James is co-founder of the Change Agency and director of our Community Organising Fellowship.
movement action plan
U.S. activist-educator Bill Moyer conceived Movement Action Plan (MAP) to explain and explore the stages and advocacy roles evident in successful social movements. The model’s apparent simplicity may hold the key to its appeal and practical application to...
community organising: mobilising for change
Community organising builds power in workplaces and communities by facilitating effective grassroots participation. In the USA and UK, this approach has built the power among networks and alliances of active and informed communities. Community organising differs from...
Strategising for change
This workshop introduces a suite of practical tools for developing and evaluating campaign strategy. Workshop participants apply these tools to real-life problems to develop realistic strategies and tactics. The tools are suitable for both small grassroots groups and...
learning organisations and evaluation
Saul Alinksy noted that some of the most effective organisers and activists use campaigns and social movements as learning opportunities. This workshop explores opportunities and strategies to more consciously capture learnings we acquire through social action, and...
social movement educate the educator ed2
Activist education is conducted by and with activists, is openly interested in the processes of change, and utilises educational methods that bring about change toward social justice. Activist education builds a sense of personal agency in the learning environment. We...
facilitation
This experiential workshop helps participants facilitate meetings that address both the task and maintenance dimensions of group life – meetings that achieve results and build groups that are sustainable and enjoyable. Participants develop a shared understanding of...
Personal development & life skills
Personal and interpersonal skills contribute constructively to collective action and help activists avoid ‘burnout’. Social change work can be transformative – in more or less positive ways. Few activists remain engaged and sustained in the long term without...
Working in groups
To bring about social and environmental change, organisers and activists need to build skills in organisational development and maintenance. Working in groups, networks or organisations can be a real challenge in social movements. Successful social change work...
social action skills
To win positive change in our communities, we need to hone a wide range of social action skills, developing our capacity to recruit and coordinate, communicate effectively, influence decision makers and implement the right tactics at the right time. The resources...
Strategy
A map that charts the territory between our current position and the achievement of our intended change objectives can help us achieve our purpose and avoid the sense of being overwhelmed that often accompanies social and environmental activism. Our maps can be simple...
Political analysis
‘Big picture’ or political analysis is a critical element in strategising. Before choosing targets or tactics, we need to closely and critically examine the context we’re working in. What forces might facilitate or impede change? Who holds the...
advocacy evaluation
rationale This action research project seeks to support progressive social change organisations to evaluate the impacts and outcomes of their efforts. Compared to other sectors and types of organisation, NGOs working toward social and environmental justice commit...
Community organising action research
How can social and environmental justice campaigns mobilise, support and strengthen grassroots community organising? When education, collaboration and policy advocacy fail, it’s time for a different approach: one that builds power at the grassroots community level and...
climate action research
Climate change is the highest priority for most environmental and social justice non-government organisations in Australia. With a high level of community and political attention to the dangers of run-away climate change, the climate movement is growing rapidly in...
case studies
One obstacle to effective community organising and advocacy is the shortage of written material documenting and analysing environmental and social justice campaigns. Interviews with community organisers and activists suggest that few have access to descriptive and...
Articles & papers
Most people become involved in campaigning and social movements spontaneously, to protect something they care for or resist an unwanted change. We often learn about campaigning by doing. It comes as a surprise to learn (sometimes years later) that there is a wealth of...
Environmental advocacy at Griffith University
Environmental advocacy describes social action that occurs when communities are compelled by a tension between desired and actual environmental management. Effective advocacy bridges the gap between community values and institutional environmental management....
Activist Education
Activist education is conducted by and with activists, is openly interested in the processes of change-making, and utilises education methods that effect justice-oriented social change. We use the expression ‘activist education’ to describe our work. This has...