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Community Advocacy and Political Influence Model
The framework below outlines seven influencing tactics available to change agents in a community.
The seven tactics available to community change agents are:
Let’s look at each of these in turn.
Ballot Box Get Out the Vote (or Run for Something)
This tactic focuses on the most fundamental change to local government - shaping who is on the governing body in the first place. These are the people who set priorities, craft policies and legislation and make systemic change (for better or worse).
1:1 Lobbying & Influence Having a Quiet Word
An often overlooked tactic at the local level whereby a trusted stakeholder is able to engage with specific persuadable representatives ,either in person or virtually (e.g., email, phone, video), in order to effect some desired outcome or to learn more about the mechanics of governance.
Group-based Lobbying & Pressure Strength in Numbers
This can take the form of a coordinated email campaign or a petition (such as ). It can also take the form of groups of people showing up at, or participating in, public fora. This tactic is captured by the phrases, “Show Up!” and “Stand Up!”.
Public Comment 180 Seconds (or 200 Words or Less)
Change agents in our community are becoming more comfortable with this tactic and it remains a critical one to ensure other voices in our community are heard. This typically involves participation in public meetings during the public comment section or during community engagement sessions. This is captured by the phrase, “Speak Up!”
Public Demonstration Strength in Numbers & Volume
This tactic takes the numbers, and volume, up a notch and includes things like sign holding events, cheering/jeering sections, peaceful demonstrations, staged walk-outs, passive resistance, etc. It can even take the form of a strike.
Legal Pressure Sue the B*****ds!
Again, ratcheting things up further, having recourse to legal support, counsel and representation remains an arrow in the change agent's quiver. This can take the form of FOIA requests (freedom of information), letters from a lawyer or even a law suit.
Media Coverage Get the Story and the Message Out
Lastly, there is leverage to be had via the media. This includes tips to mainstream outlets (news, print) with opportunities to cover an event or issue. It also includes writing letters to the editor. Additionally, activism on social media (posts, pages, replies, counterpoints to official posts, etc.) is included in this space.
These tactics surround a generic set of decision makers (i.e., a governing body). In the centre of the circle is space for change agents to identify a specific desired outcome. Elected officials are represented alongside notation as to whether they "lean" in favour or against the desired outcomes (+/-).
The question becomes one of which tactics will be most effective in persuading elected representatives to take (or not take) action congruent with the desired outcomes.
All of this requires organization, volunteer resources, time (that precious commodity) and - with some of the above tactics - money. But setting aside those not-too-small considerations, I've found this visual inventory to be of value in shaping my thinking as a community change agent - hence my sharing it with you!
#changeagency #changeagent #LOCALGOVERNMENTMATTERS #activism
Changing the Conversation → Building Power
I keep a framework in mind when thinking about building progressive power in our community.
It is a sort of theory of change, a hypothesis about how progressive change happens (or can happen).
It goes like this:
Each of us, both as individuals and collectively, sits within a historical context - we live in Lake Country, in the first quarter of the 21st Century and exist within our own peculiar stage of our own particular life cycle. We carry yesterday’s baggage and our hopes for tomorrow into the time space we call the present.
We also sit in a material world where society, the economy and our environment afford us some opportunities and not others. There are limits (”all things are possible, but not everything is likely”), some of which we accept, some of which we suffer under and some of which we seek to change. To return to the SEED framework I've mentioned before, this is where we look to see the results and outcomes associated with building a good society, a fair economy, a sustainable environment and a strong democracy.
Within this context we have two spaces: Discourse and Power.
Consider the discourse to be the conversation(s) we have. This includes the issues and concerns that are talked about, how they are framed, what is considered discussable (and un-discussable), etc. It includes the dominant way of talking about things. For example, does the discourse in our community assume people to be lazy and unmotivated, or does it assume the best of people. Do we believe public schools to be the cornerstone of our democracy or simply an expense that should be turned over to private interests? How do we talk about women’s reproductive health?
In order to build political power, we need to have better conversations, better dialogue - better discourse. Building better discourse is an ongoing project, one that runs across (and through) the punctuated moments in the calendar of elections.
But we won’t see lasting change until that discourse translates into political power.
The power side of this framework speaks to securing a place for our collective voices in government. It means finding a way to institutionalize progressive discourse in policy, securing rights and liberties such that our social, economic and environmental conditions change for the better.
As we approach another punctuated moment in our calendar with the upcoming elections, it is time - once again - to get the two halves of this yin and yang model working together.
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