Resource Type: Tips & How-Tos

Being in the climate movement comes with a certain orientation around crisis – disruption is something we are familiar with. From IPCC reports declaring dire and urgent responses to disruptive tactics of resistance being in our movement’s DNA – we may feel endless urgency to fulfill our tactics, strategies, and missions. The Ayni Institute speaks of this as the “endless summer” and points to the inevitable burnout of attempting to sustain this high energy non-stop.
Reflecting on the last 10 years, it’s clear the climate movement has built many of the critical capacities* needed to win. This week’s newsletter focuses on strategic capacity in particular and how understanding and embracing the seasons of leadership and cycles of movements can strengthen it.

At the Lab, we are wrapping up field research projects with six great partner climate advocacy organizations. While I can’t wait to share what we’ve learned once they are complete, today I wanted to provide some of my reflections on best practices for field research I’ve learned from these tests and other projects. Think of these as extra dollops of advice on top of our core guidance on research and testing and Learning 101*.

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.
 

Over the last year, the Lab has been involved in a strategic planning process. The purpose of this body of work has been: to be clear about the focus of our programming, have a clear vision of the type of climate movement we want to bring into fruition; and how as a movement support organization we can use our programming to build this future.

You’ve probably heard a lot from us about evidence-based advocacy, but what are we talking about when we talk about “evidence?” Does it mean we privilege academic research that has withstood the rigor of peer review, or that we should raise up lessons learned through the hard work of organizing on the ground? Do we gather evidence from a bird’s-eye view of the public at large through polling, a detailed examination of a particular audience through interviewing, or an introspective analysis of how our own organizations and coalitions operate? The short answer is that we think all of it matters as long as the insights generated can help us be more effective, challenge our assumptions, and grow as a movement. This post examines how we think about evidence at the Lab and how we can break evidence down into the categories of Listening, Watching, Tinkering, and Reflecting*.

             
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.