History shows us that together we are more capable of changing the world than one person or institution will ever be. Community organising uses collective resources to build people power and take action on what matters.
In health and care, we are increasingly working more across systems and communities, and we know many of you are involved in creating and developing communities and networks to support the aims of your work. This online Q Visit built members’ understanding of communities and interconnections, and gave an introduction to community organising with experts, Act Build Change.
Unless we consider the complex challenges we face from the perspective of people and communities, our ability to change and improve things will be limited. Community organising is a centuries old tradition that gives us a model for how to mobilise people and work together to create change and improve systems.
Members heard real stories of how people have organised together to grow movements capable of transforming our world. They learned how people build power and relationships, use storytelling and organise around a shared mission for change, and had a chance to reflect on what this could mean for them and their context. They also learned about a specific tool from community organising to use in their improvement work.
Post-Visit resources
Here are the resources from the Visit:
- A recording of the event (see below)
- Slides from our host, Act Build Change
- A pack of additional resources to help explore the topic and specific examples (also available as a plain text file)
- PDFs of the jamboards completed during the Visit (also available as a plain text file)
Why Act Build Change
Act Build Change is a school for training the next generation of community organisers, run by community organisers. They have worked with hundreds of local champions, community organisers, young activists, charity professionals and public workers to build power and relationships to influence change, transform ways of working and improve systems.
As a community organiser, Founding Director of Act Build Change Stephanie Wong spent most of her time organising with young people – specifically those without permanent status. Collectively they secured a new role of Deputy Mayor for Integration in 2017 (for the first time in UK history), supporting thousands of young people to get better access to citizenship. With workers, she won four Living Wage campaigns, putting thousands of pounds back into people’s pockets. For three years she taught the practical module in community organising for the MSc in Social Development Practice at University College London.
Stephanie hosted the Visit alongside Kathryn Perera, Act Build Change Board Member and Director of NHS Horizons, who has championed approaches from community organising in health through the School for Change Agents.
What people on the Visit experienced
- Learnt about community organising and its role in creating change.
- Heard inspiring stories and experiences from community organisers, to understand how they have moved themselves and others to take effective action to achieve significant change.
- Reflected with others about the potential power of community organising approaches for mobilising change in health systems.
- Were introduced to a specific tool from community organising to use in their own work
