23 Conclusion This study is intended as a scoping study rather than to provide concrete recommendations. That said, several common threads came up throughout our interviews and desk research: FOR TOOLS DEVELOPERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS: Communicate clearly about your tool A range of different database and information management tools are aimed at HRDs. However, few people we spoke to could identify the major differences between them (unless they had explicitly worked on one of the tools themselves). Stay critical, and be responsible the opportunities granted by digital technology tools are great, but so are the risks. Try to keep aware of those risks–join communities like the Responsible Data Forum 5 to keep up to date with current responsible data news and trends, and think about the holistic security impact 6 of using certain tools. Work with partner organisations from the beginning though “co-creation” is becoming somewhat of a buzzword in these spaces, the principle behind it remains. Find and work with groups who are the “target user” for the tool, and value their contribution not just as an opportunity for feedback, but as equal partners and co-designers on the tool. Get second opinions before committing to a certain tool, or to working with a certain set of developers–try to speak to others with expert knowledge of the field. The investment in time beforehand is worth it, if only to be sure that you’re making the right decision. Reality check your assumptions often this might be through contributions from others (see Be realistic no technology tool is going to “solve” social issues or ‘work with partner organisations’, above), but could also happen by testing out iterations with target users, or by sending developers working on the tool to see the reality of the tool being used. problems, and getting people to change their behaviour is difficult. Be clear on why you’re using a certain tool, and what the incentives are for the people around you. Be humble and collaborative sometimes the tool you work on might not suit the needs of the people you are speaking to. Rather than trying to adapt your tool and convince them that they can use it, be prepared to recommend tools from “competitors” - and try to see it as contributing to the greater field. Think long term though a certain tool might seem like the easiest option now, what about in 2 years or 5 years time? What will you want to do with the data, and who owns it? Ask up front about the sustainability issues raised above. 5 http://lists.theengineroom.org/lists/info/responsible_data 6 See Tactical Technology Collective’s work on holistic security: https://tacticaltech.org/holistic-security