Introduction
This Scouting Manual for Activists by the Ruckus Society helps you think about all the things you need to plan a successful and safe direct action tactic.
Terminology: ‘Scouting’ is a term used by US activists. Alternative terms used in other countries are ‘recce’ or ‘recky’ (abbreviated from ‘reconnaissance’ and ‘reconnoitre’), ‘sussing out’ or ‘scoping out’, ‘observing’ or ‘investigating’.
What is Scouting?
Put simply, scouting is the process of acquiring information needed for an action to be successful. It is the gathering of site-specific information that enables the action coordinator to evaluate a potential direct action.
A scout is meant to provide information that will help the action coordinator(s), campaigner(s) and participants determine what their options are for a given location or direct action tactic, and evaluate the potential for success and safety.
The more relevant information the scout can provide, the better. Often, the person doing the scout may be the only one who gets a good in-person look at the site before the decision is made to devote potentially substantial amounts of time and money to an action, so it is important that the scouter gather information not just for herself, but for others as well.
- Can an action successfully take place safely, and how?
- Is the “payoff” of using a particular tactic worth the resources that it would require?
- What is needed to make this work?
- How do we take an action idea and make it a concrete reality?
Some of this information may be primarily physical and logistical: “What is the best route for the march to take?,” or “How will we get access to this company’s offices?” “Can people actually climb off that, while meeting safety standards?”
Some information may be more useful in conceptualizing an effective action, such as “Does the demonstration make more sense at company headquarters, or at their factory?”
Scouting generally involves getting up off the couch and taking a trip into the physical world—though there is plenty to be done with a computer and telephone as well.
This manual is meant to be a basic overview of scouting techniques. No two actions are the same, and there is no way to comprehensively “teach” scouting in a manual. It takes practice and creativity to become a good scout—but we hope this manual will help get you started, and provide some tips and ideas from the experiences of action coordinators across the Ruckus Society network.
Contents
- What is Scouting?
- What are we looking for when Scouting?
- When do we Scout?
- Scout Prep
- Pre-Scout Research
- List of Questions to Bring to the Scout
- Examples of Certain Types of Scouts
- Scout Team Roles
- Cover Stories
- On-Site Scouting
- Tips on How to Get the Ideal Measurements
- Scout Reports
- Way to Present Information
- Ethical Considerations when Consulting
- Practice Makes Perfect
Access Full Resource
Explore Further
- Action Safety and Community Care in Times of Rapid Response
- The Ruckus Society
- Tactics Templates and Checklists
- The Tactic Star for planning and evaluating tactics, Beyond the Choir
- Tactics Analysis to Develop Campaign Strategy
- How to do a Successful and Safe Banner Drop
- Tactic: Sit-Ins
- The Visibility Brigade: A Template For Activism
- A Beginners Guide to a Blockade Camp
- Disruptive Protest Tactics: Helpful or Harmful?
- Replace Endless Actions with Campaigns
- Get in Formation: A Community Safety Toolkit
- Streetwise & Steady: A Workbook for Action Peacekeepers or Event Marshals
- Protest Camps: Tips for Set Up & Strategy
- Campaign Strategy: Training and Planning Tools