Access to information Conflict and Power Safety

"Investigation is Collaboration" Booklet: tips, methods and inspiration

Following our "Investigation is Collaboration" conference in August 2021 - and in order to leave a useful collection of long-lasting resources as legacy - we curated a digital booklet including an invaluable list of cases and best practices that arose from the conference discussions, memorialized here for everyone to access whenever, wherever. We hope you’ll use them to keep the conversations and collaborations going!


Download the Booklet: "Investigation is Collaboration: Exposing the Invisible Together" (.pdf)


Investigators are everywhere. They are requesting information from their local governments. They are using geolocation and satellite imagery to document human rights abuses. They are interviewing patients at a nearby hospital. They are holding up their cell phones in the face of police brutality. All around us, people are digging deeply to tell stories, expose the invisible, and hold power to account.

Unfortunately, investigation can seem like an isolating prospect for some, especially those living in countries where it’s safer to investigate under the cover of darkness.

But we’d like to see this change in time.

In early August 2021, Tactical Tech’s “Exposing the Invisible” project organised an online conference, which brought together civil society investigators, journalists, artists, human rights researchers and many others to demonstrate the power of collaboration.

We called the conference “Investigation is Collaboration.” It’s a simple yet powerful idea. There are so many kinds of collaboration, across skills, regions, topics, professions and goals. Each have their merits, leading to better coverage of topics, stronger safety, more diversity, happier investigators, wider audience reach, more substantial impact the list goes on.

We heard from investigators at the forefront of the field who talked about:

  • investigating 'in the open' and reaching out to human sources confidently
  • making the best out of collaboration to enhance cross-border projects
  • how to keep safe and aware by assessing risks like a pro
  • overcoming data-phobia and getting started with
  • datasets to tell the stories hidden in the numbers
  • investigative initiatives and new projects combining documentation, reporting, tech and yes, collaboration
  • best practices and tips on crowd-sourcing evidence for investigations
  • creative ways of telling investigative stories and reaching people where they are, not where we want them to be.

Following the conference - and in order to leave a useful set of long-lasting resources as legacy - we curated this digital booklet including an invaluable list of cases and best practices that arose from those discussions, memorialized here for potential collaborators to access whenever, wherever. We hope you’ll use them to keep the conversations and collaborations going!

Get in touch if you wish to talk to us, ask us something or share ideas: eti_at_tacticaltech.org



This resource is part of a Tactical Tech project supported by the European Commission (DG CONNECT)

European Commission

This text reflects the author’s view and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.


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