Principles & Processes

Here is a comprehensive framework for understanding power dynamics through "power analysis." It introduces concepts such as "power over," "power within," "power with," and "power to," elucidating various facets of power in societal contexts. The analysis emphasizes the necessity of recognizing visible, hidden, and invisible forms of power to effectively address social inequalities. This resource serves as a vital tool for activists and policymakers, enabling them to strategize interventions that promote equity and inclusion by transforming existing power structures. The first step in creating a power map is to define the goal, vision, or interest that you are going to focus on in your analysis. After placing individuals and organizations on the map, you might be able to see some patterns and relationships. Power mapping can enhance your group’s understanding of the political context and your ability to think strategically. It can also build trust and shared understanding between participants in the group as they work together to develop each step of the research, discussion, and mapping process.

A strategy for a social change campaign can be as simple or complex as you and your group determine. It should communicate your theory of change, the political context you are working in, the problems and solutions, your goals, power analysis, tactics and timeline. ‘Cut the issue’ to narrow down bigger picture problems into more manageable parts. What part of the problem or bigger issue do you intend to work on? It might be helpful to frame it as a solution or partial solution. Name the problem, identify issues and justify which one/s you plan to tackle. The campaign focus might include a ‘problem statement’ that defines the social or environmental justice that your group is most concerned with. The ‘cutting the issue’ exercise can help you define your goals. How do you want things to be? If this issue or problem is resolved, how will the situation have changed? How will justice be achieved? Goals should be discrete and directly linked to the scope. It is generally best to focus on one campaign goal or limit to two or three. If your goals are sufficiently different, it may be worthwhile developing separate campaign plans. This guide also covers: vision, situational analysis, critical path analysis, organizational considerations, allies, constituents, targets, objectives, tactics, evaluation, and success indicators.

Real inclusive organizing should include incorporating disability into values or action statements, having disabled people on the organizing committee or board, making accessibility a priority from day one, and listening to feedback from disabled people. Here’s a starter checklist for accessibility, from your website to the day of the event. Make your website accessible: e.g., use high contrast and consider using a tool to allow users to switch from dark-on-light to light-on-dark. Create an access plan: e.g., vet your facilities. Make your event policies disability-friendly: e.g., include disabled people in your leadership, organization, scheduled speakers and panelists, imagery, and documentation.

Here are the four simple questions that could transform your advocacy strategy and increase your impact. Campaigners and advocates try to influence change and make a difference on the issues, and for the people, that they care about. However, processes of change are complex and unpredictable, so it is often difficult to decide exactly what to do. Faced with this complexity or messiness, when planning campaign strategies, advocates often try to simplify by: identifying a problem and a solution; producing campaign messaging, policy proposals and research which supports the analysis; and communicating core messages to as many people as possible using multiple channels (media, lobbying, social media, supporter mobilization, etc.). Developing a theory of change can help you to: “zoom out” and better understand your role in the context of the broader processes of change; reflect on and theorize about how change might unfold and what role you can play in it; build a common understanding within your team and strengthen critical or evaluative thinking which is vital for effective advocacy and campaigning; remain focused on the change you are working towards and how what you do makes a difference, so when the context changes you don’t lose your way; strengthen your understanding of your progress and results and your contribution to change; and develop a framework for measuring your learning and effectiveness.

A theory of change can help guide campaigners, their teams and communities. A well-crafted theory of change helps align the available energy, keeping your team focused and clear-headed about the change you plan to make and how. To influence people and institutions to veer from the status quo or the path most frequently taken – such as deciding to reject a development application or to prioritize programs that put health, the environment and education first – we need to understand what makes them tick. Community campaigners often craft theories of change that rely heavily on awareness-raising. A theory of change created to explain how we’ll influence one or more political decisions this year is unlikely to provide a compelling explanation about how people who share our values and concerns will bring about a better world over decades or generations. The theory of change for a campaign we aim to win this year will be based on this year’s political realities and incorporate fine-grained information about what will influence specific decision-makers. Here’s an example: IF workers and community members refuse to provide labor and services for the construction of a new coal mine THEN the mine’s development will be slowed and costs will increase, possibly resulting in the mine not going ahead BECAUSE the company relies entirely on local labor and community resources.

Lay a solid foundation for a campaign by working backwards from long-term goals to identify the conditions that must be in place in order to achieve those goals, and why. This is a campaign planning methodology that forces participants to get specific about how social change happens. Participants start with the long-term goal of the campaign, and then work backwards to identify all the conditions needed to achieve that goal. Next, get specific about what actions participants can take to create those conditions. Developing a theory of change can be particularly helpful during the early stages of campaign planning. It guides participants to choose the right tactics to most efficiently achieve those outcomes, and helps avoid the common mistake of jumping immediately into action without connecting today’s tactics with tomorrow’s strategy. This also includes a training guide to lead participants through an exercise to devise their theory of change.

This training document allows participants to: identify the pillars holding up the power structures to knock down; analyze the pillars with the goal of developing strategies to weaken them; and identify the vulnerability of power structures. Draw an upside down triangle, with pillars holding it up. Write the name of the problem in the triangle. It can be an institution or an injustice ('war'), or a more specific problem ('lack of access to water supply in our village'). The training facilitator should ask the group to identify the pillars that represent the institutions and factors that support the problem (the military, corporations, patriotic citizens...) Be specific about elements of the support structures ('the military' includes the leadership, soldiers, veterans, military families). This will help to analyze how to weaken the structure. Draw another set of pillars, writing the name of the institution from your chosen pillar in the triangle, and analyze what powers hold it up by answering questions such as: Do we understand the context and the root causes of the problem? Who benefits and who suffers from it, and how? Who holds the power, and who has the power to create change? (Who forms part of the structures underpinning the problem? Who opposes it?)

Nonviolence is based on a desire to end all violence – whether physical violence or what's been called 'structural violence' and 'cultural violence' – without committing further violence. Nonviolent activists also want their activities to be an expression of the future they are trying to create, and their behavior reflects the world they want. When they use phrases such as 'speaking truth to power', 'affirming life', or 'respecting diversity', they are invoking fundamental values that themselves are a source of strength for them and a point of contact with those they want to reach. Nonviolence strengthens a campaign in three main ways: 1) Among participants in a campaign; by fostering trust and solidarity among participants, they usually are put in touch with the sources of their own power to act in the situation, facing their fears. 2) In relation to a campaign's adversary; nonviolence aims either to inhibit the violence of an adversary or to ensure that violent oppression will 'backfire' politically against them. 3) In relation to others not yet involved; nonviolence changes the quality of communication with bystanders or 'outsiders' – people not yet concerned about the issue or not yet active in a movement, or people who could be potential allies.

Tactics are the activities you use to influence your (primary/ secondary) target in order to achieve your goal. Escalation tactics are sequenced in a strategic way. It is important to agree on both before you begin your campaign. Another important definition is Action. The activist and author Rinku Sen defines this as: “a face-to face confrontation between your constituency and an individual target over a specific demand.” A tactic should be simple or time-bound; that could be simple action over a period of time; lots of actions in a short period of time. Effective tactics that have been used by local groups in the past include: posting contradictions or inconsistencies in course materials or textbooks on social media; walk-outs; boycotts; marches; and more. Unfortunately, no matter how well-planned our tactics are, it might be that the decision-maker still doesn’t make the change that you want. In that case, it’s important to ‘escalate’ our activities.

When developing and carrying out a nonviolent campaign for social change, organizers need to consider steps for increasing the pressure on those whose actions or decisions are opposed. There are lots of ways a movement can escalate a conflict while remaining nonviolent. In Ebert's model, the first stage of a nonviolent campaign emphasizes bringing an issue into the public sphere. In the second stage, the campaign increases public pressure by staging legal forms of non-cooperation (strikes, consumer boycotts, slow-downs) as well as innovative lawful activities (fair trade initiatives, alternative economy structures, nonviolent intervention). The third stage of escalation uses nonviolent civil disobedience as both a protest and as a form of civil usurpation. Of course, there are more ways to escalate a campaign than increasing the level of non-cooperation or developing constructive alternatives. Perhaps the most common are escalation through increasing numbers of participants, increased length of public protests (think of people occupying a public square to protest against a repressive regime for many weeks) or a wider variety of participants.