"[...] while information ecosystems encompass a variety of actors (including those within both private and public sectors), this research focuses primarily on civil society actors, including those who use information for their work (as consumers, producers, nodes, or facilitators of information), do ... nors, organisers, activists from digital rights organisations, technologists for social justice and digital security experts, and researchers. In Part 1 of this report, we share an overview of some of the challenges and characteristics that shape the disequilibrium of information ecosystems in the region. In the Interlude, we outline the collective visions for healthy, strong information ecosystems that we gathered as the project developed. This fits in with one of our focus areas for this research, which is bolstering “communicative power” – defined by Fung and Cohen (2021) as the capacity for sustained joint (or collective) action, to associate and explore interests and ideas together with others, aiming to arrive at common understandings and advance common concerns in the public sphere. In Part 2, we share some inspiring strategies used by civil society to restore information ecosystems in the region. Rather than present these strategies as “silver bullets” or “definitive solutions”, the goal of this report is to indicate a variety of potential pathways for restoring information ecosystems and encourage funders, donors and other actors to support the work of those who are striving to materialise that restoration. Additionally, these strategies can also be a source of inspiration for the work that other civil society actors, technologists and digital rights advocates are building. With this in mind, the Conclusion summarises some of the main areas of support needed by actors working to improve information ecosystems in LAC." (Introduction, page 5) more

"Since the mid-2010s, chatbots have grown in usage and popularity across the humanitarian sector. While this usage has gained traction, there is scarce information on the collective successes, risks, and trade-offs of this automation. This research addresses this gap, documenting chatbot deployments ... across the humanitarian sector and exploring the existing uses, benefits, trade-offs and challenges of using chatbots in humanitarian contexts. The research was conducted by The Engine Room, with support from the American Red Cross, the IFRC and valuable input from our advisory committee. This report is not created as a comprehensive overview of chatbots use, instead, the goal of the report is twofold: to offer guiding questions and considerations for humanitarian organisations deciding if a chatbot is an appropriate tool to address programme and community needs. It also contains use cases highlighting the experiences of practitioners working in diverse geographic contexts and issue areas." (Executive summary) more