Why is it so hard to do nice things, that make a difference, with other people?

Dr. Kim Foale founded Geeks for Social Change around 2016, seeking to blend activism, technology, and research to create genuinely community-led tech solutions. The organization emerged from frustration with how “tech for good” failed to address what marginalized communities actually needed.

Part 1: On the Desire to Do Stuff

Creative activities—coding, sewing, sculpting, knitting—serve as vital coping mechanisms that bring intrinsic joy. These pursuits connect to what Deleuze calls “the power to act,” which forms the foundation of human agency. Yet modern society relegates these joyful activities to the margins, fitting them into spare time rather than centering them in our lives.

The distinction matters: satisfying creative work provides meaning across years, not just fleeting pleasure. These projects form our identities and expand what we perceive as possible.

Part 2: The Difficulties of Doing Stuff With Others

When creative pursuits become collective—forming hack spaces, organizing meetups, launching political initiatives—the focus shifts from the activity itself to relationship-building and community organizing. This creates challenges because people lack education in cooperative work, consensus-building, conflict resolution, and restorative justice.

Communities of Place vs. Interest

Communities of place are geographical neighborhoods. Communities of interest are hobby and identity-based groups connected through shared passions. The internet has strengthened interest-based communities while weakening place-based ones, creating silos that grow increasingly niche.

The Classed and Gendered Nature of Free Time

Research shows men enjoy five hours more leisure time weekly than women. This disparity reflects unequal care responsibilities and income, shaping who can participate in hobby groups and community work. Disability theorist Jos Boys argues that assuming “default” able-bodied norms reproduces harmful structures rather than challenging them.

Why Organizing Is Hard

Both volunteers and established groups experience frustration. Volunteers encounter disorganization or hostile environments. Groups struggle with volunteers who disappear after promising involvement. The fundamental problem: stepping outside hierarchical structures reveals societal breakdowns. Decolonizing oneself and unlearning internalized discrimination requires lifelong work.

Part 3: Community Technology Partnerships

Rather than applying design thinking or human-centered design—approaches that parachute in external experts—GFSC adopts the Capability Approach from human development methodology.

This framework asks: “What are people actually able to do and be?” It centers people as the best judges of their circumstances and positions them as problem-solvers for their own communities.

GFSC’s approach involves three stages:

1. Direct engagement with diverse stakeholders
2. Collaborative decision-making within neighborhoods
3. Enabling self-defined opportunities for individuals and groups

The goal is increasing collective power to act—creating environments where previously impossible things suddenly feel achievable. Examples include imok (replicating existing processes for No Borders Manchester), Taphouse TV Dinners (free food collaboration), and PlaceCal (community event publishing platform).

These interventions blur boundaries between community development work and software, emphasizing training and education over technological novelty.

Genuine transformation emerges from spaces “beyond fixed orders,” enabling humans to create together within frameworks of mutual support, joy, and accessibility.