Campaigns & Communications

Coalitions: Solving the Riddel

This report summarizes the results of preliminary research undertaken by Dovetail Consulting Inc. in association with the Hollyhock Leadership Institute (HLI) to examine the dynamics of coalitions with the environmental movement in British Columbia and the Western United States.

Coalition Management: A Checklist

In 2003 Dovetail Consulting in association with the Hollyhock Leadership Institute completed a research study to examine the dynamics of coalitions within the environmental movement within British Columbia. Their objectives were to identify challenges commonly experienced within coalitions and alliances. From that research came the following checklist intended as a quick reference guide for the successful management of coalitions.

Framing The Debate

This piece comes to us from the work of George Lakoff, who has been making a lot of waves recently with his book "Don't Think of an Elephant" -- a discussion on the importance of articulating our values as progressives.

Nonviolent Communication

This article is drawn from the work of Marshall Rosenberg, creator of Nonviolent Communication, a powerful language-based process that, once learned, helps to facilitate mutually open and trusting relationships.

Skilled Listening Habits

Many of us don't often stop to think about listening habits -- after all, listening is a skill we learned as children, right? But there are ways of listening that foster clearer communication, and ensure that people feel heard, and there are ways of listening that discourage constructive dialogue between people.

Spectrum of Allies - A Tool to Facilitate the Discussion

Here's a cool tool brought to us last month by George Lakey to help facilitate the conversation of 'who's with us' and who's against'. This exercise is inherently democratic and a great way to engage volunteers and staff in strategic planning.

10 Tips When Speaking out for Change

Gail Larsen held an inspiring workshop in Vancouver, where participants leaned to build their speaking skills in order to catalyze personal and planetary change. Ten key ideas emerged to support you when you are faced with an audience whose worldview and values are markedly different from your own.

7 Simple Steps to See What People are Saying About You in Cyber Space

Some organizations will spend thousands of dollars to create media monitoring sites, but with some of the tips below you can do this for little or no budget.

Communicate Your Vision & Ignite Collaborative Change

Changing of the world is an issue of communication, and if we are communicating clearly, then changing the world is the least of what we can accomplish. Using a collective communication model, here are 5 steps to ignite collaborative change.

Mobilizing the Public - Identifying Supporters

Mobilizing the public around your issue allows you to have a number of advocates keeping the issue at the top of the minds of key decision-makers and influencers, and exert pressure.