One of the most common questions that we hear is “how do I get started” with a local city movement and it would be highly overreaching to say there is a specific formula or even strategy because every city and every catalytic leader is different. To look at the variety of ideas around different cities, look at this blog page listing several examples. But I want to credit our friends at Movement.org for sharing a basic 4 part framework at their October Movement Day which is a great way to frame the big ideas connected to movements.

Seems like “C” words work well to describe movements, so here are 4 key ideas to frame a start-up:

Convene

Collaborate

Catalyze

Celebrate

—————————————–

Convene

At the very core of any movement is the fundamental value of building trust which comes by creating connections and building community among stakeholders. Movements happen at the speed of trust and that takes small, medium, and large gatherings to build connections. A key value that we take from David John Seel’s book on Network Power is that it is easier to add “cause” to “community” than to add “community to cause”.

But one of the consistent learnings is that it is better to go from small to large than to go from large to small.

Almost every experienced movement leader we have talked to has started with one on one or small group breakfasts, lunches, or coffee-type gatherings to facilitate listening, discovery, dialogue, and connections. The best startup is a casual conversation where you ask more questions than you give answers and truly connect to the passions and dreams of a diverse group of catalytic leaders. Those early conversations and relationships will seed future larger gatherings with a core of like-minded movement leaders. You cannot rush these early connections and conversations.

Collaborate

From convening a diverse group of leaders, you have the opportunity to listen to what is already happening and what is broken in your city. This comes in various forms, but often there are a few “centered sets” that surface in the dialogue. A “centered set” is something that everybody cares about and ultimately crosses into multiple sectors of the city and potentially unites churches, businesses, government, and nonprofits to collaborate. 

Some examples of “centered sets” might be housing, foster care, a school(s) or maybe even specific neighborhoods. As these areas surface it is very important for the discussion to include existing work that’s happening around the issue. For example, housing might be your centered set, but understanding what the city government and other nonprofits are already doing to address the need is essential. Some communities build multiple networks around multiple centered sets and others address a couple of big ideas city-wide.

Catalyze

How can you pour fuel on the fire of movement? That is an area that is maturing across the country with many of the local movements. One of the developing areas is metrics and data. Some great examples are Charlotte and Evansville where they publish “State of the City” reports. It is important to note that the idea is not to paint a negative picture of the city, but as titled in the Evansville report: “Five Areas to Help Your Neighbors Flourish”. It is about taking cities from good to great and deepening the real numbers and data.

Another area that is growing is city-wide surveys around ‘the dreams of the city” to help frame responses from real people to what they see as assets and improvements. And lastly, we are seeing some great examples of platforms that can be used to mobilize local people to serve the city through annual city serve events and “love your neighbor” campaigns. Platforms are a powerful tool to facilitate movement. Eric Swanson frames this platform idea in his article: Platforms and city transformation

Celebrate

The best catalytic leaders in movements tell stories and celebrate what is happening. Whether it is in videos, through social media, in churches, in newsletters, in large gatherings, and in small moments of gratitude, the wind behind any movement is celebrating progress. In fact, the test of movement is when the results overpower the visibility of the catalytic leaders. Alan Platt says in his book “City Changers”, that it is not just about “common activities, but about a common vision” that propels a movement forward in a city. Celebrating examples of the common vision can create a multiplying effect on progress.

So…

City movement work is not a quick fix. And in fact, we often prefer relief work that generates quick projects and big numbers. But the reality of every city is there are issues that have taken years to become embedded in the ecosystem and it will take long-term effort and major collaboration to move the needle.

You can do it.