Resource Type: Tips & How-Tos

From one perspective, we’re ending 2021 a lot like we started it. In a pandemic, experiencing one extreme weather event after another, and anxious over how power is being wielded in Congress and the White House.
At the same time, there have been a significant number of policy victories at all levels of government while new funding resources and new horizons in climate leadership are creating transformational shifts within the climate movement. Shifts that have the potential to unlock the people power we are going to need to win – and secure – the transition to a clean energy future that we all need. Below you’ll find summaries of key trends in the climate movement for 2021 – and some of the Best of the Lab from this year.

Confused about what the changes in the privacy settings of the iOS operating system and peer-to-peer text messaging rules (the so-called “10DLC” changes) mean for your email and texting work? Wondering about ways to move forward? No worries. We got you. This webinar will give you a clear explanation of what has changed and some clear action steps you can take to keep your email and texting work on track. Sandi Fox from Smart as a Fox will lead the texting section.

What is a strategy? How are your strategy and theory of change interrelated? How do you develop a power-building strategy?
In part 4 of our Power & Strategy training series, we spoke about all things strategy! We will be focusing on why having a power-building strategy is important and the steps to developing a transformative strategy. This training focused on:

Cover the basics of strategy – what it is, why it’s important, and its relationship to our theory of change and tactics

Give you some time to reflect on your current strategy and then share in small groups ​​

Share research on the importance of “strategic capacity” and the key capabilities necessary to build it 

An  “Organizing Pathway” provides a simple but effective structure for helping organizers combine in-person organizing with the reach and scale of digital tools. For UFR this has been central to their ability to unlock the power of their leaders at the scale needed to beat major corporations.

What if the best times are ahead of us? I have been coming back to those words from NDN Collective a lot, recently – my head spinning with post-COP press releases, analysis of infrastructure bill provisions, and early prognostications on midterm elections.
Powerful and visionary climate narratives feel more necessary than ever in these wild times. They can reawaken our imagination of what is possible; ground our sense of purpose and commitment; and summon the necessary mix of anger, hope, and courage to keep pushing for a regenerative, equitable, and beautiful world.
The importance of narrative has gained a lot of traction in recent years, and political science research affirms narrative as a “critical capacity” of effective social movements across the ideological spectrum. Color of Change’s Rashad Robinson breaks down the different dimensions of narrative work, explaining:

Narrative is the “average” of (or the patterns that emerge from) a “system of stories” about an issue, including from media, culture, and politics.
Narrative power is our ability to wield those stories through a Narrative Strategy that helps to shape and shift societal norms, rules, and our larger understanding of what is possible.
Narrative infrastructure is the set of processes and tools that help us do that over time.

This week, I’m so excited to share some of the research, tools, and resources we’ve been gathering at the Lab to support you in developing or refining your narrative strategy!