The Common Cause Handbook: A Guide to Values and Frames
This handbook is a practical and accessible introduction to the importance of values and frames for organisations working towards a more sustainable and just society.
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Looking for articles, books, case studies, tips about social change and activism? You’ve found the right place – The Commons Social Change Library.
Purpose Driven Campaigning: 40 key principles for Growing Social Movements
Australian Progress has prepared this 40-point summary of Pastor Rick Warren’s bestselling book The Purpose Driven Church.
Media Checklist for Actions
A thorough checklist to help you prepare for traditional and social media in the lead up to an action, including some considerations for non-violent direct actions. Download as a handy printable pdf from the box at the bottom of this page.
How to test your communications
This is a resource to help you test your messages. It is designed for campaigners who have little or no experience with message testing.
Framing the Economy: How to win the case for a better system
The PIRC, the New Economics Foundation, NEON and the FrameWorks Institute have launched two story strategies that progressives can use to shift thinking on the economy. They’re built on values and metaphors that encourage the hope that change is possible and increase people’s support for progressive policies.
Framing Equality Toolkit
This toolkit is a short guide to strategic communications, based on extensive research and building on the experience of activists and communicators from around the globe. It aims to provide a framework rather than a blueprint; helping you to ask the right questions rather than giving you the right answers.
Where now for the environment movement? Weathercocks and signposts ten years on
Weathercocks and Signposts, a report from WWF, critically reassesses current approaches to motivating environmentally-friendly behaviour change.
Common Cause for Nature: A practical guide to values and frames in conservation
Common Cause for Nature contains many lessons based on academic research on how to spark behaviour changes. The analysis showed that there are competing sets of human values within each of us which can be encouraged and discouraged by language and experience.
How to Make Trouble and Influence People – About and Book Reviews
Information about How to Make Trouble and Influence People, including reviews of the two editions. The book offers an alternative history of Australia, chronicling how it “has progressed by a series of little rebellions”.
Campaign Strategy Planning Template
This planning template prompts you to apply a number of different campaign strategy, community organising, and civil resistance concepts and tools. Copy the template into your own document. As you complete each section delete the instructions (text in italics) until you have your own plan, or initial document to discuss in your organisation.
Elements of Campaign Strategy
This overview of campaign strategy elements is offered to clarify language shared by campaigners. The elements include campaign focus and goals; vision; situational analysis; critical path analysis; organisational considerations; allies, constituents and targets; objectives; tactics; evaluation and success indicators.
The Building Power Guide
The Building Power guide is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who want to change the world. It includes several training resources to build capacity for campaigning, such as explorations of change-making, power, strategy and leadership development.
A Collection of Nonviolence Quotes
A collection of quotes to be used as part of training on strategic nonviolence and nonviolent direct action.
Organizing: People, Power, Change
This handbook, based on the work of Marshall Ganz, aims to support you in developing your capacity for effective community organizing. It covers five key practices of organizing to build people power for change.
What is Community Organising?
This excerpt from the Community Organising Guide provides an introduction to community organising. Organising is about generating and wielding people power.
198 Methods of Nonviolent Action by Gene Sharp
Stuck in a rut when it comes to campaign tactics? Explore Gene Sharp’s 198 methods of nonviolent action which are classified into three categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion, noncooperation (social, economic, and political), and nonviolent intervention.
Digital Campaigning Experiments and Analytics: Case study of GetUp
Digital campaigning – what works and what doesn’t? Get Up shares it learnings of digital experimentation and analytics.
How to build a resilient culture of resistance in hard times
US activist and educator Daniel Hunter shares important tips for sustaining ourselves and our movements in the face of challenging times. He outlines seven behaviors that we could incorporate into our groups so we can keep taking powerful and strategic actions.
BUGA-UP – Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions
Formed in 1979, Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA-UP) made its mark on hoardings around the nation. By revising advertising slogans and disrupting tobacco-sponsored events, the group revealed the true cost of tobacco and alcohol company deception.
Action group meetings
This tip sheet has been written to help you and your group work well together and achieve your objectives and highlights some group habits and actions that resilient community groups have relied on: effective meetings with an agreed agenda; clearly-defined roles; mindful decision-making; accountability; and inclusiveness.