Strategy and tactics

What's on top?

It's April already! A busy time for organisers, with planning out of the way, community cycles well established for the year and the first waves of events and recruitment underway. Love it!

Our team are focused on the second workshop in this year's Community Organising Fellowship. Over four days, the workshop themes include alliance-building, diversity and privilege, corporate campaigning and holding elected representatives to account. We have a great line up of guest facilitators and we're super excited to reconnect with our diverse and inspiring cohort

Already we're receiving expressions from community organisers keen to apply for next year's Fellowship's, so work has begun to secure the necessary funding. This year, the fellowship has been made possible through the generous support of ten trusts and philanthropists. In coming months, we'll host informal gatherings with our funders to report back on the Fellowship's impact and direction, and to widen our circle of funders. Our first funders lunch will be held in Melbourne on Friday May 1. Please drop me a line if you'd like to know more about supporting the Fellowship.

I hope you enjoy this month's collection of resources, links and ideas.

James

Community Organising graduate profile: Mike Pulsford

Michael Pulsford (centre) is a graduate of the 2014 Fellowship program and is currently a community organiser with the Australian Conservation Foundation. Why is community organising an important part of the solution in my community? Climate change, in 2015, is a problem of power: the climate movement has less power than we need to win what we need. Plenty of people know …

Community Organising graduate profile: Emma Wasson

Emma Wasson (centre) is a graduate of the 2014 Fellowship program and is currently Community Organising with The Wilderness Society. Why is community organising an important part of the solution in my community? A movement is only as strong as the people and the connections within it. Community organising is an important part of building cohesion in any community. We are stronger …

Great online resources

Enews subscribers regularly share with us the websites and online resources they’re developing, discovering and learning from in their community organising. Enjoy this month’s batch and be sure to drop us a line to suggest links for the next enews.

Why Developing Your Grassroots Matters

Tom Baker reviews Hahrie Han’s book 'How Organizations Develop Activists’: "Han hits the sweet spot on the challenges faced by anyone who works with local chapters or groups. The characterization of groups categorized into 3 types—Lone Wolves, Activists and Organizer—rings true for anyone who’s been involved in working with local groups... For many it is easy to see activism and organizing as …

Equipping the Church for Social Change

The ‘Equipping the Church for Social Change’ was a 3-year project aiming to provide leadership and resources to the Uniting Church (and wider church community) in Sydney, to equip and support members and congregations to take social change action. Through mentoring, workshops and other events Church members and congregations were educated and encouraged to consider social issues and the Church’s response, and engage in …

workshops and training for organisers, campaigners & activists in Perth

Simone Van Hattem writes: "As I get more organised on the community organising side of my work/activism, providing training/mutual aid workshops for (volunteer) activists, community organisers, educators and campaigners across environment, sustainability AND social justice/human rights, other social change causes, I'm getting an email list together, so you can easily share upcoming events with colleagues, friends, put in in calendars, …

Digital activism and nonviolent conflict (research report)

Digital activism has a demonstrated, positive impact on drawing people to the streets to protest, especially when civil society groups use digital tools and changing government policy is the goal. If the objective is change in government or government policy, civil society groups have demonstrated success with just modest street protests and a few digital tools. Both recipes for success …

How to design an agenda for an effective meeting

Here are some tips for designing an effective agenda for your next meeting, with a sample agenda and template below. You can use these tips whether a meeting lasts an hour or three days and whether you’re meeting with a group of five or forty.

Three ways to build leadership in your advocacy group

We are creative. We have public support. And – most importantly – we have people power. We have volunteers and members who give their time and money and work with us to improve transit in Toronto. To build our people power and win our campaigns we must build leaders out of our supporters. Jessica Bell shares three tips on what she does to build …

Public health advocacy: 10 pieces of advice

Together, these tips focus on the importance of preserving public confidence in the evidence base underscoring public policy; being clear and concrete about the policy reforms you support; emphasising the values on which policy is based; understanding the structure, conventions and subtextual features of news reporting; developing ‘killer facts’ with ‘earworm’ potential; appreciating that the advocacy process leading to policy …

Upcoming learning opportunities and events

For details of other workshops and learning opportunities, visit our calendar.

Changeology | Sydney, 5-6 May

This expert class in program design focuses on achieving change in complex social environments. You'll get the concepts, tools, and systematic approach you need to design interventions that make a difference to seemingly intractable health, environmental and social problems. And along the way you'll get the secrets to enable populations or groups to adopt new behaviours. Full workshop details.

Progress 2015 | Melbourne, May 7-9

At Progress we’ll discuss new and bold ideas for our country’s future – and, more importantly, explore how we can strengthen our organisations and movements to make them happen. Progress 2015 will convene a who’s who of Australia’s leading campaigners and change-makers. You’ll hear from Australian and world-leading experts on the latest approaches to campaigning and behaviorial change, attend panels and workshops …

VCOSS training calendar: Our Community

Upcoming training opportunities on grant writing, successful boards, effective meetings, governance, media, online essentials, campaigns that sizzle, and being an effective spokesperson. Our Community has developed a suite of affordable, practical training to help community sector staff, volunteers and supporters keep abreast of their responsibilities and learn how to lift their organisation from ordinary to extraordinary All training is delivered by …

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