Digital Grassroots Organizing: How Residents Are Shaping Local Civic Participation

This research note explores how Toronto's grassroots organizations use digital tools to enhance civic participation, address systemic challenges, and reshape power dynamics. Interviews with 15 groups reveal diverse structures and strategies, including information sharing, collective decision-making, and service provisioning. By integrating digital and traditional approaches, these groups foster inclusivity, collaboration, and trust while navigating relationships with local governance. Despite challenges, they leverage innovation to drive democratic change. The research recommends fostering participatory frameworks, improving digital equity, and institutionalizing support for grassroots initiatives, contributing to the understanding of grassroots digital mobilization in complex urban settings.