Principles & Processes

Learning from Opponents with Munira Lokhandwala of LittleSis.org

Underdogs can use the same strategies as more powerful actors do against their powerful opponents. In this podcast episode, Deepak and Stephanie discuss some great examples of how to counter corporate power, use PSYOPS against white supremacists, and drive wedges in elite coalitions. They also explore other lessons progressives can take from the “overdogs’” (i.e., more powerful actors) playbook: crafting long-term plans, recruiting based on belonging rather than belief, and using data-driven evaluation paired with the lean startup model for organizing. And overdogs today invest in strategic education at a scale that dwarfs anything on the left. Their commitment is captured in the slogan of the right-wing Leadership Institute, which has trained over 200,000 people: “You owe it to your philosophy to learn how to win.”

Why social change needs to be a laughing matter

New research explores how humor is used in nonviolent action — particularly its ability to disrupt dominant discourses and challenge power. Dialogue facilitation refers to nonviolent action’s ability to maintain an openness towards the adversary even in the midst of conflict. The second dimension, power breaking, is the one best served by humor. The third dimension is utopian enactment: the ability of nonviolent activists to enact, at least momentarily, the new reality that they envision — as when black civil rights activists in the U.S. South engaged in normal, everyday activities like eating or swimming in “white only” spaces, enacting the integrated society they hoped to create. In short, while humor may contribute to nonviolent action’s effectiveness in some of these dimensions, it may detract from it in others.

How to improve the effectiveness of a training

Here are practices based in the science of motivation, performance and well-being to improve the quality of political organizing trainings. Connect the activity to its impact on other people or the world. Present goals and timelines as valuable information that is necessary for achieving a shared goal. Be clear about any requirements, guidelines, or boundaries. Provide a meaningful rationale for requests and requirements. Acknowledge and accept negative feelings and affect. Provide appropriate scaffolding (training, shadowing, role-plays, etc.).

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Best Practices for Equity And Governance

Environmental justice communities can be meaningfully centered and empowered within the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program. Prioritize direct benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities. Community engagement should be incorporated throughout awardees’ operations, including in their overall governance structure and business plan. Create accountability to local and impacted communities, especially low-income and disadvantaged communities. Operate with transparency, which is a prerequisite for accountability, and helps to build trust with communities and other stakeholders.

Building a Ladder of Engagement for Youth

Young people bring critical perspective, expertise, and energy to our movement spaces -- but traditional organizing and mobilizing structures can leave them feeling undervalued, tokenized, or burnt out. 

How do we design ladders of engagement that truly support youth leadership development within our climate organizing work?

Participants will leave this Lab training with:

• Evidence-insights into the challenges and opportunities of youth climate organizing

Info session for the Blueprint for MRXC Climate Coalitions training series

 

The Lab is planning a four-part training series based on our Blueprint for MRXC Climate Coalitions project. Our goal is to help the Lab community develop more durable, effective, and equitable coalitions to win the climate solutions we need. This series is open to advocates who want help setting up a coalition, are currently working in coalition, or just want to learn best-practices for their next coalition. Come to this info session to learn more about the timeline, scope, and design principles for this all-new training series!

Series breakdown:

Replenishing trust: Civil society’s guide to reversing the trust deficit

Trust-building is actions aligned to values — it’s not just communicating about what matters, but doing it. Trust for institutions across society is declining. This growing trust deficit is a serious problem: It erodes a high-functioning pluralistic democracy, compromises public health and makes it impossible to solve collective problems like climate change. Trust doesn’t just happen. American civil society institutions have an important role to play in increasing trust — which is necessary to create the kind of world we all want to live in.

The Momentum Model: A Living Model for Hybrid Organizing

The Momentum model is a synthesis of best practices from diverse sources including: research from the field of civil resistance, social movement theory, labor and community organizing, organic systems theory, and the long history of socialist strategy as well as through on-the-ground experimentation within our own community of practice. Momentum sees itself as descendants and students of social movements from around the world, such as the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the Civil Rights movement in the US, the Color Revolutions in Eastern Europe, and decolonization efforts throughout the Global South. Momentum trains and supports organizers in a living model to build social movements that change public opinion and institutionalize wins on the most pressing justice issues of our time. This living model contains foundational frameworks and practices as well as core tools to deploy based on a particular movement context.
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