effective campaigningIntroductionThe exercises and hand-outs in this section aim to help campaigning groups carry out their work more effectively. There are tools to analyse problems/situations, clarify and set goals and plan the steps to reach the goals and are applicable to a wide range of campaigns. The group may aim to correct a ‘wrong’ as in raising awareness about human rights abuses, or extend a positive initiative like Fair Trade fortnight.
The exercises and hand-outs are listed and briefly described below. Documents containing the full description appear at the bottom of the list. Click here for a taster sheet on 'Planning a Campaign'.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead
Exercises and Hand-outsSocial Speedometer
This tool is useful for assessing the attitudes of groups and individuals towards your campaigning goal. It helps you to identify who are allies, potential allies, the neutral parties (or persuadable parties) and those in most opposition to your goal. More. Force Field AnalysisThis exercise is used to analyse the forces working for and against a particular goal or activity to identify where change could most realistically start to happen. It's best used in conjuction with the Social Speedometer. More. Pillars of PowerThis exercise helps people to understand how all power structures require sustaining, that they are propped up by certain social forces or factors. This tool identifies these forces/factors as the pillars of power and once identified, a group can start to think about campaign strategies to shift the power balance into their favour. More. Hierarchy of DenialThe model presented in this exercise identifies at which level we or others may be denying reality, and thereby preventing problem-solving or social change to happen. This model also reveals the levels of denial above the one on which we are blocked. Good to use with groups working on their campaign strategy. Facilitators should consult both the exercise document and the 'hand-out' which contains the model and an example. More. Mapping Social and Political BackgroundThis exercise asks participants to discuss various social sectors' influence and interest with regard to their campaigning issue. People first work in small groups to discuss these points and then small groups' collective intelligence is recorded up on flip charts. A good way to kick off a day of campaigning-planning work. More. Washing Line of Social ChangeThis exercise is designed to get participants thinking about how social change happens. As it's described here, it can be used to introduce the idea of campaigning , to extend a discussion about a video or reading, or to build upon an idea storm. Groups might make specific application of the exercise by examining past techniques used by campaigns of similar interest. More. SWOT AnalysisA SWOT is a strategic planning tool that evaluates the viability of a project or campaign by looking at its inherent strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats posed by external factors. Clarity on these points provides the group with a rudimentary map outining ideas about next steps. More. 198 Methods of Nonviolent ActionA hand-out listing the 198 methods researched and catalogued by Gene Sharp for his seminal publication 'The Politics of Nonviolent Action'. More.
Full Description of Exercises and Hand-outsTo view our training resources you will need a copy of Adobe® Reader®. If you don't have a copy or if you have an old copy which you would like to update, go to the Adobe website where you can download it for free.
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