Location: Alaska

Learn about an evidence-backed framework to engage your key audiences and build buy-in from your supporters. In 2021, we kicked off a round of research project collaborations to study how climate advocates can leverage the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA) to better organize and mobilize their bases. SIMCA predicts that people participate in activism when they feel that their social group is experiencing injustice, when they strongly identify with that group, and/or when they feel that acting together could have an impact (that is, a sense of collective efficacy). These collaborations helped us unpack SIMCA and provided a better understanding of how and when to use this model. We found that SIMCA-informed messaging tended to perform as well as or better than existing approaches, though the specific context of each implementation was important for determining exactly how this played out. In part 2 of this report-out, we feature research done in collaboration with three climate justice organizations: Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alianza for Progress, and Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts. (Also see our practical guide for integrating SIMCA into climate engagement programs and check out the projects from our SIMCA Part 1 webinar)
 
 

Tribal communities, commercial fishermen, and conservation groups in Alaska are celebrating a recent EPA announcement outlining new protections for the Bristol Bay Watershed – protections that could (finally) end the decades-long fight to stop Pebble Mine. Alannah Hurley, Executive Director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB), reflected, “As stewards of these lands and waters since time immemorial, our people welcome this step towards permanent protections for our waters and way of life… We appreciate EPA’s efforts to address the threat Pebble poses to our lands, waters and way of life in Bristol Bay, and hope to see the agency finalize strong protections this year.” (Please consider standing in solidarity with UTBB by submitting your own public comment to the EPA!)
In response to this growing challenge, Alaska Conservation Foundation (ACF) reached out to the Lab earlier this year for support. Specifically, ACF was eager to explore the role of narrative, both as a tool wielded by the opposition (mining industry and pro-mining decision-makers) to push the necessity and “inevitably” of unchecked mining expansion and as a tool for advocates statewide to put forward an alternate vision for prosperity, sustainability, and self-determination through the coming energy transition. Read on for key learnings and insights from the work we did together!