in learning
A summer reading list for campaigners…
I set myself a challenge at the start of the year to read a book a week – and it means I’ve got a few recommendations for those looking for a good campaigning read as they head off on holiday. If you’re looking to dive into the lessons from successful movements of the past – …
in learning
Could ‘unsafe thinking’ help us come up with better campaign approaches?
I’m reading a lot at the moment – so forgive me if the next few posts are based on thoughts solely derived from the last book I’ve read. I’ve just finished Jonah Sachs ‘Unsafe Thinking’. If you recognise the name, Sachs is the author of Winning the Story Wars, which is a brilliant read on using …
Can we stop the inevitable? Some thoughts on the theory of change behind stopping Brexit
I’ve got a campaign frustration that I need to be honest about – what is the theory of change behind the ongoing ‘stop Brexit’ campaign. Now put aside for the moment if going back on the original referendum is a good thing, both for the public faith in democracy and if it’s legally possible, but …
We need to talk about Twitter – the shortfalls of protest in an age of social media
If I had a pound for every time someone had said to me “we just need to put something on Twitter” as a response to a campaign problem, I could probably retire. I don’t believe that somehow armchair activism can win change along – I believe to do that we need to build power in …
Why the ‘general public’ isn’t an audience for your campaign
I’m on a train heading back from Birmingham where I’ve been sitting in on some focus groups that we’ve been running. It’s been literally the most interesting few hours of my week, and I’d recommend to any campaigner that they get themselves in to view a focus group (or do their own impromptu research in …
What will campaigning be like in 2040?
In 2010, NCVO produced a useful resource asking what campaigning might look like in 2015, it’s worth a read as it accurately predicts some of the trends that we’re seeing today. I’m also a big fan of this resource from Mobilisation Lab looking at some of the trends that campaigners will face in 2018. But …
After #WinningBig – some thoughts on what next
Winning Big was the best conference I’ve been to in a long time – it brought together a really interesting and diverse mix of campaigners working across party politics, unions, NGOs and pressure groups to ask what we could learn from the big organising approach that has been successful in recent years. Huge kudos to …
Re-energise your campaign – lesson from #BondConf session
I was really fortunate today to host a panel at the Bond Conference on how to ‘re-energise your campaign’. It was a great hour-long discussion between four inspiring campaigners, who are all leading really important campaigns with some new and different approaches. It was one of those hours where I was trying to keep time, …
in learning
Where could good campaign ideas come from?
Steven Johnson asks a simple question – where do good ideas come from? Looking across the history of innovation and the development of some of the most important breakthroughs in history, his book by the same name explores what are the lessons that we can learn from them, and apply in our own work. The …
The legacy of Gene Sharp – some tools for campaigners
It was announced last week that Gene Sharp has passed away. If you’ve never come across the work of Sharp you should. He was one of the most important writers, thinkers and strategist on nonviolent resistance. Tim Gee has written this really nice reflection on his work and legacy. The short pamphlet that he is …
mrtombaker
Head of Mobilisation at Save the Children, was Head of Campaigns at Bond, co-founder Campaign Bootcamp, blog about campaigning because I'm passionate about seeing more campaigns win, election geek (and former Labour Party activist), interested in monitoring and evaluation, blog is all my own views. Prone to bad spelling!