Join us in building an open, co-developed framework for organisations navigating AI, with publication targeted before the end of the year.
Civil society and human rights organisations are being asked to make decisions about AI faster than most feel ready to make them. They are evaluating tools whose risks are not yet fully understood, while the same technologies are being used against the communities they serve, the sources they protect, and the work they do.
Most existing AI guidance is written for commercial contexts or stays at the level of abstract principle. Very little of it speaks to the operational reality of an under resourced NGO trying to decide whether to use a consumer AI tool for specific tasks, considering the varied risks or opportunities of doing so.
We are co-developing a framework to fill that gap. It is being built with practitioners across the human rights community through a series of workshops, each one mapping the risks that organisations are actually encountering in two directions: the risks of using AI within their own work, and the risks of AI being used against them.
What the framework will cover
The framework is being shaped around three pillars, with content informed directly by the workshops:
Literacy
Decide whether to use AI
The information organisations need to decide whether to use AI based technologies in the first place.
Practical guidance
Use AI responsibly
For organisations that decide to use AI: how to use it for specific purposes, responsibly and effectively.
Awareness
Prepare for AI used against us
How harmful actors could be using these technologies against organisations and the communities they serve, and how to prepare.
These pillars are open to adjustment based upon what emerges from the workshops. The structure is not fixed, and contributors are invited to challenge it.
How the project is being built
The project runs through a series of workshops convened across 2026. Each workshop brings together practitioners to map risks and contribute to the framework’s shape. We aim to gather input from a minimum of 50 stakeholders before we begin drafting, to make sure the published framework reflects the diversity of the human rights community across regions, regulatory environments, security contexts, organisational sizes, and thematic areas.
The first session ran online in May 2026. It was originally planned to take place at RightsCon 2026 in Zambia, and was moved online when the conference was cancelled. Further workshops are being scheduled.
Everyone who contributes will be offered named co-authorship of the published framework, which will be freely available to download and use. We also aim to ensure this is a flexible, living document which responds to the fast pace at which technology is being developed and to rapidly changing needs.
How to get involved
There are three ways to be part of this project. Contact us at hello@tecer.digital if you have any questions.
Join a workshop
If you work in or with a human rights organisation and you are currently making AI decisions, your perspective is what this project depends on. No technical background required. Sessions are designed to be accessible to participants whose first language is not English.
Email us to registerHost a workshop with us
If you are organising a convening, conference, workshop or gathering between now and August 2026, we would welcome a conversation about running a session there. We bring the design and facilitation. You bring the room and the relationships.
Start a conversationPartner on the framework
We are open to working with organisations that want to shape this project more closely, whether through joining a steering group, contributing existing research, co-hosting a workshop, supporting wider distribution, or co-designing specific sections.
Get in touch