Issue: From Webinar

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)
 

The world can be a dangerous place, especially when you’re trying to solve a climate crisis. Disinformation – from the fossil fuel industry, conspiracy theorists, or their partisan accomplices – pollutes the discourse and draws attention away from actual climate solutions. Unfortunately, we’re now all responsible for pushing back against lies, dirty tricks, and bad-faith arguments in order to protect our audiences.
Building off of our March webinar on Fighting Digital Climate Disinformation, we want to arm advocates with what they’ll need to fight disinformation in their work, whether that looks like organizing volunteers on social media to amplify inoculation messages, debunking misleading information in frontline communities, or building a dedicated program to conduct anti-disinformation research. Participants will leave this webinar equipped with the knowledge and instructions to protect their organization and their base.

For both those who are planning on climate deep canvassing, as well as those just curious about it, an all-star panel guides you through the ins and outs of designing, running, and evaluating a climate deep canvassing program, including a walkthrough of the entire deep canvassing design process; a haul of instructional materials, tipsheets, and sample scripts.

This interactive session covered how researchers and advocates (the two biggest constituents in the Lab community!) can help each other evaluate the effectiveness of their programs, test out new approaches to win campaigns, and generate more knowledge for the rest of the movement to learn from. Our panel included:

Kate Mannle (Rare) and Adam Seth Levine (Johns Hopkins University, research4impact) on the process of building mutual understanding and a healthy, equitable working relationship across sectors
Rodrick Leary (Audubon) and Heather O’Connor (Louisiana State University-Shreveport, Indiana University) on how to connect across sectors and share knowledge
Ernesto Cruz (Neighbor to Neighbor) and Justin Rolfe-Redding (Climate Advocacy Lab) on moving from shared interests to tangible questions and a functional research plan

As the seasons’ turn, new life and opportunities emerge. The Lab’s first Spring Community Call to re-ground in community, plant seeds of understanding on our movement’s key priorities and challenges, and nurture dialogue with other leaders about what it takes to build durable power and win equitable solutions.
Social science research affirms the need for “critical capacities” of effective social movements. The Lab has identified 5 critical capacities including strategic, organizing, narrative, disruptive, and electoral/institutional. During this Spring Community Call, we explore what these are and reflect on how these critical capacities are connected to building a powerful multi-racial, cross-class climate movement. In this community call, participants leave with:
• New and strengthened relationships with other leaders in the movement
• A snapshot of the climate movement’s current opportunities and gaps
• Concrete ways to apply the “5 critical capacities framework”
Together, we create a space of learning across the Lab community and inspire one another with our collectively held and distinct experiences.
 

             
Social science research affirms the need for “critical capacities” of effective social movements (narrative, disruptive, electoral/institutional). What are these? How do we develop them in our campaigning and organizing work? In this training, we will work through the meaning of the critical capacities and their utility in multi-racial cross-class organizing. We will review case studies about how different coalitions have developed and sustained their critical capacities using evidence-based advocacy.
 

The power of organizing is the ability to apply enough people-power to win – and keep – the changes we need for a future in which we can all thrive. This power is a renewable resource built through the trust and mutual accountability fostered by the relationships the organizer seeds between members and the organization, members and the organizer, and members and other members. This session will equip you to apply organizing principles and evidence-based advocacy insights to your work with volunteers.