A new era is coming. Soon Catalyst will no longer be an organisation funding a network. Instead we'll be a 'lean organisation, supporting the tech justice movement’.
Since 2019 Catalyst has been a large and well funded initiative. However we’ve never had more than 4 employees and most of our funding has been distributed across the network. This era is coming to an end.
This article explains how we’ll be changing in 2025.
What we were before
Catalyst used to be a multistakeholder attempt to build digital capacity in the social sector. We were building a network to improve how the sector used digital technology.
Doing this required lots of different actors working collaboratively and cohesively. Together we acted on different systemic levers that our incubators, CAST, had taken time to identify. We were confident they were the right levers or things to address the problem of low digital capacity in the sector.
Back into discovery
Since April 2024 our audience, mission and vision have changed. The field we are now working in is more emergent. Liberatory tech is a new concept to many people. The tech justice movement is also relatively new and needs support to mature.
This puts us back in the humbling period of discovery; valuing curiosity over clarity. We need to continue to do field work: mapping, relationship building, coalition building and engaging communities through participatory practice. This will help us identify what our best role is, how we should operate and where resources should be focused. This includes building a better understanding of tech injustice - injustices experienced by people through technology.
Changes to our funding, reprioritising our efforts
After April 2025 our multi-year grants from The National Lottery Community Fund and The Paul Hamlyn Foundation will end. In the year up to March 2025 we will spend around £1m. In the year up to March 2026 we (currently) have around £235K available. With this will come the end of our role as a network funder.
After April all our work will be managed internally, by a small team of part time staff. We will be:
- prioritising discovery and deep relational work at the intersection of justice and technology
- working to better model and honour our values
- reconsidering how power flows across Catalyst
- defining people-led and community-led practices.
We hope doing fewer things better will enable us to act more in integrity with Catalyst’s values. That slowing down will help us build back up to be more impactful and sustainable.
We want to become more skilful at sharing power
Going more slowly gives us time to learn how to work alongside other people and organisations working at the intersection of justice and technology. We have much to learn about sharing power and working in a more sensitive and decolonial way. Listening to others and growing humility needs to come first for trust to grow in these relationships. This will help us learn to be an influential contributor to an emerging field rather than a traditional leader of an existing one.
Our key questions for 2025-26
Being in a discovery phase again gives us a chance to ensure that:
- We are doing the right work - energy and resources are going into meaningful places
- The right people are leading the work - power is shared equitably
- We are doing the work carefully and intentionally - mindful that the issues we care about are more politically and socially charged and that we are working more closely with collective trauma.
We have many unanswered questions:
- How can we best support the tech justice movement?
- What does being an influential contributor to an emerging field look like?
- What does being a lean organisation look like for Catalyst?
- How do we avoid, as an organisation, perpetuating the flaws of our societal system and harming people?
- How might Catalyst become community-owned? How might its governance work?
Working through these will take time. As a smaller organisation we can proceed with more care and build understanding more slowly.
Learn more
Learn about how we currently define tech justice.
Read about systemic injustices in how charities approach digital work.
Read about Catalyst’s transition into a CIC with new values and mission.
--
Image credit: Paul Downey. Used under a CC2.0 licence.
Since 2019 Catalyst has been a large and well funded initiative. However we’ve never had more than 4 employees and most of our funding has been distributed across the network. This era is coming to an end.
This article explains how we’ll be changing in 2025.
What we were before
Catalyst used to be a multistakeholder attempt to build digital capacity in the social sector. We were building a network to improve how the sector used digital technology.
Doing this required lots of different actors working collaboratively and cohesively. Together we acted on different systemic levers that our incubators, CAST, had taken time to identify. We were confident they were the right levers or things to address the problem of low digital capacity in the sector.
Back into discovery
Since April 2024 our audience, mission and vision have changed. The field we are now working in is more emergent. Liberatory tech is a new concept to many people. The tech justice movement is also relatively new and needs support to mature.
This puts us back in the humbling period of discovery; valuing curiosity over clarity. We need to continue to do field work: mapping, relationship building, coalition building and engaging communities through participatory practice. This will help us identify what our best role is, how we should operate and where resources should be focused. This includes building a better understanding of tech injustice - injustices experienced by people through technology.
Changes to our funding, reprioritising our efforts
After April 2025 our multi-year grants from The National Lottery Community Fund and The Paul Hamlyn Foundation will end. In the year up to March 2025 we will spend around £1m. In the year up to March 2026 we (currently) have around £235K available. With this will come the end of our role as a network funder.
After April all our work will be managed internally, by a small team of part time staff. We will be:
- prioritising discovery and deep relational work at the intersection of justice and technology
- working to better model and honour our values
- reconsidering how power flows across Catalyst
- defining people-led and community-led practices.
We hope doing fewer things better will enable us to act more in integrity with Catalyst’s values. That slowing down will help us build back up to be more impactful and sustainable.
We want to become more skilful at sharing power
Going more slowly gives us time to learn how to work alongside other people and organisations working at the intersection of justice and technology. We have much to learn about sharing power and working in a more sensitive and decolonial way. Listening to others and growing humility needs to come first for trust to grow in these relationships. This will help us learn to be an influential contributor to an emerging field rather than a traditional leader of an existing one.
Our key questions for 2025-26
Being in a discovery phase again gives us a chance to ensure that:
- We are doing the right work - energy and resources are going into meaningful places
- The right people are leading the work - power is shared equitably
- We are doing the work carefully and intentionally - mindful that the issues we care about are more politically and socially charged and that we are working more closely with collective trauma.
We have many unanswered questions:
- How can we best support the tech justice movement?
- What does being an influential contributor to an emerging field look like?
- What does being a lean organisation look like for Catalyst?
- How do we avoid, as an organisation, perpetuating the flaws of our societal system and harming people?
- How might Catalyst become community-owned? How might its governance work?
Working through these will take time. As a smaller organisation we can proceed with more care and build understanding more slowly.
Learn more
Learn about how we currently define tech justice.
Read about systemic injustices in how charities approach digital work.
Read about Catalyst’s transition into a CIC with new values and mission.
--
Image credit: Paul Downey. Used under a CC2.0 licence.
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