OUR IMPACT.

Having evolved into a network focused explicitly on tech for social justice, Catalyst now sits at the intersection of community centred digital design, systems change, and a growing movement for equity and collective power. Our journey this year has been about more than organisational change – it’s about shifting the very foundations of how technology reflects, respects and serves communities.

As we navigated this transition, we prioritised building relationships, refining our purpose, and embedding equity and care at every level. As one network member put it, “We’re not just fixing unjust systems—we’re reimagining what’s possible.”

Check out the information below and read the full report or our summary blog.

An update on progress across Catalyst. Thanks to our evaluation partners, inFocus, and all partners who contributed data and insight.

90 Catalyst network partners collaborated together to advance tech justice in 2025.

“It’s been a massive transition and what Catalyst has accomplished in a year has been amazing – becoming a new CIC while still maintaining activity and creating new activities. This is a testament to the team and the way they’ve been working; particularly their self-awareness and willingness to have difficult conversations.”
— Angela Schlenkhoff-Hus, inFocus evaluator

“Catalyst stands out by putting social justice front and centre – there’s a real sense of principle and integrity.” – Andy Curtis, Paul Hamlyn Foundation – network member

Key focus areas

Liberatory tech for systemic change – Embedding justice as a design principle and supporting communities to reimagine how technology is created, funded, and governed.
Collective power-building – Working relationally across networks to amplify lived experience, foster distributed leadership, and shift sector narratives.
Participatory governance – Experimenting with collaborative decision-making models that centre equity, care, and transparency.
Resourcing just infrastructure – Investing in the material and relational foundations that allow community-led digital alternatives to grow and sustain.
Open knowledge and learning – Sharing tools, guides, and insights to support sector-wide transformation and collective care.

Achievements

Weaving communities for tech justice

We brought together grassroots groups, digital agencies, funders, and frontline organisations to build trust, relationships and spark collective action.

Through spaces like the Tech Justice Road Trip circle and Funders’ Forum, we centred voices often excluded from digital decision-making, and practiced shared leadership.

Through initiatives like Digital Candle, over 250 charities were matched with digital experts for one-to-one support, helping them make confident, informed decisions.

Our work with Agencies for Good sparked new conversations on justice and inclusion, with events centring youth, queer, and disabled voices in digital practice.

Reimagining technology, centring justice

Our work went beyond digital inclusion – challenging assumptions about who technology serves and who holds power. We supported organisations to co-create tools and practices rooted in community power, that reflect the needs and dreams of those most affected by tech’s harms.

Chayn’s Survivor AI, developed with survivors of gender-based violence, is a powerful example of tech built for dignity and safety.

Camden Giving’s Elevate, a collective decision-making tool developed with young people, improves accessibility and shared ownership in participatory grantmaking youth panels, already allocating £100,000.

Multitudes’ emergent design approach is helping communities co-create infrastructures for tech stewardship that have justice and sustainability at their core.

What we learnt

Transitioning to a CIC brought both power and precarity. Shifting culture takes time, and clarity emerges through relationships, not just strategy.

Our experiments with sociocracy surfaced both the potential and challenges of shared governance. Embedding justice as a design principle – not just a value – meant embracing emergence, learning from discomfort, and letting go of top-down control.

As one partner reflected, “Naming intentions is easy, but living them is the real test.”

Highlights

Weaving communities

Integrated sociocracy into our structure, making decision-making more collaborative and transparent.
Designed and held spaces that welcomed honest and vulnerable communication, reflection and repair.
Piloted decolonial evaluation, making community knowledge central to understanding impact.
Set up a tech justice circle and hosted DEI Action Learning Sets, supporting practical learning and reflection.
Launched a wellbeing fund, distributing nearly £2,000 to seven network members for mental health support – a practical example of care as collective practice.

Reimagining tech

Republished the Tech Justice Manifesto and funded projects like Survivor AI, Elevate, and Multitudes’ infrastructure for community tech
Published 36 articles on liberatory tech and 5 new Shared Digital Guides, highlighting radical, community-led approaches to digital inclusion and power-sharing.
Developed open intellectual property models with CAST, supporting youth-led innovation and collective ownership.

Just futures

Ran the Funders’ Forum, which funders rated 4/5 for usefulness in understanding tech justice.
Supported eight activities, including the Charity Digital Skills Report (a record 635 responses) and the Next Steps Fund, which enabled 11 legacy initiatives to pivot or sustain their work.
Just futures are taking shape not only through new tools and outcomes, but in how relationships, narratives, and ways of working have shifted – centred on distributed leadership, lived experience, collective care, and open knowledge.

Key stats

Co-created new models for liberatory technology with 3 justice-led network members.
3 new ‘sparks’ projects funded through co-budgeting in the Tech Justice Circle.
6 existing Catalyst partners strengthened the DEIJ focus and impact of their activities.
11 former initiatives received 6 months off-ramp funding to allow continued service delivery during transition.
Funders rated our Funders’ Forum 4 out of 5 stars for usefulness and network-building.
310 questions submitted to Digital Candle; 252 expert matches made.
Over 40,000 website visitors and 1,500 newsletter subscribers, with a 60% open rate.
236 LinkedIn posts reached 36,000 people, with 855 reactions and 1,800+ link clicks.
Published 36 new tech justice resources.
Published 32 new partner-authored blogs via Catalyst’s Medium.
Published 5 Shared Digital Guides, averaging 203 unique visitors and 269 views per guide.
Made over £30,000 in reciprocity payments, honouring contributions across our network.

A collage of flowers, reeds, hearts, butterflies and a rising sun.

Looking ahead

Catalyst remains ahead of the curve in the UK – bridging tech-for-good, justice, and systemic reimagination in a way few others are. As we move forward, we’re focusing on deepening partnerships, amplifying diverse voices, and building infrastructure for liberatory digital futures. Our priorities:

centring community needs in tech decision-making
resourcing sociocratic practice
making justice and care practical beyond our immediate network.

We invite you to join us as we continue to co-create a tech landscape rooted in equity, collective power, and hope.