2. A brief history:
Organising throughout history – faith, education & labour
Saul Alinsky 1930s Chicago
US organising – IAF & ACORN etc.
UK – Citizens Organising Foundation & CUK
3. What is Community Organising?
Building relational power between groups or individuals in
order to act to bring about change for common good.
2 key types: Broad Based Organising & Micro Organising.
9. Other Examples:
100 CCTV cameras to be installed into Nottingham Cabs on June 1 st 2014 after we found 696
incidents of racist abuse against just 130 drivers in one week
A police contact point in the lodge on the Forest Rec Ground and railings along the Mansfield Road
end
A new system for monitoring and tackling the sexual propositioning of school students at the police
A new system for monitoring Stop and Search, and hopefully Stop and Account too, among the
police
Investment of £36,000 in the Women’s Aid Domestic Violence hotline
A reversal of the police’s HR processes for the next wave of recruitment to help them attract BME
talent from Nottingham, Nottingham Citizen members have put forward over 60 candidates
A living wage for all directly employed staff at Nottinghamshire County Council – an average pay rise
of £850 per year for 2,291 people
A pay rise to £7.45 for a further 900 people, improving their conditions by £840,000 a year at the city
council
10. Other Examples:
A living wage at Nottinghamshire Police and Gedling, Mansfield, Ashfield and Newark and
Sherwood District Councils for a further 1,000+ people
A conversation about the Living Wage started with 20 more major employers across the city and
county started this Living Wage Week
Substantial press coverage of the dangers of payday lending
A board level appointment at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust to lead for Mental Health, a
lead Councillor for Mental Health at the City Council and soon a lead for physical health at Notts
Healthcare
Reform of assessment formats at NUHT to every admission is assessed for mental health conditions,
affecting hundreds of thousands of people annually
Commitment of a regular visit from a nurse to Bestwood Village who have not until now had regular
access to medical provision in the Village
11. Today in UK
Increasing popularity of Community Organising
Citizens UK – London, Nottingham, Birmingham, Milton
Keynes, Cardiff, Leeds …
“Big Society” & Locality
TCC & other alliances
Party political use of organising
12. Risks & Challenges
Sustainability – Funding
Sustainability – Staffing
Recognition and development of the craft of organising