This field of work is constantly evolving but current tools and trends in peace tech include:

• Information and Communication Technologies - ICTs can be mobile phones used for surveys, crowdsourcing platforms used to gather real-time data from witnesses, or social media tools used to announce, organize, and report on protests, elections, and movements.
• New Media - digital, text, photo, and video content that individuals generate through social media applications and platforms, and submit through the Internet or mobile devices. New media is used to monitor developments as they unfold, hear a range of voices, and share attitudes and mobilize people to act on important issues and events.
• Big Data – data available online used to create early warning and early-response systems, conflict and crisis mapping networks, and real-time feedback for monitoring and evaluation efforts.
• Crowd Sourcing – outsourcing of specific tasks to an undefined public - used to monitor elections, protests, movements, conflicts, natural disasters, and peace processes, turning everyday civilians into voluntary information gatherers and providing organizations with eyes and ears in the field.
• Online Mapping - Online mapping allows one to collect and analyse data linked to a specific geographic area and track movement. Online maps are used by peacebuilding professionals to track the spread of conflict, monitor elections, and coordinate responses to natural disasters across different locations over time.

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PEACE INFORMATICS LAB (Netherlands)

The Peace Informatics Lab is a project initiated and run by Leiden's Centre for Innovation in The Hague, in close collaboration with the Leiden Centre of Data Science. It combines a number of pioneering efforts in the emerging field of big data. As part of this initiative, we work together with in-house researchers and external partners to link the data revolution to those working on peace & justice.

The Peace Informatics Lab is a do-tank and knowledge hub for scientists and practitioners interested in exploring new data streams for the field of peace & justice. We explore, design and develop data-driven solutions that can contribute to fostering peace, justice, security and prosperity.

The Peace Informatics Lab acts as a support base, and offers expertise on data analytics, domain knowledge on peace and justice, software development, data ethics, and rapid prototyping. The lab's methodologies come together in a GitHub library, which we use to facilitate lab partners. 

Peace Informatics Lab is also constantly on the lookout for interesting and valuable project spin-offs. To this extent they are interested in hearing from any organisation whose dataset or initiative maybe beneficial to the Peace Informatics Lab or anyone who wishes to be involved. Please contact peaceinformaticslab@fgga.leidenuniv.nl. 

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The PeaceTech Lab (USA)

PeaceTech Lab works to reduce violent conflict using technology, media, and data to accelerate and scale peacebuilding efforts.

An independent nonprofit organization, the Lab brings together engineers and activists, MBAs and conflict experts, social scientists, data scientists, and other innovators to develop effective peacebuilding solutions. Headquartered at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), the Lab carries out its mission in close collaboration with public and private sector partners.

The Lab works on issues of:

• Gender-based violence
• Transparency and Accountability
• Electoral Violence
• Countering Violent Extremism and Hate Speech

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