Week 3: Think about Power by Thinking Like a Movement or Lobbyist
Class Held In Person
Learning objectives:
Objective 5. Map the power dynamics in a K2A context in order to identify who has the power to make the change called for by the evidence you aim to mobilize, along with who you should work with in your change initiatives.
Field Guide Tool on which we will focus: Ganz et al.’s tool to map the power landscape
Readings:
Ganz, Marshall, et al. "Organizing: People, Power & Change. Participant Guide." Dogwood Initiative, Stonehouse Institute, Desmog Canada, Leading Change Network. Pages 36-59, with a particular focus on 36-50.
Ganz, Marshall. 2005. "Why David Sometimes Wins: Strategic Capacity in Social Movements." In The Links to an external site.Psychology of Leadership: New Perspectives and Research, edited by David M Messick and Roderick M Kramer, Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates Inc, pp. 209-238.
Gen Squeeze Policy Recommendation: A Price on Housing Inequity Links to an external site.
Lesson plan & Seminar Slides
Students come ready to discuss readings:
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- Key questions:
- Ganz et al. refer to a "Call to action strategy?" What do they mean by this phrase, and how does it differ from Strategic Planning?
- Ganz refers in his book chapter to a "Theory of Strategic Capacity." What are its components? How does he use the David vs Goliath story to bring these components to life for the reader?
- Why do Ganz et al. think it is so important to know how "our people" fit on the power "playing field"?
- Why do Ganz et al. think a theory of change should be informed by an analysis of "power relationships"?'
- Ganz et al. emphasize the importance of turning a group's "resources into the power to make change." What do they mean by this?
- Key questions:
- I do: Review the Gen Squeeze Price on Housing Inequity policy recommendation Links to an external site..
See PK's example of applying Field Guide Tool #2 to this case
- We do: Consider the SPPH student petition and letter campaign that contributed to suspending the process for selecting a candidate for the SPPH faculty position in Indigenous data sovereignty. Let’s reverse engineer their approach, mapping the players, identifying who was the main constituency for the change, and why, thinking about their reach and influence.
See the class example of applying Field Guide Tool #2to this student example.
- You do: Assignment 1. In groups of 3 (see small group file below), describe why mapping the influence is valuable for K2A initiatives (Maximum 1 page). Then, select a K2A change initiative, or use the Get Well Canada case provided. Map the power and players using Ganz et al.’s tool to map the power landscape. Identify who has the power to make the change called for by the evidence, and what they want. Identify the main constituency for the change and why. Tell us about their reach and influence, and how they can get more of what is wanted by those with the power to make the change, along with who has the power to impede them. (15%) PK to Mark.
Meet your small groups (as much as possible, selected in light of student interests/feedback).