Measuring Community Organizing
Sue Hoechstetter and colleagues at Alliance for Justice (AFJ) are creating a go-to clearinghouse of advocacy evaluation tools. Last year, they released a revamped version of the Advocacy Capacity Tool, which Sue presented at one of our advocacy evaluation breakfasts. This year, they’re giving us PowerCheck, a nifty new tool to assess community organizing efforts across five core capacity areas. And for those with a bit of extra time, be sure to browse through AFJ’s curated list of resources on advocacy evaluation. Some great stuff in there!
Vulnerable Populations
It’s that time of year: the MacArthur Foundation named their “geniuses” for 2014 (2013 fellows…you’re so passé). Among this year’s cohort is labor organizer Ai-jen Poo, who was cited for her relentless advocacy on behalf of domestic workers across the United States. As evaluators, we sometimes get bogged down in abstract concepts and approaches, from theories of change and logframes to social network analysis and survey methodology. Poo’s work reminds us that there are always special considerations when it comes to vulnerable and marginalized populations. Just ask these evaluators.
From Scratch to a Win
Gearing up for the launch of your advocacy campaign? You’re in luck, folks. The team at Spitfire Strategies, in collaboration with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, just released a new website especially for you. They’re calling it Planning to Win: The Just Enough Guide for Campaigners. Building on years of work around campaign planning, Spitfire has created an intuitive, user-friendly, customizable and (lest we forget…) super purdy guide for organizations looking to jump start social and policy change. You can even use it on a tablet (cue the ooooh’s and ahhhh’s).
