What I Offer:
Strategic research for your campaigns
Internal strategic research
Building and winning campaigns usually requires a lot of information. I can help you gather and analyze information to help you design and implement campaigns. This can include:
Landscape and power analyses of issues you are working on, the communities you work in, and local, state, county, school district, and federal policies that impact your issues and community.
Research on potential opposition and allies, including elected officials, corporations, other powerful individuals, and others in order to identify sources of leverage and connection.
Research within your community to understand concerns and work with community members to find solutions.
Systematically gathering information from community members
Organizers are always gathering information about the communities they work within as they talk to community members. I can help systematically gather and analyze that information through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and other methods. This research can both support internal strategy and external publications that support your campaigns.
I also have experience working with community organizations to develop and implement participatory action research (PAR), where community members design and implement research projects. I act as a facilitator and support researcher to organization staff and community members to do this work and develop the skills they need to complete the projects they design.
I also have extensive experience doing historical research, including oral histories, archival research, and other methods. This kind of research can help you understand the longer history and development of the communities you work within, including their history of change and resistance as well as understanding how long-standing challenges (for example, residential segregation, pollution and industry, policing strategies, and many others) continue to impact the community.
Publications and public education materials to support your campaigns
Organizers often need public documents to explain the issues they are trying to address and support their campaigns’ arguments and goals for different audiences and stakeholders. These can include fact sheets, short briefs, lobby leave behinds, long-form reports, interactive websites, and others that are written to educate and persuade community members, elected and other government officials, the media, and others.
I also have experience producing public education materials, toolkits, and training curriculum to train community members and other allies on campaigns, issues, and organizing and research methods.
Additional support for existing projects
I can also provide support for existing projects. I can step into a project to help project manage and/or provide additional research support for existing projects to get them to the finish line. This can also include editing (from copy editing to extensive editing revisions for different audiences or purposes) and fact checking.
Trainings
Trainings can be a great way to communicate with, educate, and base-build within your community. They can also help train up your staff, helping them develop new skills and other knowledge. I can develop popular education and research skill trainings for your community members and/or staff.
For example, I have developed research skills trainings on corporate research, power mapping, survey development, and others; training series as part of a participatory action research project that supports community members designing and implementing a research project; trainings on disability justice and trans issues; and others.