Category Archive For "learning"
Lessons in doing campaign strategy
We’ve just finished a process to sharpen some of our campaign strategies at work – so it’s got me thinking about some of the lessons that I’ve learned about what makes a good advocacy strategy process. There are lots of articles written about what needs to go into a good campaign strategy and the approaches …
What my friend Sam taught me…
My friend and former Tearfund colleague, Sam Barker passed away last month, after a short but brave battle with bowel cancer. You can read more about Sam in this obituary here. For the last few weeks, and at his funeral last Friday, I’ve been carrying around with many many thoughts about Sam; about what he …
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 – …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
A (comprehensive) list of training for UK based campaigners
There are lots of ways to learn how to be a great campaigner – but some people find that going along to a formal training or conference as a useful way to pick up new skills, dive into understanding strategy or make more connections. I was asked by some colleagues at work to put together …
Conversations for campaigners in 2018
After the last few years we’ve had, it seems foolish to make any predictions about what might happen in 2018. So as we start a new year for campaigning, I’ve decided not to make some predictions, but as I head back to work for the new yearm to make some suggestions of conversations that I …
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!