Common Knowledge is a not-for-profit workers cooperative of five members. We design digital tools that make radical change possible. We share a vision of a world where people are confident in their capacity to self-organise, empowered by digital technology.
We are a cross-disciplinary team that knows how to work together effectively. Our combined expertise includes political organising, strategy, user research, project management, software engineering, digital and graphic design.
We come from the world of technology startups and digital agencies, so are well-versed in current best practices that reduce risk and ensure success in software development.
Vision, Mission, Values 2019–21
We place a strong focus on building trust and shared understanding with the people we work with. We listen to their needs, identify how digital technology could help them achieve their goals and then design tools in collaboration with them.
We are used to working under situations of some pressure – election campaigns, organising launches, grassroots campaigns. We try to keep our heads by trusting one another and bringing to bear cycles of reflection and renewal. Though we do not always manage it, our approach is to always approach these situations calmly and thoughtfully.
We strongly believe that organising tactics work best when enabled and supplemented, rather than replaced, by digital technology. The focus for any progressive campaign should be on building relationships, building confidence and trust, building power and using these to deliver political change.
While we value innovation, we always carefully consider what tools are needed for each project, and will opt for Boring Technology over the latest shiny new thing.
In the long-term we are centrally committed to designing and building shared tools which can be used for the wider movement and so develop digital projects with reliability and sustainability in mind.