On this page, authors of Activist Handbook discuss the 'Strategy' chapter. Read this page if you are interested in making this chapter better.

Models: Basic strategy elements #

Many models/frameworks exist for developing campaign strategies. On this page, we outline a few. We have tried not to clutter the main chapter content with discussions around other models than the one Activist Handbook uses.

There is definitely value in explaining where our model comes from, and showing the diversity in models. Importantly, it acknowledges the hard work of authors before us.

However, Activist Handbook is not written for change-makers who want to read a book. It is written for people who want to start taking action. Not every activist should not have to understand the whole history of activism, before they can even start to think about making a difference themselves.

On this page, we make an exception: most people will not read this page, it is specifically written for people who want to make Activist Handbook better, so we can discuss things a bit more on a meta level.

Activist Handbook model #

The current model used on Activist Handbook is based on the one described by The Change Agency in the People Power Manual. However, we find it is too static. That is why we have developed a new model (draft).

Change Agency #

The Activist Handbook model was based on the People Power: Campaign Strategy book.

Midwest Academy #

The Midwest Academy propose a simple campaign planning grid with columns for seven elements of strategy:

1. Vision

2. Goals

3. Objectives

4. Organisational considerations

5. Constituents, allies and opponents

6. Tactics

7. Timeline.

Robert Burrowes #

Scholar and activist Robert Burrowes has developed an alternative framework for capturing and presenting the key elements of a campaign.

The four central elements are:

1. Assessment

2. Political purpose and demands

3. Strategic aims and goals

4. Conception of nonviolent action.

These four elements inform and direct the eight other elements Burrowes advocates:

1. Organisation

2. Leadership

3. Communication

4. Preparations

5. Constructive program (positive community and political development to meet human needs)

6. Strategic timeframe

7. Tactics and peacekeeping

8. Evaluation.

Burrowes uses some of these terms differently from the definitions we’ve presented in this manual. His expression ‘assessment’ is similar to our expression ‘situational analysis’; ‘political purpose’ is similar to ‘demands’ while ‘strategic aims’ refers to broader movement goals.

Democracy Centre #

The Democracy Centre recommends nine steps to plan advocacy campaigns based around a sequence of simple questions. By answering each question, campaigners develop each element of their strategy:

• What do we want? (goals and objectives)

• Who can give it to us? (audiences)

• What do they need to hear? (messages)

• Who do they need to hear it from? (messengers)

• How do we get them to hear it? (delivery)

• What have we got? (resources; strengths)

• What do we need to develop? (challenges; gaps)

• How do we begin? (first steps)

• How will we know it’s working, or not working? (evaluation)

North East Forest Alliance #

The North East Forest Alliance advocate a campaign planning approach that focuses on eight ‘contributing strategies’ that together comprise the grand strategy or overall campaign plan.
1. Research
2. Public education

3. Media
4. Legal
5. Political
6. Fundraising
7. Directaction,and
8. Survival and renewal.

This eighth element is critical. What’s the point of winning if your members are burnt out and your organisation has fallen into conflict, debt or despair?

Improve readability #

This chapter contains lots of high quality guides and valuable external resources. However, it is too much for the average reader to process.

• Increase consistency between workshops and Activist Handbook model: each workshop has other basic strategy elements. Create a bit more consistency between, or at least explain which model is more useful in what context. For example, for new activists just starting out, the main Activist Handbook model might be a bit overwhelming: "If you’re new to campaigning and looking for a simpler approach, you might instead experiment with the ‘Strategy as a House’ process developed by the Sierra Club or the ‘Short term campaign strategy planning template’ that we’ve included in the guide." (People Power Manual)

• Create context-specific strategy guides: if you're just starting out, what pathway to follow? If you work for a large nonprofit, what pathway?

• Summarise guides: In every guide, add a 'Summary' section at the top.

• Evaluate external resources: Go through all external resources, and summarise what value each resource provides. This way, readers know what to expect, and do not have to read every single external resource to find the bit they are looking for.

Other improvements #

Potential new sub-pages/sections #

• Interventions: things your movement can change about society/in a community (see more in ‘types of strategies’)

• Dealing with backlash

  • What to expect

  • Prepare

  • Responding

Chapter organisation #

• Add link to ‘power mapping’ guide on ‘stakeholders’ page

Find a place to put these guides #

• Dealing with opposition

• Power mapping

• Local context

Search keywords #

People are searching for:

*According to Semrush