Hello, my name is
Etienne Koeppel
Tech and human rights
About me
I am a tech policy and digital rights specialist who advises mission-driven organisations on strategy, fundraising, and institutional development.
Tech policy & digital rights
I research the impact of technologies on democratic governance and human rights, and advocate for steering them toward the public interest.
My research and policy work covers data-intensive technologies, including AI and digital public infrastructure, automated surveillance, and biometric digital ID systems. I am particularly interested in the political economy behind these technologies, and how power operates across cloud, compute, and data governance stacks.
Strategy consulting
I advise non-profit organisations on strategy, fundraising, and organisational development.
I support human rights and open source tech builders with organisational growth. Concretely, this means facilitating the design of multi-year strategies, strengthening positioning, building partnerships, securing sustainable funding, and building project management processes.
Services
strategy
I support organisations in designing clear, actionable strategies that align mission, political context, and institutional capacity. This includes multi-year strategic planning, programme design, and organisational positioning.
fundraising
I advise on institutional fundraising strategy, donor outreach, and proposal development. My support ranges from identifying funding opportunities and shaping narratives to drafting proposals and strengthening donor communications.
monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL)
I design pragmatic MEL frameworks that help organisations track progress, demonstrate impact, and learn from their work. My approach integrates political analysis with measurable indicators tailored to advocacy and policy environments.
Testimonials
At a pivotal moment for our organisation, Etienne helped us design a clear and actionable strategy that aligned our mission with realistic growth opportunities. His understanding of the digital rights landscape, combined with a pragmatic approach to organisational development, gave us a roadmap that we continue to rely on.
Afsaneh Rigot, Founder at the De|Center
Etienne supported us in refining our donor outreach strategy and strengthening our proposals. His ability to translate complex technical work into compelling narratives significantly improved our positioning and contributed to successful funding outcomes.
Pierre de Lacroix, Founder & Lead Developer at Technostructures
Etienne combines strong expertise in tech policy with a sharp political economy lens on data-intensive technologies and digital rights. His research and analysis helped us navigate complex regulatory debates and sharpen our advocacy strategy across evolving issues in digital governance.
Dr. Corinne Cath-Speth, Head of Digital at ARTICLE 19
Languages
Skills
- Programme management
- Strategy and project design
- Grantmaking
- Tech policy and research
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)
Experience
2025-2026
De|Center Technostructures
ARTICLE 19
strategy & development consultant
Advising digital rights non-profits and open-source tool builders on strategy, organisational sustainability, fundraising, and partnership-building.
2025-2026
European Digital Rights (EDRi)
grantmaking consultant
Expert member of EDRi’s inaugural Participatory Grantmaking Committee. Co-designed the fund's strategy and processes, evaluated applications for projects focused on organisational development and platform accountability.
2024-2025
ARTICLE 19
PROGRAMME OFFICER - DATAFICATION
Conducted research and policy analysis and advocacy on digital technologies, including AI and digital public infrastructure.
2020-2024
ARTICLE 19
senior programme officer
Facilitated project and strategy design for global programmes, and led on institutional business development through partnership-building and proposal-writing. Co-managed a fund dedicated to combatting tech harms.
2017-2018
Freedom House
senior programme associate
Managed a sub-grants mechanism for grassroots NGOs and gave emergency assistance to survivors of human rights abuses. Conducted policy analysis and advocacy.