campaigning for change

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Campaigning for change

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This is guide to running your own successful campaign.

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Campaigning for change

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INtroduction

If you want to truly understand something, try to change it. ~ Kurt Lewin

Hello Campaigner!

We hope this booklet will give you some of the tools that will help your campaigns achieve the change you want to see. In recent years we’ve seen some dramatic changes in campaigning tactics to embrace new challenges, new political circumstances and new technologies. Whether you want a fairer funding system for Higher Education or to save your local post office, whether you want feedback on your exams or to prevent a new development, we wish you all the best.

In unity,

David Sheppard Sarah WaterfieldAcademic Officer Ethical Issues Officer

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the crucial support given by Leeds University Union, Seeds for Change, People and Planet’s Summer Gathering and the National Campaigns Organiser from the National Union of Students in the production of this handbook.

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Contents

P4 Campaigns

P5 Getting Started

P10 Organising your Activists, Smashing Apathy

P15 Taking Action

P16 Communicating your Message

P19 Following up your action.

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Campaign n. A campaign is an action or series of actions designed to bring about some form of change.

In any successful campaign concerned individuals will organize around a specific issue and take action to achieve some form of a reaction. This reaction should take the form of a positive result which will effect the change they want.

Campaigns

Case Study: Hands Off Vauxhall Street Post Office

Norwich residents launched a campaign after their local Post Office was earmarked for closure in 2008.

The Postmaster of the branch let residents know that the best help the campaign could do to keep the branch open was to encourage people to respond to the consultation to let the national Post Office know their views.

Working with local councillors, residents leafleted the local area encouraging a response to the consultation. They also organised a coach to help take elderly residents to a public meeting and got local church and community organisations involved. Every resident in the surrounding area received a poster and the post office became a hot topic of discussion. The campaign had unexpected consequences – the focus on the post office led to an increase in the number of customers. Ultimately, the Post Office reversed its decision and the branch remains open to this day.

Action

Reaction

Result

Effect

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As a student activist keen to start on a campaign to right a particular wrong it is always worth taking a moment to consider and reflect on the problem you have identified. The world might change a lot quicker if you take the time to plan things out.

2.1 Identifying your issue

Campaigners can often struggle to understand the problem that they are trying to solve. To help you get to the crux of your issue, it might be helpful for you to ask these three key questions: • What is the nature of the problems that you wish to solve?• What are their causes and consequences?• What is the range of possible solutions available to you?

A common mistake is to think about the ‘actions’ before you have clarified the issue that you want to change. Getting excited about campaign actions is great, but if those actions don’t happen in the right place at the right time then they will have a very minimal impact.

While decision-makers (e.g MPs, local Councillors, University Executive Team) will be somewhat interested in the number of people involved in your campaign and how engaging your campaign actions are, they will be far more interested in the problems itself. Policy makers need specifics; they need to know the cause of the problem, evidence of what effects the problem is having and some suggested solutions. Whilst a strong movement of people can be persuasive and act as a pressure on issues, unless the analysis, policy understanding and solutions are right then there is no point in having any form of demonstration.

2.2 Choosing the right adventureTo achieve change you will need to be very passionate about the issue and you will need to check that others are too. Ask yourself whether the problem you have identified is:

Deeply Felt - Do people feel deeply about the issue in hand? – how do you know that they do?

Widely Felt - How many people does the issue affect? Do they feel they are affected?

Winnable - There are many things that are wrong with our society, institutions etc – but is this something that we can actually impact on?

Getting started

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Measuring these problems will help you as you start planning your actions. It is also worth bearing in mind how proactive are you being? Are you only being reactive? Is the campaign merely happening because you feel it ought to?

Table A illustrates some potential campaigns that might or have taken place in Norwich and how they might be evaluated under this method.

Campaign Deeply Felt? Widely felt? Winnable? To build a Elveden bypass on the A11.

Yes – deep frustration from many about the slow travel links to London.

By a considerable number. Although opposed by some on environmental grounds.

Progress has been slow recently. Might be more winnable under a Conservative Government.

Oppose the expansion of domestic flights at Norwich Airport.

Yes – the impact of climate change and noise pollution on peoples’ lives could be severe. But there will be strong feelings in the other way from the business lobby and some trade union leaders.

Probably not yet. Understanding and awareness about climate change and its impact is increasing day-by-day. But it is unclear whether citizens are prepared to prioritise this over wealth creation.

If the right arguments are made. Especially in the time of a recession when new investment is unlikely.

Re-introduce weekly rubbish collections.

By some. But most will only take a passing interest in waste collection.

Probably. Issues to do with waste affect us all!

Yes and No. The issue has already received national media coverage. However, there is clear evidence that weekly collections reduce rates of recycling.

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2.3 Researching your topic

To ensure your campaign is a success you will need to be as clued up as you can be and to this end you will need to gather as much information as possible. Ask your group: “What do we need to know to achieve your aims?”

Accurate information will not only help you make a good plan and give you ideas for action, but also help you to convince local people and potential allies. Try and get as much independent information as possible and be aware of any bias that might be present in research. However, do be careful not to get paralysed by a mountain of irrelevant information. For instance, if you were interested in organising action against a proposed expansion of Norwich airport, you might want use the PEST analysis to focus your research.

Political ContextThe government policy on climate change, noise pollution, air travel and planning, especially related to: which department sets this policy, upon what research this policy is based, and who conducted this research?How sympathetic is the government likely to be to a campaign? How involved might local MPs and councillors get?

The Economic ContextThe airport industry: the subsidies it receives; the donations it makes i.e. who it buys out; the lobbying it carries out. How many jobs will be created by an airport expansion? Who will lose and who might gain financially the campaign is won?

The Social ContextWhat is the local and national public opinion on airport expansion? Which pressure groups are active on the issue? How many people in your area are affected by the airport - either employed by them or living near a plant?Who will support and oppose the campaign?

The Technical ContextThe levels of impact of air travel on climate change, the local impact of increased travel to and from the airport, the increases in noise pollution that increased air travel might cause. If this evidence does not support your campaign how can you counter it?

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2.4 Setting your aims

The most successful campaigns have clear, simple, achievable aims which can be communicated with a simple message through publicity and a slogan.The first step on the road to making your plan is to define your aim(s). What is it that you want to achieve? You should be able to sum up this up in one clear sentence: “We want personalised feedback on all our exams”.

Your group's aim should be realistic and achievable. Spend some time in a relaxed atmosphere exploring people's personal motivations and developing the group's aim. Be aware that people's aims may be different from each other. Don't worry too much if your group can't come up with a united long term vision, but you do need to agree on a common immediate or short term goal to be able to work together.

Once you have settled on an aim, you have to decide whether this is negotiable or non-negotiable - for example, would you be prepared to accept personalised feedback on second year exams only? Or personalised feedback on request from academic advisers? Setting simple aims to tackle a complex issue such as climate change can be difficult. Stick at each step until it is achieved and then go onto the next. These small successes will help keep you feeling positive about your campaign and encourage others that it's worth getting involved.

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Case Study: Union of UEA Students - Anonymous Marking

“Mark my words, not my name”

In 1999, the Union of UEA Students began its campaign for anonymous coursework marking. The campaign lasted nine years and the system was introduced in September 2008. Throughout the campaign elected officers repeatedly called for anonymous marking at University meetings and it was recommended to the University by external auditors in 2004. The campaign took a significant step forward in 2005-06 when the then Academic Officer published the results of a survey of the membership. That year the University Senate passed proposals for its introduction, however implementation problems meant that it remained an ongoing issue well into 2007.

The aim was simple: who a student is, should not affect the marking of their work. However, the system introduced in September 2008 is not completely anonymous. It is conducted through student numbers, meaning that should a lecturer wish to find out the writer of a particular piece of assessment they can. However, officers chose to negotiate on this issue to ensure that some form of anonymous coursework marking was introduced. This campaign shows, that even with a clear aim that survived nearly a decade, some form of compromise is often needed to ensure success.

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Organising your activists,

Smashing Apathy

Now you’ve set the aims of your campaign, you need to expand the number of people involved and start to build towards action.

3.1 Getting more people involved.

President Josiah Bartlet: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Do you know why? Will Bailey: Because it's the only thing that ever has The West Wing (4:15)

You now need to expand the numbers of people involved in your campaign. Obviously, not all people might want to take as active a role as you but no matter how committed you or your group is – you’re going to need supporters, friends and interested observers to achieve your goals.

To help with this, you’ll need to consider what motivates those students or others who aren’t currently involved or supportive. People are probably most likely to join your cause if they feel they have been exploited in some way or they empathise with the exploitation of another. You need to spread the “outrage” as wide as possible. You might want to use stalls, posters or flyers to spread the outrage. However, it is not good enough to simply spout off about injustice, you need to give people clear steps to take so that they can take to change things. They need a sense that your campaign is clear, committed and going places. Make sure you keep hold of contact details and NEVER expect people to come to you.

Make sure you tailor your message to the audience that you want involved. To convince local residents to actively oppose airport expansion, you might focus on the direct impact of noise pollution and not the more indirect threat of climate change. Many people may have the same goals as you, although for many different reasons. Build up alliances, and forge collaborations with as many as possible. And if you don’t get much of a response return to first principles – is this issue still “Widely Felt, Deeply Felt and Winnable”? Are you presenting enough outrage?

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3.2 Targeting your action

Now you have your broad group of activists, supporters, collaborators and friends you can target all your energies at relevant decision makers. But first you will need to identify who holds the power. The diagram below is an example of who might be in favour of a new supermarket development and who might be against. Plotted on the graph are all the groups who fall somewhere in between. The axis along the bottom is the commitment – how committed are each of the protagonists for or against the project. The line in the centre is the power line – how much power each of the protagonists have1.

Once you have worked out were the balance of power lies, you can develop a series of actions that are targeted to shift the balance of power and commitment into your favour. There will be broadly two main types of space or target to your campaign:

A closed space is somewhere you do not have access to.Most private things are closed spaces (except to those who own it) such as: private property, private meetings, privatised services and private companies.

An invited space is somewhere you do have access toMost public things are invited spaces (run on broadly democratic terms) such as: your Union, community groups, community centres, county councils, local MPs and national governments.

For both types of space you will be seeking to influence in very different ways. For a private company you may well have to illustrate or cause reputational damage to have any

1 Forcefield Analysis from “Planning your campaign” Seeds For Change >http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/strategy<

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influence at all, whereas for a councillor you can lobby for change using your supporters’votes and strong evidence as influence. Beware! Invited spaces can appear a lot less inviting when you get closer to them.

As your campaign develops a third kind of space might emerge:

A claimed space is somewhere you have gained access to. These spaces tend to be closed spaces that have become invited spaces such as: squats, graffiti walls, occupations, social centres, and subvertised billboards.Claimed spaces are far more difficult to maintain but may in some circumstances be the only option to achieve your goals. Creating a claimed space is a radical statement that says the current structures of making decisions are inadequate and that new ones need to be created. If you choose this option, check out the legal obligations beforehand, ensure your claimed spaces are as inviting as possible and make sure participants always feel ownership over it. Claiming a space, whilst exhilarating, should be a rare and costly last resort – ensure you have investigated all other options first.

3.3 Choosing your campaign tactics

Table B gives you some idea of some of the options available to you as a campaign:

How change happens (From Turning The Tide’s “How Change Happens” briefing)

Persuade the elite letters, delegations, information-giving.Coerce the elite boycotts, demonstrations, non-cooperation.Replace the elite vote another party in (dubious, as people in power tend to

fall into the structures and patterns of behaviour that they inherit.)

Become the elite get elected, palace coup (but there is always the danger of being co-opted.)

Ignore the elite direct action, just do whatever it is for yourselves, Gandhi’s ‘constructive programme’ of making village India self-reliant and self-governing.

Abolish the elite revolution, restructuring society to disperse the power.

Once you have identified people/institutions to target, you need to decide on the best method to do this. Many groups do this by plunging straight into discussing the first one or two ideas that people come up with. Often they get stuck there for hours and time runs out before other (more interesting) options can be explored. This approach not only limits the choice of action, but also stifles creativity.

The meeting where you decide on tactics is crucial for the whole success and failure of your campaign. You need the atmosphere in your meeting to be just about right. Check out some of these resources for more information on facilitating effective and inclusive meetings.

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Facilitating Effective Meetings

If your group is to have a chair, how about enrolling them on the Union’s course for chairs. Check out www.ueastudent.com/training for more details. ‘Organising Successful Meetings’ Seeds for Change http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/meeting

There are some good tips on this Effective Meetings site:http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingbasics/ten_commandments.asp.

And also from Amnesty International USA: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-activist-toolkit/run-your-group/how-to-hold-effective-meetings/page.do?id=1101341

For each idea of action that emerges from your (now well-facilitated) group, try as much as possible objectively assess its potential impact and ease. Here are some things to think about as you build a plan for the whole of your campaign.

Will it look good? Go through your plans and see if you can tell the story in pictures. As a rule, if there's nothing to photograph then there's no actual activity, no objective to achieve, and no campaign to join in with, report or support.

Is it the right time? All actions have a positive and a negative impact - getting the balance right can be crucial. By looking at the medium and long term you can see which tactics will be useful and at what stage in the campaign/project they can be used.

Is there a measure of success? If you have a clear action plan you'll notice the milestones as you pass them. This is important for group morale, and helps to plan your future strategy.

Does this fit in with what we’ve done already? Your campaign should be seen to grow, rather than lurch from one action to another. This is important for group morale and to attract new people.

Will this action gain us support? Or lose it? Think about the impact on your allies, friends and supporters – will they be uncomfortable with the action you are thinking of taking? Is it worth jeopardising their support?

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Can we part of something bigger? Try and identify other movements and attach your cause to it.

Do we have the skills and resources to do this? Try not to over stretch yourself, do one thing well rather than seven things badly. Make sure the things you are doing match the skills in your group.

Is it exciting? If it isn’t then don’t bother – no-one will want to join you if your actions are dull.

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Taking action

You’ve now got a comprehensive plan, you know who you’re targeting, why you’re targeting them and you’re armed with forests of research and have thousands of friends and supporters backing you up – now you need to pick the right time and take action Here are some things to think about that will be relevant to a million strong demonstration right down to a simple handing over of a petition.

Be prepared! Scouting out your action site is common sense. Take a wander round at the time of day your planning on doing the action. Take photos and draw maps if you can do so without attracting undue attention. Remember, whoever does the 'recce' needs to be able to pass all the information on to others later! When doing your ‘recce’ remember to think about how your action will look in a photo or on camera.

Be rested!Make sure you have had plenty of sleep the night before you take any action. If you have to appear live in front of camera or have to make a quick decision on how your action should proceed you need to be in full possession of all your faculties.

Know how you’re going to get there and then back! Make sure all your travel plans are watertight. Definitely have a fall back plan for how you’re going to get back.

Be early! Simple really – you don’t want to let down all your supporters with a late arrival and let your action lose momentum.

Be on message! You need to ensure that people on the action know what it's about - you could arrange a speaker meeting the week before, send a briefing by email, or meet in a pub or cafe beforehand to talk or read through it. For all of your activists make sure everyone is fully aware of the plan and on message.

Be polite! Getting aggressive will do your cause no good at all. It is easy to get excited but try to bear in mind potential damage to your campaign that nasty images can bring.

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Communicating your message

5.1 The Message

Keep the message of you action simple. That's not always easy when you're dealing with complex issues, but a simple message will make your action more effective. You might have to reduce the number of arguments you make through your action in order to ensure you get one or two across clearly. Communicate the same message in as many different ways as you can - a few clear, simple banners and placards can make all the difference.

Be careful to make your action match your message. If you're wanting to communicate direct to the public, and win them over to your side of a debate, an action that alienates them, scares them, or inconveniences them might not be the best option. People will remember how you communicated with them more strongly than the message that you were trying to communicate. If they leave the action site angry with you, that's what they'll remember, and you'll have lost their support. If they leave impressed with your conviction, laughing at your humour, or angry with the people you are campaigning against, great!

5.2 Facts

Use your research. Embarrass decision-makers by making your message evidence-led. Do not stray into a polemic. Make sure you have facts and figures that support your action, the more reputable the better. Always reference facts to their source and let people know where they can find more information should they want it. You can then use them in press releases and interviews, and on banners and leaflets.

5.3 Methods of Communication

Make sure you don’t over do things. Keep it simple stupid. If the problem you have identified is widely felt, deeply felt and winnable you should have no problem getting your message across. Identify which method of communication will have the most impact on your target audience(s).

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Methods of Communication Positives Negatives

Story in the Print Media Depending on circulation – reaches a considerable number of people.

Story might get twisted against you. Might be a bit dull.

Interviews and Visual Media Will often reach considerable number of audience members. Is often seen as an authoritative source of information.

If you’re not prepared, you could say the wrong thing. Doesn’t involve supporters. Will usually be very short – not good on complex issues.

Things you can hold and wear (e.g. banners, placards, t-shirts)

Can make a very high impact. Should be exciting to an audience member. Sense of participation from supporters and activists.

Reach a very small number of people unless carried by other forms of media. Can be costly and time-consuming to produce.

Things you can give out (e.g. leaf-lets, stickers, badges)

Allows people to feel part of a wider movement. Can “catch on”. Objects can start a conversation.

Will the campaign message get lost behind the stickers and bits of paper? Can be quite time-consuming to distribute.

Social Networking Sites and Blogs

Instantaneous. With campaign team in complete control.

Might not reach that many people – could be “preaching to the choir”. Will it change anyone’s mind?

5.4 Visual and Print Media

Natasha Barnes, Union’s Communications Officer, gives us her five top tips for dealing with the media:

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Who cares? Before you do anything else, ask yourself this question. Just because you care passionately about something doesn’t mean anyone else does, so make sure you have a story.

Give them what they want. As a general rule of thumb, news editors are most interested in stories that involve conflict or human interest. If you have both of these magic ingredients you’re on to a winner.

Be imaginative. Media work isn’t just about press releases. Think about letters to editors, comment pieces, statements, offer interviews, quotes, blog (internal or external), articles for student media, joint statement etc.

Know your stuff. In most instances you’ll be responding to surveys and reports so it is important that you keep up-to-date with relevant information. If you are asked about a report you don’t know about, you can ask for them to email you a copy.

Get in touch. Keep us updated with what you’re doing, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about dealing with the media – [email protected]. We may be able to use the Union’s outlets and networks to publicise your campaign.

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Anglia Television BBC Radio Norfolk Future RadioEastern Daily Press BBC TV Look East UEA Press OfficeNorwich Evening News Radio Norwich ConcreteNorth Norfolk News Heart Radio Livewire and Livewire TV

Here are some UEA, Norfolk and Norwich media outlets you might want to send your story to:

Case Study: STUDENTS PROTEST ABOUT THE NORWICH BUS SERVICEFor release: 14/11/08

Tomorrow morning, students from UEA will deliver complaints from the campus community about the bus service to the office of First Eastern Counties bus company.

The students will be presenting bus bosses with a catalogue of complaints that have been collected over the last month from UEA students, which includes a cardboard bus that students wrote their complaints, making a giant bus-shaped petition.

The organisers of protest hope to make First aware of the complaints that students have about the standards of service, which include the punctuality of the buses, the regularity of the services that serve UEA, the customer service standards of some of the bus drivers and the expense of bus travel.

One complainant wrote on the petition: “on more than one occasion I have had to wait over twenty minutes for a service that is supposed to run every ten, and this made me late for lectures”.

Tom Sutton, the Welfare Officer of the Union of UEA Students, said, “UEA students have put up with a second rate service from First Eastern Counties for years, now finally enough is enough. They’re no longer willing to put up with the unreliability, the overcrowding and the unacceptable rudeness of the service. We hope First will start listening and acting upon the grievances of those that depend upon this public service.”

ENDS----NOTES TO EDITORS:1. The planned protest will begin at 9.30am on Friday 14th November outside First Head Office, just off Rouen Road in Norwich. Journalists are invited to attend. 2. For more information about the protest, please contact the Union of UEA Students’ Welfare Officer, Tom Sutton on 01603 593461 or [email protected] 3. Attached is a picture of students writing on the Bus petition. High quality versions of this image are available on request. 4. The Union of UEA Students is the representative voice for students studying at UEA.

Here is an example of a press release used in the Union of UEA Students bus campaign. It has a clear purpose and is easy to understand, includes both conflict and human interest angles and it outlines an exciting action that can be easily photographed and filmed.

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following up your action

6.1 Closing the Deal

So you’ve made lots of noise and your targets are willing to talk to you about some positive change. Here are some top tips for negotiating.2

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Realise you are in power. You’ve mobilised lots of people and have the intellectual and moral argument on your side. Don’t for one moment doubt in your aims. Choose the right time and place for negotiation. Ideally select a time and place where you are not under pressure. Somewhere where all parties are comfortable.

Do your research and know your target. Do you know what motivates those who you are talking to? What are their feelings towards your aims? Is there any common ground? Make sure you know what you are prepared to negotiate on.

Never be too enthusiastic. Show passion without aggression, show commitment without being wide-eyed. No-one enjoys negotiating with a fundamentalist. If you’re negotiating as part of a team, then makes sure everyone is comfortable with this. Ask the questions you need to and then make sure you listen to the answers.

Be prepared for their excuses. Make sure you know what lines your targets are most likely to use. Make sure you have coherent and fully formulated answers for these excuses. Make decision-makers invest their time into the deal. Get them involved! Make sure the decision-maker feels ownership over the decision and that he or she is making it themselves. Don’t force them into anything – otherwise they might just walk out the room and “forget” what has just been agreed.

Awkward silences are your best friend. Let people sweat when a gap emerges. Put the onus on the decision-maker to take the initiative and come up with their own suggestions. Be prepared to walk away. Perhaps just coming back to the table a while later – especially if emotions and tensions are running high. Most successful negotiations have come from taking a few steps back. This will usually trigger a better offer.

2 - Adapted from the London Cyclist. http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/tips/get-a-new-bicycle-for-less-by-following-these-10-rules-of-negotiation/

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Don’t make it personal. It is not about you or them. It is about the issue. Go back to why you started the campaign in the first place – make the discussion about CHANGE.

Enjoy! Go back to tip 1. You’re about to make a massive difference on an important issue. Even if you don’t get everything you want – make sure you get into a position where you are happy or eager to do more rather than frustrated or angry

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6.2 Renew and Review

After successful or unsuccessful actions and negotiations, it is vital that you look back over your campaign and analyse strengths and weakness. If you’ve been successful, work out why that was and pass this onto to other campaigners. Let them know what made your action work. Were you aims the correct ones and do you need a new aim to take your campaign further and capitalise on a strong base of support.

If you’ve been unsuccessful, try and channel any frustration you have into working out why: Were you too ambitious? Was the issue the right one? Did you run out of resources or energy? Was your message obscured? What can you pass on to other? Is it a campaign still worth pursuing?

Make sure you take the time to celebrate your success. If your group is an organisation that regularly campaigns, a win will attract new active members to the fold. Even for informal groups, celebrating your success will give you a new lease of life that will probably develop into further wins.

If you need this report in a different format, for example in large print or an audio version, please email

Rachel at [email protected]

The Union of UEA Students is committed to equality of opportunity for all.