Community organising in England: what are we talking about?

By Lydia Rye

Lydia.Rye@nottinghamcitizens.org

A brief history:

Organising throughout history – faith, education & labour

Saul Alinsky 1930s Chicago

US organising – IAF & ACORN etc.

UK – Citizens Organising Foundation & CUK

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.

What can organising achieve?

What can organising achieve?

Other Examples:

100 CCTV cameras to be installed into Nottingham Cabs on June 1st 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

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

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

Risks & Challenges

Sustainability – Funding

Sustainability – Staffing

Recognition and development of the craft of organising

Future Opportunities

Possibility for impact

Leadership development

Institutional Renewal

Community organising in England: what are we talking about?

By Lydia Rye

Lydia.Rye@nottinghamcitizens.org