It is important to have clear movement strategies and objectives. However, scaling up also can necessitate the ability to shift areas of emphasis, in order to survive and thrive. For instance, the initial Black Lives Matter focus on police brutality has changed over time to address “systemic oppression in all forms, not just as it affects the police force, but [also] when it comes to the judicial system, or food insecurity, or education,” in the words of one activist. While the shift in this group mirrors a nation-wide expansion of Black Lives Matter’s areas of focus, changes in emphasis can occur not just because of the need to address substantive issues but also because of changes in personnel that lead to different areas of interest. Organizations need to be able and willing to change their emphasis as the local/national context evolves and as group makeup (and movement leadership) shifts. 

Likewise, flexibility is necessary so that organizations can shift based on what possibilities exist at a given moment in time and what the sociopolitical landscape allows for. In Annie Campbell’s words, “You have to read what's happening, then see what the possibilities are, and then something emerges that you can actually go with.” The Lakiya Weaving Project, a Bedouin initiative in Israel, illustrates this through the example of creating spaces for women in different Bedouin tribes to congregate by initially working with men’s NGOs, since no women-specific space existed and there was little support for creating them. This speaks to the importance of adapting tactics in order to achieve long-term strategic goals. 

In some cases having an impact also requires making the strategic decision to stop the organization’s work. Annie Campbell, a women’s movement activist in Northern Ireland, gives the example of the NI Women’s Coalition and how, after 10 years in existence, the Coalition lost its parliamentary representation. At that point, the Coalition held an in-depth consultation and discussion across its membership and concluded that NIWC had fulfilled its original intent to raise the profile of women in politics in NI and to contribute to a just peace agreement in NI. It was decided that it would not be the best use of the group’s political energies to continue as a political party. A key takeaway from this example is the importance of strategic timing in making the decision to shut down: the choice was made to close up shop while the Coalition had ‘status.’

Challenges you may encounter using this tool

• While it is important to be able to pivot strategically, more established organizations should be wary of “mission drift” and “big tent” drawbacks that may water down or even contradict core values or principles of the original cause.

• Changes to an organization’s strategy inevitably unearth divergent visions of how to pursue and ultimately structure the shift. Organizational leaders will need to determine which method is best for gathering the input of activists and then making a final determination on the ‘right’ strategic shift to implement.

• Strategic adaptation requires movements to employ reflective practice by regularly taking time away from direct action to analyze current political or social dynamics and consider next steps by learning from past experiences. This process can be time consuming and will often require movement leadership to take a step back from action to regroup and consider plausible next steps.