Transformational Practice, Organizing and Movement-Building (Some) Next Steps for Intermediaries in the Field March 2009 This field – with its many unique permutations, questions, tensions and possibilities – continues to evolve, grow and deepen in multiple ways. There is a lot of work to do to strengthen its infrastructure and a number of organizations poised to make that happen. Guiding question: How can we align and integrate these efforts to increase our impact and help shift the overall culture and practice of the progressive movement to reflect new principles and approaches? Potential next steps for intermediary organizations: 1. Synthesize and digest data about where we are now Idelisse Malave, in conjunction with Robert Gass, has done a series of interviews with intermediaries in preparation for the transforming organizing meeting that had been scheduled for mid-April. There is a lot to be learned from these. We are hoping that initial observations can be gleaned and shared. In addition, we need to know more about what each organization is already doing. This could be in the form of a couple paragraphs and/or brief questionnaire. 2. Consider the big picture, each organization’s “highest and best use,” and how to deepen the potential impact of collaboration over time We want to ask each intermediary organization to consider the field as a whole (knowing there are always limits to this understanding), the gaps and opportunities, and what role each feels most poised and excited to play going forward. Specifically we see needs and opportunities around the following areas: a. Continued relationship-building through a range of mediums b. Honing and sharing training curriculum c. Online space(s) oriented towards community-building, information-sharing, messaging for a broader public and tools d. Documentation and storytelling that communicates the power and efficacy of the work e. Identifying common principles and a theory of change if it exists f. Codifying best practices that cut across various approaches to the work g. Creating infrastructure to build a network of trainers, consultants and other practitioners who are immersed in specific practices, modalities and methodologies 3. Explore and articulate the places of clear alignment and divergence between intermediaries and training organizations Complete alignment is not likely, nor desired. What we need is some agreement about where alignment exists (the foundation of collaborative work) as well as the inevitable and juicy places where we diverge. 4. Discern shared goals, areas for continued collaboration and learning going forward Proposed timeframe for action: May: ~Wisdom from Idelisse’s interviews gleaned, circulated, digested ~Get Robert’s survey out to folks ~Schedule conference call if possible? ~Conference call to discuss learning’s from survey and interviews, refine goals for work together ~Agenda and design for intermediary gathering at Deep Change June: Intermediaries gather at Deep Change, Sunday, 3-7 pm ~Revisit and refine goals ~Make some initial decisions about collaboration and explore potential for ongoing learning community ~Consider next steps and various leadership roles July: ~Follow up call and next steps (FROM MOVEMENT STRATEGY CENTER) Transformational Movement Building Field Efforts Overview: For those working to integrate transformational practice with progressive organizing and movement building it is an exciting time. There is growing community of people working at this intersection and increasing alignment around some core opportunities that need to be addressed in the field. Many of us have identified common needs and are beginning to develop similar solutions to those needs. The questions is, how can we align and integrate these efforts to increase our impact and help shift the overall culture and practice of the progressive movement to reflect these new principles and approaches? These are some of the specific goals that are being articulated across the field: - The need to build self-conscious communities of leader and organizations committed to transformational approaches particularly with the front lone organizing and social change groups at the heart of the process. - A need to build and articulate sharper alignment and deeper coordination between the intermediaries and training organizations supporting work. - The need to build a network of trainers, consultants and practitioners who are deeply rooted in specific change methodologies and linked to others. - Opportunity to create online spaces and use technology to support community building and information sharing. - A need to identify common principles and practices that cut across the different approaches to the work. There are a number of specific efforts underway to help advance these broader field: - Transformational Organizing Gathering - Seasons Fund Gathering - Field documentation being facilitated by MSC. - Somatics and Social Justice Process - Multiple efforts to train and link trainers and systematically connect groups to the right support Art of Leaderships/Robert Gass - Developing and training new trainers and building a formal network - Expanding the core curriculum and making it available online - Building a network Generative Somatics - Staci Haines - Training a core group of Somatics trainers - Developing new curriculum and approaches with SJ and Somatics Group Movement Strategy Center - Taj James and Kristen Zimmerman - Supporting field building, alliance building for TMB - Training a network of associate in alliance building practice. Miami Workers Center – Gihan Perera - Developing a network of consultants to support organizing and a system to certify and deploy them. Rockwood - Akaya Windwood - Continuing to grow and expand the work and number of people reached by Rockwood’s training. - Formalizing and convening the network of past participants. stone circles - Claudia Horwitz and Jesse Vega-Frey - Establishing a center for strategy and transformational practices - Continuing to lead field building and documentation of the field. Social Justice Leadership – N’gethe Maina - Advancing the Transformation Organizing work, Somatics and social justice effort and integrating multiple approached in the SJL program. Center for Transformative CHANGE - angel Kyodo williams - Transformational practice community The proposal: We are proposing a series of two conversations between core intermediaries that are all engaged in training trainers and building networks, the first attached to the Transformational Organizing meeting and the second attached to the Seasons Fund Gathering. At these two meeting we can discuss the shared goals we have for the field and make specific plans for how we can collaborate to achieve these goals Meeting 1: Day Before or After Transformational Organizing Gathering This meeting would focus on a few key outcomes: - Reviewing the field goals and discussing organizational plans to meet those goals - Define a roadmap/pipeline that articulates that ways our work intersects and our divisions of labor. - Share plans for building and linking networks of trainers and develop process to integrate efforts. - Begin detailed planning of the coordinated training effort proposed by Robert. - Give feedback and input on the plan for the Season’s Fund Gathering and identify lesions from the Transformation Organizing Gathering to apply. Day Before or After Seasons Gathering Field Gathering This meeting would focus on a few key outcomes: - Continue planning for the integrated training - Discuss ways to collectively support organizations integrating these practices in their work. - Provide input on Phase two of the Field Research project and review initial findings on common principles and practice that connect our work. - Review the technology proposals and projects being develop to integrate our work. (FROM STONE CIRCLES) EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES FOR ONLINE COLLABORATION The field of transformational practice and social change is growing more quickly than any one organization could possibly capture. There are some exciting emerging efforts – all different but potentially very complementary – that are focused on resourcing a broader public online. • Garrison Institute has completed a broad survey and long report on “contemplation and cultural change.” They want to put it on line. • Movement Strategy Center is in the middle of a research project on spirituality and organizing – qualitative storytelling and database. • Robert Gass and Jodie Tonita are creating a web presence to share tools and training. Their intention is to keep it as open and scaleable as possible. • stone circles is creating a strategy map for the field, to be integrated into a new website on liberation spirituality and spiritual activism. This site is built and some of content is finished. • Contact Project in Canada did interviews, interested in bringing inner awareness practices to social change work. Have funding to create a website. • Simon Dennis has been evolving an idea for a site which would include a diagnostic section for assessing transformational capacity and a bank of organizational processes for developing this capacity. (He is not copied on this because I’m not sure where he is with it all.) The language of each is a bit different, but all of the work listed below is aimed at (1) helping the growing field and network reveal itself in its breadth and depth, commonalities and differences and (2) offer resources and tools to spread the work more broadly. The intentions and approaches are similar enough; next steps are a conversation to assess the depth of connections and discern how much, if any, collaboration might make sense. Specifically, we need to: 1. Hear a bit more about each of the initiatives described above as well as any other significant efforts we know about; 2. Discuss the goals for each effort; 3. Brainstorm a range of possible collaborations, from minimum (each effort remains independent; we keep each other informed, link to each other’s work) to maximum (for example, a site like www.WiserEarth.org); and 4. Make decisions about next steps. |