6 pathways
In my last blog, I wrote about my new interest in London Citizens and their approach to organising taken from Chicago and the work of Saul Alinsky. But as I finished last time, despite my enthusiasm I was left wondering where this approach fitted with other forms of campaigning the like of which I was […]
Charities must increase their investment in campaigning
Mike Hobday who leads on campaigns at MacMillan Cancer Support is right to say that “the role of campaigning will increase as spending cuts take effect”. The most progressive organisations, and I’d count MacMillan Cancer Support firmly within this group, are realising that they need to get a better “bang for their buck” – a […]
Citizens – real activism
In the run-up to the General Election, it was hard not to hear about them. James Purnell resigned from the Cabinet to become one and they organised one of the most dynamic leadership hustings during the campaign. I am of course referring to London Citizens. I was intrigued as to what they were all about, […]
Which campaigner inspires you?
Who inspires you in your campaigning? Who do you look up to? Who motivates your campaigning? I may have struggled to answer that question until recently when I attended the Sheila McKechnie Foundation campaigners’ conference and heard Kumi Naidoo speak about campaigning. Kumi was recently appointed the executive director of Greenpeace International and has an […]
Campaigning is all about failure?
Last month I did a session on INTRAC’s advocacy and policy influencing training course. I do enjoy getting involved with these sessions as they attract NGO delegates from across the world and you get a real sense that campaigning is a truly international language. I had been asked to say a few words about running […]
Using Opposition (part 3)
In my last blog I described a technique to utilise the opposition arguments against your campaign. Let’s take an example of this method being used in practice. I used to campaign against the scandal of empty homes at the Empty Homes Agency. And a few years ago we were campaigning for new powers to tackle […]
Using Opposition (part 2)
In my last blog I wrote about the importance of taking time to collect the arguments that are used against your campaign, and I suggested in your campaign planning team to list all of the arguments that you have heard used against your campaign. So you list, on the left hand side of a page, […]
Using Opposition (part 1)
A few weeks ago I was running a session for some community organisations on developing a campaign message. We had covered the key ground of highlighting the problem and the solution, as well as spending some time testing the message using the elevator test. I have found this test to go down really well in […]
You’ll never meet a poor bookie – how betting can help campaigning
Recently, I was on the Forum for Change’s Discussion board and someone asked: “We’re looking at PPCs and who is the most likely to get in at the next election so we can try and make contact ahead of May. Do you know if there is an easy way to bring up a list of […]
Letter of the Week in Third Sector Magazine
Dear Editor, I was at an event today when I heard something that nearly made me fall off my chair. Not in surprise because I know it was not an uncommon view being expressed, but not one that I thought someone was daft enough to state to the audience gathered. The person, who was responsible […]