Audience: Frontline Communities

Learn how to improve engagement and mobilization using the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA). In 2021, the Lab kicked off a round of research project collaborations to study how climate, clean energy, and climate justice organizations can leverage SIMCA to better engage their bases. SIMCA tells us that people participate in collective action when they feel that their social group is experiencing injustice because of an issue, they strongly identify with that group, and/or they feel that acting together could have an impact (that is, a sense of collective efficacy). These research projects found that using SIMCA-informed messaging tended to perform as we as or better than existing approaches, though the specific context of each implementation context was important for determining exactly this played out. (Also see our practical guide for integrating SIMCA into climate engagement programs)
 

Emphasizing a shared identity improved engagement with social media advertising among Illinois farmers, and may have doubled action taking, compared to standard messaging. Social scientists have developed a model for social movement participation known as the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA). This model suggests that shared identity is one of the key elements motivating people to participate in collective action. Testing of Facebook ads targeted at Illinois farmers found those emphasizing shared identity had a higher click through rate, lower cost per click, and may have had a higher action taking rate compared to ads that did not emphasize shared identity as strongly.

This article discusses seven key sources of opposition to renewable projects and recommendations for a path forward.