in Counter-Authoritarian Software Development Cover Art

FOSStering Democracy: Threats and Successes in Counter-Authoritarian Software Development

An NDI-published white paper examining how Free and Open Source (FOSS) public interest technology is essential to combatting digital authoritarianism and supporting democracy. The white paper draws on NDI’s programmatic expertise, as well as research and interviews with key leaders in the…

Description Updated: Jun 24, 2022

Identified but Unheard: Assessing the Impact of Digital ID on the Civic and Political Participation of Marginalized Communities Cover Art

Identified but Unheard: Assessing the Impact of Digital ID on the Civic and Political Participation of Marginalized Communities

The goal of this paper is to understand how digital ID systems can impact individuals' abilities to exercise their civic and political rights, particularly for members of marginalized communities, and to provide recommendations for building inclusive, secure, and transparent ID systems. Despite…

Description Updated: Jun 24, 2022

Rules by James from NounProject.com

Democratic Principles for the Information Space

The National Democratic Institute, in collaboration with members of the Design 4 Democracy Steering Committee, has developed this Statement of Principles in their shared commitment that technology platforms and products help build a more just and democratic world, and to bring together the…

Description Updated: Jun 22, 2022