Understanding Power – strengthening voice and influence
A collaborative initiative between the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Carnegie UK Trust
The Carnegie UK Trust (CUKT) and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) are undertaking a feasibility project, to examine if and how an improved understanding of power can enhance citizens’ and civil society’s ability to influence change on issues of social concern. This feasibility project will take the form of a short action research project, and will examine ways in which the voices of groups which are least heard in society can be strengthened. By putting different understandings of power and how it is exercised at the heart of this project, JRF and CUKT aim to explore how citizens can exert influence and power beyond the formal decision making process.
JRF and CUKT’s interest in this work
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and the Carnegie UK Trust (CUKT) both have an interest in enabling citizens to achieve greater influence in policy making, and through their various respective programmes of work have examined ways in which citizens can strengthen their participation in public decision making. Building upon this experience, CUKT has begun a Democracy Initiative as part of its programme on Democracy and Civil Society. The Democracy Initiative is focusing on mapping power and understanding tools and resources which exist to enable civil society to apply and engage with power. JRF is currently exploring options for a new programme of activities on “unheard voices”.
How the project will work
JRF and CUKT will invite up to 8 civil society associations to participate in the action research, to:
- analyse the barriers and successes these groups have experienced to date with regards to exercising power and influencing the issues that matter to them;
- support the groups to experiment with various tools and resources which exist to apply and engage with power;
- enable the groups to test out how these resources can be applied and adapted to meet their specific challenges and in their own settings.
The CUKT has already started to compile a selection of tools and resources – however, we have not yet made an assessment of how useful each of these tools could be used in various contexts and settings. JRF and CUKT therefore wish to work with the participant groups in a collaborative way and will provide a space in which participants can work together to reflect upon the challenges they face, and take action by using and understanding how specific tools and resources may or may not address their needs.
Who will be involved
JRF and CUKT will appoint a facilitator who will lead up to 5 action learning sessions with the group of participants. This group of participants will be made up of one or two individuals from each participating civil society associations. During these sessions the facilitator will help the participants to assess the most appropriate resources to meet the needs of each of their organisations.
JRF/CUKT project staff will offer a “helpline” for organisations and will provide necessary support throughout the lifetime of the research. The Trust will also continue to undertake desk based research to identify further existing tools and resources. To inform this work, an advisory group will be established to help design the action research and to support JRF/CUKT in reflecting on the learning and findings. The participant groups who will be recruited for this research are most likely to be from associations that have a commitment to strengthening the voices and actions of those who are perceived to have least power. They could be focusing on issues at a local level, but these issues will also have a national dimension.
Each organisation will nominate one person to participate in the action research. This person will attend all sessions as required and lead on the translation and implementation of initiatives as the project develops. This person is most likely to have a job description with aims and objectives that are in line with the purpose of this action research, and is in a position to be able to influence the policy and practice of their own organisation.
How the project can benefit all stakeholders
Both CUKT and JRF are embarking on a learning journey through this project, and are committed to sharing this learning with participants. For individual participants, their involvement is an opportunity to develop transferable skills and understanding. For the organisation as a whole, it is intended to assist in challenging assumptions about influence and change and experiment new ways of achieving the aims and objectives of the organisation. For the advisory group, it is a peer learning opportunity to explore ways of addressing power and influence. JRF/CUKT will negotiate concrete outputs with each individual participating groups and aim to be very creative in agreeing what these will be.
Timeframe
January 2009 to December 2009