August Update

The process of writing up my report has begun. I've been hampered by writer's block over the past few weeks as I attempt to consolidate both the academic reading I've done and my fieldwork into a coherent paper. I'm mindful that time is of the essence as the national context is progressing rapidly. I had lunch the other week with my old MA supervisor, Dr Marjorie Mayo. Marj was a source of useful information and encouragement and has helped me to think more widely about the implications of the community organiser programme for community development practice. At the same time, locally I have spoken with local voluntary sector organisations in Great Yarmouth about the potential of them hosting one or more of the "5,000 organisers" and how these might engage with existing community development practice.
There seems somewhat of a silence on the PB front. This was echoed by an article in last week's Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2011/aug/12/participatory-budgeting-localism-big-society
I have contacted the Big Society Network to chase the learning from the Your Local Budget activity earlier this year, but there has been no response to date.  

I intend to have a final paper drafted by September for submission to both the WCMT and Local Government Journal.

Reflections

For friends who know me I often joke about finding a nice hideaway to write my memoirs when I retire - (not far off now I've turned 30). I think I may have found it at the Berkeley campus, University of California - just across the bay from San Francisco. When I was studying for my undergraduate degree at Manchester University- Berekely was a renowned centre for anthropological research. One of the first ethnography's on Brazil that I read- "Death Without Weeping" by Nancy Scheper-Hughes was published here (and she is still based in the department). The campus seems quintessentially American with lots of greenery and gothic architecture adjacent to the quaint Berkeley downtown area full of independent cafe's and shops -my own little King Street (although I'm writing this in remorse for BBQ Chicken, which I understand has closed due to a massive hike in rent, with my other favourite eating place on the street- Dee Thai having already faced a similar fate). Gentrification of King Street into an "Anytown" High Street of pizza outlets and chain bars would be a real loss to that street's identity  - anyway enough of a rant about home...

Berkeley is a lovely campus town and I have pitched up in the university library to spend my last few days writing up my notes from the last 2 months. This blog has acted as an aide memoir and reading back I realise how my language swings from British English to American English interchangeably - so at times I talk about "organisng" and others "organizng" -Sorry!

The last 2 months have been awe-inspiring. Speaking to others in the same field of work, grappling with different systems of government, culture and language and most importantly seeing real examples of communities mobilising for change. I am planning to write a paper summarising the learning from this fellowship and I will post it on here once it is complete.

Final Thoughts
My thinking is still very much evolving, but i think neither community organizing nor participatory budgeting alone can be the panacea of civil society in Britain. By experiencing both processes in their authentic settings it is clear that they have both evolved due to a wider set of political, historical and social processes. They are also not stand alone processes and are part of a larger network of relationships and arrangements between the state and civil society - established and institutionalised over a period of time. There are however, some real commonalities in terms of the plight of communities in North and South America and indeed in Britain to affect change. Where communities have the capacity and skills to organise they can utilise participatory structures of the state to their advantage. Communities will only engage with such structures if they can identify a tangible benefit to themselves, their family or their immediate community. Such structures may also be restrictive and may limit the possibility of community involvement. Those communities which seem to have the highest levels of social capital seem most capable of circumventing these limiting structures and will often challenge the state and other power holders such as big corporations in a more direct way. There is equally a risk that some communities will not be able to organise so effectively and therefore risk further marginalisation where structures prevent opportunities for their full involvement.  


The relationship between the state and civil society is therefore a fluid one. There are often times when co-operation and collaboration is mutually beneficial, but equally there are times when the independence of civil society is paramount. These will be important points to consider as we consider policy initiatives stemming from the Big Society agenda in Britain - ultimately the agenda can only be led by Civil Society (and by Civil Society I mean residents and community associations, rather than larger NGOs - There seems a real lack of definition around this, but there is an absolute difference between grassroots community-led groups and the growth of  large, quasi "social purpose" conglomerates). There is however, a strong role for local government to consider its role as facilitator and co-producer of activities and actions responding to community need. 


Local government can and should respond by creating structures of participation which are meaningful and relevant, but equally recognise that communities will often organise outside of these structures (and often at odds with other local government processes) to address the issues that affect them. There is also currently a risk of pilot overload and as such these processes will be seen as a short-term, tinkering at the edges type approach which doesn't really reach or have any bearing on the wider population. There needs to be conviction and long-term commitment politically, constitutionally and operationally to any participatory democratic process...


Acknowledgements
This trip and the fieldwork I have undertaken has been made possible by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. Fellowship Manager Julia Weston has been a tremendous help in responding swiftly to any dramas along the way. She was particularly good humoured when I managed to complete my ESTA application incorrectly and was initially refused entry to the USA- fortunately this was quickly resolved.

The help of strangers along the way has been incredible and the list of people who barely know me but have helped, with contacts, accommodation, food and good company is endless; Sergio Baierle, Oli Henman, Phil Teece, Claudia Cunha, Rebecca Abers, Geraldo Campos, Dande Talveres, Sergio Torres, Karina Dino, Mila Pavlin, Sara Short, Erika Katske, Mike Miller, Sarah Swensen, Catherine Swanson, Gaelle Boesmans, Angela and Lenadro Rist and of course my friends Marika Stone, Claire and Tom Way and Ginny Skeen.  I've also made alot of friends over the past two months, many of whom I hope to continue a dialogue with and reciprocate their generosity should they ever fancy a trip to GY.

I'm returning to the UK with lots of practical examples, useful tools, case studies and a real desire to continue developing thinking around some of these concepts around community development. They are as relevant in Great Yarmouth and the UK as they are around the rest of the world and particularly now as we look evermore closer to communities being at the heart of driving social and economic change.

I would wholeheartedly recommend anyone to consider a WCMT fellowship. The web-site is
www.wcmt.org.uk  and the application is relatively straight forward- the deadline is sometime in October. I'd be happy to talk to anybody who might be interested in applying. I plan to be quite actively involved in the Regional Association upon my return (one of my promises to myself, inspired by everything that I've seen is to get more involved as a citizen rather than just a facilitator- although heading up any kind of demonstration outside the homes of unscrupulous landlords in GY isn't on the cards just yet)!

Grassroots!

I have been overwhelmed by the size of the city's civil society. This weekend's Pride celebrations were testament to the thousands of individuals in the community who volunteer and the countless number of community organisations that exist. This is something very particular to the psyche of the City and the Bay area in general. I have spent some time this week in Oakland- home of the original Black Panther (Black Civil Rights) Movement in the United States in the 60's and have been talking to a number of groups operating in the area. Oakland has become the more affordable part of the Bay area to live in in recent years. Since the dot com boom San Francisco real estate prices have rocketed. The outward signs of homelessness across the city is particularly striking. Housing affordability is a particular issue for San Francisco residents and the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco is an organization which employs a community organizng model to advocate on behalf of renters across the city- whether they are in private rented or social housing. I have met with Sara Short Director and Tommi Avicoli Mecca Head of Counselling and part-time community activist to learn more about their work.
www.hrcsf.org

Tommi has spent a number of years as a community activist (and is also a freelance columnist in the Bay Guardian http://www.sfbayguardian.com/2011/06/21/no-equality-without-economic-equality), particularly in issues relating to housing. As a resident in Castro since the 70s Tommi has been involved in a number of community organizations tackling a range of issues across the city. The most recent being a campaign to raise the plight of spiralling rental prices in and around Castro and the growing number of young people from the LGBT community living on the street. When at the LGBT center some weeks ago, Mila Pavlin had mentioned the migration of many young people to San Francisco from across the western states thrown out of their family homes because of their sexuality. Tommi and others living in the Castro had witnessed the increased number of young people sleeping rough and decided to "organize" to address the issue. The organzing included direct lobbying to City Hall, more radical protests outside the homes of real estate promoters and the development of a shower club and food co-op. Negotiating and forming alliances with political leaders also seemed to be part of this strategy. Whilst the issue of youth homelessness remains and real estate prices continue to grow in the Castro neighbourhood, Tommi referenced the success of the group in securing a dedicated LGBT homeless shelter, funded by city hall and likely to be run by a local church. For Tommi the organizing had achieved it's first key success- acceptance of a "problem" by City Hall, which previously they had been unwilling to consider.

A notion particular to local democratic arrangements in San Francisco is a term a number of community organizers have referenced-  the ability to take an issue to "the Ballot"- meaning a number of signatures on a petition can take an issue to referendum at next local election. This issues can be anything which has sparked community support, for example the circumcision ban is on the ballot for the November Mayoral election. This provides a real tool for community organizers who are able to mobilise enough residents to take action. For the Housing Rights Committee this is a powerful tool- as 60% of San Francisco's residents are renters. Therefore proposals they may propose for a ballot decision as a result of organizing stand a very good chance of getting passed. The link between organizing and affecting change is tangible in this respect.

I have spent the last two days visiting further community-led projects. One in Oakland called Points of Distribution- which has grown as a community-led response to high levels of drug use and the desire to promote safe needle use and reduce HIV infection rates. The model is volunteer led, receives some federal funding and resources from foundations but is ultimately a community-led model. The other project- The African Advocacy Project in the Mission neighbourhood is a newly established organization, growing out of the identified need to provide support for African communities across the city. Unlike many other ethnic communities the African communities of San Francisco are not identified by a physical neighbourhood and similarly they are not bound by origin from one nation-state. Differences in culture, traditions, language and heritage provide more of a challenge for African Organizng. Even so, a critical mass of people sharing similar experiences and issues is paramount in making an organization effective. The Advocacy Project is starting to build this critical base in order to move its mission forward.

Grassroots activity is alive and well in San Francisco, generated by an identified community need, a sense of solicarity and a belief that the action will and can lead to change. Overhearing residents on a bus talking about MUNI- the public transportation system and how they had mobilised to pressure the department of transportation to improve services appears testament to this and is engrained in the city's consciousness. Interestingly City Hall is seen as a big enough and powerful enough, local entity to be able to have some impact on the issues that affect local resident's lives. Interestingly local residents seem more civically aware of how to influence change, how to work with politicians and what part they can play themselves.

I have learnt that the community organizng model is a distinct model of community action. Distinctly different from community development, but in the US context serves a valuable social and political function. Whilst organizing is not such a widely recognised concept in the UK- it certainly shares similarities with Trade Union movements. There is also a role for organizing in enabling communities to address "issues". I don't think this will ever make the need for community development redundant and am doubtful a government-led community organizer programme will lead to communities running public services, but the examples of organizing I have seen demonstrate that communities can take control of issues affecting their lives and that those furthest away from decision-making processes through dedication and perseverance can affect change.

Organizing and the State

I have dedicated some time this week to reconciling the relationship between community organizing and the state - both at a national and local level.

Political organizing has received considerable interest in the UK by both the Conservative and Labour parties - inspired by the 08 Obama campaign and the widespread publicity of the President's early career as a grassroots community organizer, both political parties have recognised the value of community organizing in terms of political mobilisation. Since the Obama campaign "Organizing for America" has been established as an ongoing national organizing movement for the Democrat party. I met with Autumn Sample from the Democratic National Committee for California, who is currently working on the 2012 campaign. Whilst Autumn acknowledges the success of the 08 campaign in terms of grassroots mobilisation she also recognises the challenges in maintaining a grass roots base thereafter. She suggested organizing for change is far easier than organizing to maintain. The Organizng for America campaign has therefore hooked into more tangible and topical issues such as the Healthcare Bill which seems emotive enough to engage ordinary citizens in political campaigning. The role of grassroots political organizer follows much the same approach as that of a community organizer and often involves building local committees in key areas who will employ a range of efforts such as door knocking, social events and rallying to raise the profile of their cause. Organizing seems very much to be the accepted form of grassroots mobilisation in the US.

I also got to spend some time at the Community Development Division of the Mayor's Office of Housing at San Francisco City Hall. Albeit after a long wait at reception -(1 receptionist could not deal with my appointment as it was not her "section" and the other receptionist needed to finish her call to stop the direct debit payment on her bank account). My thoughts immediately were "is this a system's thinking organisation???" given Great Yarmouth Borough Council's interventions this past year.

My counterpart Brian Cheu gave me an overview of the role of his team and its relationship with grassroots community organizing. Brian was quite clear on the difference between community organzing- which he saw as campaign-based, focused on issues of power and often directed towards government at some level and community development - which he saw as a more consensual, community building type approach. He cited some tenant leadership training they have recently undertaken (similar to Tenant Participation models in the UK) and suggested that he would like to dedicate more time to neighbourhood based activity and outreach, which he saw as the more impactive area of his team's work. Brian's team are also responsible for community buildings and the grants programme for not-for-profit organizations. Brian stated that for some organization's there is a dilemma because they adopt a community organizing approach, but then seek funds from City Hall to support their projects. His view was that organizng by it's very nature should be separate and funded independently of any form of government. Brian was also clear about the need from a City Hall perspective to validify representations put forward by organisation's stating to represent the community's views. In his view community organizing with merit is organizing which is truly representative of those it is seeking to represent and organization's need to demonstrate this. He did however, provide examples of times when the needs presented by community leader's have helped shape policy and those contributions have been welcomed. He also expressed concerns over not hearing the voices of those unable to organize. He cited the growing latino population in the city, which he felt were often not as vocal in articulating needs as more outspoken and established parts of the community. City Hall therefore needs to recognise this in both planning and consultation.

At a local elected member level - 11 Supervisors are elected to represent districts in the City, which is also consolidated as a county. San Francisco by its very nature has some very community-driven politicians - many elected directly from the city's diverse communities. I met with Supervisor Scott Wiener at a community event last weekend. He represents the Castro district, once represented by Harvey Milk and is equally driven to ensure he maintains an active dialogue with his constituents. Organizing is one of the ways in which the collective voice of residents can be heard- particularly given the size and diversity of a Supervisor's district. It is also clear that it is often advantageous for political leaders to maintain a healthy dialogue with community leaders- given the communities they can potentially galvanise.

Organizing certainly appears engrained into the consciousness of citizens and the state. It is not just about mobilisation, which is often single issued-based and time limited- it is about building communities and alliances to alter structures of power in a sustained way.

A Community Organizer's Tale

The weekend has been an eclectic mix of margaritas, mexican food and dancing - all in the name of research. The city is heaving with free year round events and street fairs, which also provide an opportunity for community groups to champion their causes. I attended a number of these this weekend, which provided a real opportunity to talk to volunteers, community leaders and elected officials.  All seemed to echo a sense of community spirit embedded in the city- a city of volunteers and not-for-profites built on a strong sense of the city's past as a site for social and civic movements. Somebody said to me "in San Francisco when people identify that something needs doing- they get together and they make it happen - it's what we do in this city..."

It is understanding the ways in which this community mobilisation happens that is of particular interest to my fellowship. I also spent some time over the past few days with Community Organizers- very much the linchpin of the Community Organizing Model here in the states.
Ruby is a community organizer with the San Francisco Organizing Project and spends much of her time supporting community leaders and Local Organizing Committees on "actions" whether they be particular campaigns or building particular community-based infrastructure to meet local needs. Her role is much akin to that of a Community Development Worker in the UK; she facilitates but doesn't lead, helps groups to build skills and capacity and helps groups to problem solve and formulate actions. The key difference however seems to be the more defined and systematic approach adopted by an organizer- their focus is channeling the groups efforts on struggles for power- and they will often revert a group back to that cause through prompts and wider discussions. They are also there to help organise but not deliver the actions themselves. These are taken on by members the Local Organizing Committees (made up of representatives of the community they are working with). When Ruby attends one of these meetings she often supports the Chair / Community Leader and will usually utilise a 30 minute agenda slot on a "training"- which will often consist of an informal workshop around a particular organizing technique i.e. public speaking or utilising the media (as I saw in Sacrametno last week). Ruby's day is diverse and varied depending on the projects she is supporting. The biggest challenge in her job she says is encouraging leaders to recognise their own abilities. Organizng has become particularly profssionalised in recent years with arange of vocational and academic degrees offered by US Universities (I stumbled across a billboard in the subway). This has been aided massively by the publishing of President Obama's book "Tales from my Father" which outlined his early career as a Community Organizer in Chicago.

I also got to meet Mike Miller for lunch. Mike is author of the book "A Community Organizer's Tale- People and Power in San Francisco" - I read this book before my trip and was therefore really keen to meet up with the author - somewhat of a veteran in community organizing in the city- with a career spanning 4 decades in the field. Mike's book plots the journey of the Mission Coalition Organization in the late 60s-  and the plight of that community in dealing with the consequence of a City Hall led programme of redevelopment across their neighbourhood. The coalition gained 1000's of members through church congregations, neighbourhood and community associations and local businesses- all of whom contributed membership fees to pay the salary of Mike as the Lead Organizer and associated campaign costs. Mike had been trained by Alinsky (seen as the founder of the organizing movement) and utilised those skills to support the MCO in furthering its aims.  Whilst the initial cause for coming together was through a fear of urban renewal and gentrification, the coalition was able to actively mobilise the community to consider other more fundamental issues, such as education and employment. The book is well worth a read and gives a very clear indication of what worked and what didn't.

Today Mike runs his own training centre- "Organize!"
http://organizetrainingcenter.org/about.html
Mike was eager to hear more about the British programme and was sceptical, from the information he had already heard, about whether it would be a pure community organizing model in the Alinsky tradition of organizing. I was overwhelmed by Mike's passion for the cause after over 40 years in the field - he even offered to come back to the UK with me to run some training sessions for community leaders. Mike has also sent me a wealth of literature and papers which I am yet to fully digest. Mike reiterated observations I have picked up over the past few weeks, - organizing is about power - organizing must be lead by communities -  and organizng must build a sense of association and grow from a common set of shared values. Perhaps what struck me most about this was when Mike mentioned a group he was currently working with and I asked "What kind of issues are they looking to address?", Mike replied "They are not yet - the first thing is about coming together to address the issue of power - the specific issues they focus on comes after they have done their research" - In community development practice in the UK- it is usually the grassroots issues that brings people together - the solidarity and community building and strategising over social change often comes later. Mike also reiterated the skills sets required to be both a community organizer and a community leader. The art of being a community organizer is about asking groups questions to get them to rethink their approaches. Mike also believed that for community organzing to be truly independent and owned by the local community- organizing must be funded by membership fees. He suggested that if each household in a block were to pay $40 per month (about £30) it would fund an organizer and associated field and office costs. Mike's observation however, was that organizng hadn't become established in the UK in the same way as the US because of the Trade Union movement in Britain. Certainly the campign for worker's rights- often the focus of community organizng efforts in the US  has been spearheaded by the Trade Union movement in Britain over the last century...

I am planning to meet some other grass roots organizers over the next few days to understand their motivation for organizing and the methodology they adopt. There seems to be a clear distinction between not-for-profit organisations engaging communities on behalf of state institutions or delivering programmes on behalf of the state and not-for-proift organisations developing to challenge state institutions and tackle a perceived notion of inequality and social injustice. The community organizng ethos appears to fit with the latter.

In his book Mike states "Community organizing assumes there are situations, structures and systems that must be changed if values of justice, equality, freedom, security, community and democracy are to be realised" (2009:185). The tale of an organizer is therefore a clear and very distinct one!

You Gotta Have Faith!

The San Francisco Organizing Project is part of a wider national network of faith-based organizations called People Improving Communities through Organizing (PICO).

I was fortunate enough to be invited along to a rally in the state capital, Sacramento to campaign against ongoing budget cuts. California is currently suffering a $26 billion state defecit, with a rolling programme of cuts ongoing since 2007. The latest state cuts in March had had quite a dramatic impact on those less well off, with over 4,000 children losing health care coverage and significant cuts to education and community policing. PICO has been leading a state-wide campaign through it’s membership congregations to oppose the cuts. Their message for the day was to propose maintaining a state tax (due to end next year)  to alleviate the burden of cutting services for the poorest. The day was a combination of collective action, rallying and the lobbying of key senators and legislative directors.

Over 1000 community leaders from across California descended upon Sacramento congregating in the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament  -    just a short walk from the Capitol building. The multi-faith congregation, of jews, christians, muslims, hindus and buddhists heard key messages from clergy and community leaders across the state- who had been organizing in their respective communities to articulate the needs of those most affected by the cuts. Prayers and life stories were shared as was a reminder of key objectives for the day (this acted as a training session to ensure all 1000 attendees were on message).  A gospel choir took to the stage and enthused the audience who started chanting “We have the Power” which then lead onto a peaceful march to the state capitol. Further speeches and rallying calls were provided on the steps of the Capitol Building and the President Senator came out to respond to the requests from PICO.  As a British delegate I found it quite surreal to see the Rev Sharon Stanley put the Senator Darrell Steinberg on the spot and tell him "We are praying for you to make the right decision" – perhaps this was tactical, it certainly came across as sincere but it certainly made the senator consider his response carefully. It is undeniable that faith plays a significant part in US politics.

SFOP utilized the time in Sacramento to arrange meetings with Senators and Legislative Directors to further drive the specific messages of their San Francisco congregations. I attended two of these meetings and was particularly impressed with the strategic ways in which the community leaders attempted to negotiate concessions with these elected members and senior officials (all part of the organizing training I was told). In spite of quite forthright exchanges the SFOP delegates were courteous and polite and even went out and bought one Senator and his staff team some cookies to congratulate them for doing a good job.... I'm not sure how many MP's in Britain get care packages from their constituents - but it seemed a nice gesture!

I spent much of the day talking to leaders from various congregations across the state. The budget issues aren't the only issues faith communities are organising over in California. For some public education is a cause for others it's about affordable housing, the jewish community are also currently organising for proposed legislation to outlaw circumcision in San Francisco - a rite of passage for both jewish and muslim faiths. It is quite striking how quickly legislation can pass in the US system, which can create a real sense of anxiety for communities - fighting for various civil rights therefore becomes an ongoing imperative. 

All of the leaders I spoke to were all very clear on what community organizing was and what it wasn’t and expressed some concerns when I gave an overview of the current model being rolled out across the UK (although there is still very little information available on it). They were particularly sceptical of the authenticity of a community organizing programme being driven by government.

Reflections:

• The power of the faith community in the US cannot be undermined – for the members of the PICO network social justice is one of their missions which brings them together on a common value basis to drive for social change.  Equally faith-based communities also organize around ideological issues (although this is not PICO’s mission) but movements like the Tea Party Movement has also spawned out of faith-based organizing.
• The organizing model has a clear process and methodology – training of community leaders is paramount- part of this is about negotiating and lobbying those in power and also utlising the media (which is carefully planned to ensure maximum impact). Power being the ultimate driver for such movements.
• The community leaders I met and spoke to were diverse but were not necessarily representative of those furthest away from decision-making processes, many were faith leaders and many were retired professionals. A diverse skills set is needed to be a community leader in the community organizing model.

Community Organizing in the US has a very strong association with faith-based activity. The proposed British programme has not yet made reference to the relationship with the faith sector – This seems to overlook the significant work taken on by faith organisations in the UK, particularly in terms of welfare, support and advocacy and there is perhaps strong merit in looking at the role of faith organisations in such forms of direct community action.  


What was clear however, through talking to various leaders about this model is that community organizing is not about delivering public services- it is about challenging the unequal distribution of power, services may be created in response to that but organizing appears more a process of renegotiating political space to ensure the authentic voice of the community is heard.

Mobilising the Mission

I'm currently having a Burrito in a mexican cafe in the heart of the Mission district. The Mission is the historical heart of San Francisco's organizing movements. Home to a very large latino population the Mission remains a vibrant, multi-cultural neighbourhood battling several decades of gentrification and spiralling real estate prices.

I met with Erika Katske - the Executive Director of the San Francisco Organizing Project this morning.

www.sfop.org

Erika has over 20 years of experience in organizing and provided a clear overview of the model adopted by SFOP. Somewhat different to Make the Road in New York as they tend to base their organizing activities around faith based congregations as a basis for community mobilisation. They key for their organizing model is tapping into communities which already exist- where emotional ties are stronger. Congregational communities bound by a common value system are therefore ideal settings to develop a notion of community organizing. It appears faith activity is more radically focused on issues of social justice in the US, with many supporting their own leadership programmes to train community leaders to work on campaigns for change.

Erika has invited me on a bus trip to Sacramento tomorrow along with about 30 community leaders from San Francisco to join about 1,000 community leaders from across the state to campaign about forthcoming budget cuts- which by all accounts sound quite severe. I really want to utilise the time on the bus to talk to various community leaders to understand their motivation for getting involved and understand how organizing works in practice.

I'm off to the Jewish Community Center this afternoon to hear more about their work. Even though I'm here for 3 weeks I really do feel I am only going to scratch the surface in terms of all of the community networks that exist.

In the Footsteps of Harvey Milk

Perhaps one of the most moving and inspirational films I have seen over the last couple of years is “Milk”. The story of community activist turned City Supervisor Harvey Milk who was assassinated in San Francisco in 1978 . Milk was by all accounts a strong and effective community organizer within San Francisco's lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgendered community at a time when much prejudice and discrimination existed across the United States. The Castro district became a safe haven for many including Harvey Milk who effectively mobilised members of his own community and formed alliances with other communities to fight for equality in the city. 

Today this legacy lives on in San Francisco with an estimated LGBT population of around 150,000. Unfortunately the city still attracts a large number of young people on a daily basis who have been thrown out of parental homes or face threats of violence from others in their home communities.  I interviewed Mila Pavlin Community Programs Manager at the San Francisco Center today who gave me a thorough overview of the LGBT community in San Francisco and organizing movements across the city.  The center provides a range of health, employment and advice and guidance services, which are funded by City Hall and are closely monitored, however the Center provides some clear and tangible cost benefit analysis in their work much akin to Social Return on Investment methodologies we have been piloting for some time in Great Yarmouth.

The center provides meeting space for a range of community organizing and policy initiatives, which include campaigns around marriage equality (same-sex marriage is no longer permitted in California), employment rights and most recently the repealing of the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy around sexuality in the US military. I will be observing a number of  meetings over the coming weeks to get a feel for this model of direct community action. It is fortunate that this month is also Pride month so there will be a range of activities and events going on throughout the city.

San Francisco is a real hive of community activity and I will be spending time over the next few weeks with churches, the jewish community, an organizing group within the large Latino community and some neighbourhood associations and housing committees. I also have a meeting scheduled with one of the City Supervisors and the City Hall Community Development Division aswell as a meeting with one of the leading founders of the community organizing movement in San Francisco in the 70s. All in all quite a busy schedule. It's also a really, really great city to explore!

Not-for-Profit New York

New York is a city quite unlike any other I have been to. Constantly buzzing, it is very difficult to have a dull moment. I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with my good friend Ginny, whom I met back in 2000 when we both worked at a summer camp for people with disabilities in Virginia.

Ginny has followed an interesting career path since her time in New York. She arrived in New York on her way to London on September 10^th 2001 her flight was scheduled for the 12^th. On the morning of September 11^th Ginny was on the subway making her way to the bank located in the shopping mall beneath the World Trade center at the time of the terrorist attack. As a qualified nurse Ginny immediately offered her services to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and continued to provide assistance to families and communities in the aftermath of the atrocity. Ginny has stayed in New York ever since, working as a nurse and dedicating much of her free time to volunteering and supporting others in the community and is currently dedicating a significant amount of time to supporting young people born with HIV.

Ginny was an excellent gateway into the not-for-profit sector in New York. I met a number of organisations and groups via Ginny that allowed me to gage the role of the voluntary sector in relation to local government in the United States.

My initial observations are:

• As in the UK the voluntary sector is often a key provider of  public services, although this is in a very competitive environment with the private sector.
• Government contracts can be bureaucratic, put organisations in direct competition with one another and not necessarily have open, transparent and consistent processes, although in New York it appears that a 3 year commitment to a government contract is standard.
• Strong relationships appear to exist between voluntary and civil society organisations and partnership working seems to be well established.
•  The relationship between the voluntary sector and the state is often a difficult one. On one hand voluntary organisations are paid to deliver services and on the other they are there to advocate for social justice (often against the state) in favour of their beneficiaries.
•  The funding model for many not-for-profit organisations is far more diverse, partly because of this, but also because the level of funding from the state is often limited. Corporate sponsors, private foundations and faith bodies play a far greater role in funding such activities, although these sources can equally present dilemmas in terms of mission and ethos.
• Volunteerism is a very strong concept in the United States, with many people (such as Ginny) giving up their time to help others. This tends to be focused on activities dealing with people’s basic needs, such as health, housing, food, finance etc… In the UK there is an expectation that many of these needs are met by the welfare state.  

The few days spent in New York has helped to orientate me around the relationship between civil society and government in the United States. This is a really useful induction to prepare me for 3 weeks of fieldwork with community organizing movements in San Francisco, California. 

The Big Apple

I've arrived in New York to begin the second phase of my fellowship. My particular focus in the United States is the concept of community organising, which is a popular mechanism of community mobilisation here. It emerged from civil rights and a range of social movements in the US in the 60s and 70s and often involves a Community Organiser mobilising a community to shape change and challenge unequal power structures. Organising has been elevated in status in recent years through the knowledge that President Obama started his working life as a community organiser with black communities in Chicago. Today it is used a mobilisation mechanism for both left and right wing political alliances. In the UK the closest concept is community development, but I am quickly learning there are fundamental differences.

I met Andrew Friedman Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York yesterday. Make the Road is the largest community organising group in New York and consists of over 9,000 members (who pay a membership fee). The organisation started in the late 90's. As recent law school graduates Andrew and a colleague felt that they wanted to support disadvantaged communities to become their own advocates rather than profiting out of advocating on their behalf. Their initial time working in the communities of New York identified that there was an overwhelming need to bring communities together to instigate change and the discrimination they were experiencing and so their organising mission began which has grown considerably over the past 14 years. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8RielzPEIY&feature=player_embedded

 

Walking into the Make the Road office reminded me very much of walking into one of our neighbourhood bases in Great Yarmouth. It acted very much as an outreach point for services; credit union, youth programmes, food bank etc, but also a focal point for community organising and a base for staff working throughout Brooklyn. Its focus population is the Latino and immigrant population of New York, making up about 40% of the cities population. The office appeared to be a hive of activity, with meetings and drop-ins happening as I was there. Andrew was only able to afford me a 45 min slot in his car as we drove through downtown Brooklyn to a meeting in Manhattan. During that time I learnt a bit more of their model of community organising. Unlike the purist model of organising in the United States, Make the Road also offers the direct delivery of services and gets some government funding to do so. Andrew explained that this often provides a hook to get people involved in organising and recognises that for some people in crisis, their fundamental needs have to be met before even contemplating collective action to challenge the unequal distribution of power. As their membership grows on a monthly basis so too does their ability to outreach and develop further campaigns and programmes. They have a number of campaigns at present, including equality in the work place, young people and GLBT programmes, each of these have organising committees. The meeting structure of Make the Road is very frequent with committees meeting weekly. This is to ensure greater community ownership and capacity to lead campaigns. All of these programmes are facilitated by a community organiser. Interestingly the funding for Make the Road comes from a combination of government funding (for service delivery) and private foundations (for organising activities). I had read that faith bodies are key sponsors of community organising in the United States, although Andrew explained that this wasn't the case for Make the Road as they activiely support campaigns for GLBT communities and reproductive rights programmes - which isn't compatible with some of the views of faith sponsors.

For people who know Great Yarmouth I had heard that its American twin could be found a few miles out of New York City, so where better than to spend Friday afternoon with my New York host Ginny than on the Coney Island promenade eating "fish and chips" (well the American equivalent). Coney Island is a popular summer destination for New Yorkers, complete with it's funfairs, kiss me quick image and miles of sandy beaches. In its heyday it was one of the most popular seaside destinations on the east coast, but in recent years has waned in popularity and suffers a range of associated problems - particularly given the seasonal nature of the local economy. I felt the need to visit Coney Island if only to cure my homesickness and yes it was very similar to Great Yarmouth. Interestingly a grassroots organisation "Save Coney Island" has emerged as an organising group to protect and preserve the community of Coney Island. There has been considerable investment in the redevelopment of the area leading to what locals feel is likely to be the gentrification of the neighbourhood. The group have been running a number of campaigns to influence the process and have won a number of concessions to date.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Coney-Island/101841176439

Both the Make the Road and Coney Island examples of community organising provide immediate examples of community organising in the USA, both appear to be about challenging power bases, a sense of social justice and a tangible cause. Andrew was very clear about the organising model which has a distinct role about "challenging power bases". In a sense it seems far more political than community development in the UK but has equal emphasis on community empowerment.  

With Opportunity Comes Responsibility

As I spend my last day in Brazil drinking a black syrupy coffee on a noisy side street in the Vila Mariana neighbourhood I'm reflecting on both the last few days in Sao Paulo and the Brazilian experience in general. Winston Churchill once said "with opportunity comes responsibility". Given that this fellowship has been funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust it seems poignant that the quote has particular relevance to my experience in Brazil.

Brazil has become a land of opportunity in terms of economic development- it is no longer defined as "developing world" and avoided the impact of the global recession. The evident examples of World Cup investment demonstrate the spirit of opportunity that currently exists. This is a very different picture to the vision of Brazil in the 80s emerging from a repressive military regime with endemic issues of poverty. It is essential to make sense of this context before contemplating where participatory budgeting sits in the grand scheme of things. All of the examples of PB I have seen demonstrate a real opportunity to open up democratic processes - the motivation for doing this was very different in Brazil to the current motivation in the UK. However, these processes also share the same challenges of other forms of participatory democracy across the globe, but what appears to be clear is some fundamental principles about transparency, opportunity and empowerment which are as relevant in Brazil as they are in the UK.

Perhaps the most moving part of the last two days was the opportunity to talk to regular young people from some of the poor neighbourhoods and favelas around Sao Paulo. They have been fortunate enough to be selected for a training programme run by Projeto Pescar- a NGO which encourages businesses to provide training programmes for young people from local neighbourhoods to develop both life skills and technical skills to enter the world of work. Projeto Pescar encourages businesses to form partnerships to provide the training programmes in their respective fields. The group I visited were being trained in the optometry funded by a consortium of local optical businesses. The value of the programme was quickly apparent as I learnt of the young people's individual and family circumstances and support provided during their 12 months on the programme. The young people would dedicate 6 hours per day to the training, juggling that with attendance at School and responsibilities at home. All were clearly enthusiastic about the project and their life chances as a result. Part of their yearlong training has been about citizenship which also allows them to see their place in society and their ability to affect change for themselves and their communities. Whilst the young people were keen to talk to me about Manchester United and the Royal Family I was able to probe them more about their involvement in local decision making processes Although none of the young people had heard of Orcamento Participativo and had differing views on whether they felt the City Hall responded to their needs or involved them in addressing them - it was absolutely clear that the role of civil society organisations such as Pescar are vital in building the confidence an skills of disadvantaged people - not only in terms of employability but in terms of their wider roles in their communities and their society and their ability to participate in democratic processes- the creation of social capital which is not necessarily developed in their home lives.

The Pescar Project also seemed to represent an ambition relevant to the Great Yarmouth context; to combine economic and social development. Newly established Brazilian industries were actively encouraged to exercise their programme of social responsibility through this process - ensuring the economic opportunities they were pursuing on the outskirts of these communities demonstrated a responsibility to residents in the adjacent neighbourhoods. Exercising this responsibility brought a return for those businesses because they were able to build the skills of a potential workforce.

  

And then one might ask the question: How do we ensure that rather than just being a democratic process participatory budgeting not only delivers outcomes for local people but it actually delivers  long-term benefits which change the socio-economc conditions those communities find themselves in? For me, in spite of the difference in context the key challenge for community development and structures of participation will be the way in which the process can support meaningful change led by those it is intended to benefit which impacts on the economy, community and individual. My time in Brazil has certainly provided some food for thought.

More on PB

The last two days have been pretty hectic with various meetings relating to PB in Sao Paulo. I was at the meeting of the Economic Council this morning. About 20 people were in attendance including both civil servants and community representatives. The co-ordinator of the PB process chaired the meeting and took the audience through expenditure relating to the city's 3 year plan. There were many disgruntled attendees who scrutinised much of what was being presented. For example, the Mayor had vetoed the building of 3 new hospitals approved by the PB process in 2009, only 1 had been built. New bus lanes had not yet been built and it was evident that many neighbourhoods had still not seen previous initiatives implemented, such as a family health programme.

The mix of people and willingness for debate was however encouraging, also the investment in a 3 year plan - recognising the challenge of delivering some of these infrastructure projects in a 12 month cycle was particularly refreshing. The other element of the process I was most impressed by was the types of budget that were being discussed - the ambulance service, hospitals, education, transportation - major spheres of public life were subject to the PB process giving it both relevance and status in terms of delivering something of meaning. The decision-making bodies for these programmes in the UK would certainly not be open to a process of PB and certainly not at a spatial level of reference for individual citizens.

There will be further meetings of the economic council this week as they prepare and approve a working budget for this year. In a sense I am disappointed that I won't be here to follow the process- however, the cycle appears to follow a familiar process to both the Porto Alegre and Recife examples I have encountered.

Sao Paulo -The Urban Jungle

Flying from Amazonas to Sao Paulo was quite like leaving one jungle for another. The sprawling urban mecca of Sao Paulo contains a population of over 11 million people, making it South America's most populated city. My orientation began in haste having checked into at a fantastic hostel in the neighbourhood of Vila Mariana (the owners would later take me to experience the eclectic nightlife of Sao Paulo, where we danced until dawn). Whilst the downtown area lacks the beautiful vistas of other major cities, it is a hub for the ethnically diverse population. There are large japanese, italian and arabic communities in the city - which prides itself on its diversity.

Much of my weekend has been spent looking for "real" examples of participation and mobilisation in the Sao Paulo context. I was fortunate enough to stumble across a "Legalise Abortion" demonstration as I walked through the downtown area. I managed to speak to one of the organisers who had been particularly motivated by what she saw as the repressive approach of the state and Roman Catholic Church to abortion in Brazil where there is a legal penalty attached to a woman undergoing the procedure. This form of direct action was one that she saw as necessary and a means of increasing of both awareness and the membership base for the cause. The group had become tightly organised to be as effective as possible - I asked whether PB might provide an opportunity for their voice to be heard in Sao Paulo. My respondent felt that PB was a means for local issues not national issues to be addressed. For their group it was not about money - it was about changing policy.

Today I met Marcelo Barreto, Co-ordinator of the local skills and capacity building programme Fundacao Projeto Pescar. I will be visiting Marcelo's programme tomorrow, but today he invited me on a bike ride around the city and spoke at length about his experience of PB and working to increase community capacity and skills.  We also stumbled across an example of Sao Paulo's City Hall's programme of community participation - one of the park's was looking for a representative to sit on the park council. If you look at the photo of the poster- you will see that the community representative  must be over the age of 18. Interestingly, at the time we cycled through at least 40% of the users of the park were under the age of 18.

My final two days in Sao Paulo are going to be quite busy. I really want to probe the City Hall about how the machinery of participatory processes work in a city so vast and ethnically diverse and I also want to speak to ordinary citizens about their own experiences of community mobilisation and the various forms of participation offered by Sao Paulo's City Hall.

The Amazonas

When planning this fellowship my intention was to visit Rio Branco, capital of the north-western state of Acre, which borders Peru and Bolivia. Rio Branco has a well established "Orcamento Participativo" (Participatory Budgeting) process and offers a particular rural perspective, given its interaction with reservations and rubber tapper movements. I am extremely grateful for the help and advice of Claudia Cunha and Dande Tavares for helping me to try and arrange appointments with both NGO's and the Co-ordinator of Rio Branco's PB process. Alas, difficulties with co-ordinating dates, and travelling the sheer distance to Rio Branco meant that I had to revise my itinerary and settle on the Amazonian capital Manaus, which was more manageable from Brasilia.

During the first phase of my fellowship I have been rather anxious about having a full diary. In my normal working life at home 3-4 meetings or appointments a day is common, however in a different cultural context with limited pre-exisitng networks and contacts I realised this was too ambitious. I have also found that I've needed to be flexible with my time to ensure that I have the ability to chase leads passed to me by those I meet and see some of these processes in practice. The language difference has also meant that meetings have often been longer than I would normally anticipate to allow time for translation. I have also accepted that the essence of learning from this fellowship is the opportunity to observe and reflect - perhaps that's why I studied a social science degree at university! Nevertheless I currently feel like a giant sponge, soaking up everything around me and trying then to make sense of it. My notebook has become a curious collection of anecdotes, stories, quotes, observations and to-do lists which at the moment make some sense but I am sure in a few months will mean very little.

Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas, orginally home to the Manau tribe and colonised int he 17th century. It grew mainly due to the rubber boom as the main centre of commerce across the Amazon region. Today the city heaves with over 3 million inhabitants and is a major transport hub for a hundreds of river communities stretching deep into the Amazon. Transport by boat is by far the most popular way to leave or enter the city and many tourists leave the city by boat along Rio Negro to the famous "meeting of the waters" where the Negro meets the mighty Amazon River, lifeblood of the rainforest.

Coincidentally, on the day I arrived in the city the local newspapers were covering the story of the previous day's ruling by the state government to implement PB across Amazonas.
http://www.d24am.com/noticias/politica/orcamento-participativo-ganha-forca-na-assembleia-legislativa-do-amazonas/24207

I was intrigued to learn more, however the response I could deduce from the State government was more one of ideology - the belief that community participation in formulating the state budget had to be a good thing. It has long been established in the southern state of Rio Grand do Sul and is therefore possible on a large scale. What didn't seem to be clear was the practicality of running a PB process across the Amazon region relating to the spend of state monies. That is not to say that  the indigenous communities of the Amazon region are not familiar with participatory processes, indeed it appears to have been the machinery of development with these communities for a number of years. But what does appear to be the challenge is making such a bold political statement and then fulfilling that ambition- indeed the government is proposing legislative and institutional changes rather than just piloting a process. There are likely to be notable challenges of running a PB process across the Amazon region, not only in terms of geography and connectivity, but also in terms of the way the state apportions it's budget to areas and communities- this may not be in quite the same ways in which the communities see themselves. Equally the challenges for those living in the wider Amazon are likely to be very different to those living in Manaus, where PB has been embedded at a city level and in a more manageable way spatially.

I also made some contact with NGO's working in the region to understand the implications of government activity and relationship between the state and communities in across this region. I decided to utilise my 4 nights vacation time in Brazil with a trip into the rainforest. Perhaps the fact that the guide had lost an eye should have been warning enough, but it felt like a Bruce Parry meet Crocodile Dundee meet Indiana Jones type adventure complete with piranha fishing, alligator spotting, camping and survival techniques in the jungle and experiencing one of the most incredible environments I have ever been in. The experience was completely awe inspiring and I would wholeheartedly recommend, providing your equipped with at least 4 cans of insect repellent and  heavy duty waterproofs and can survive without the internet or a phone signal for a few days.  The trip also gave me an opportunity to talk to local people, manioc farmers, rubber tappers and others living in those communities where PB is likely to impact. What was clear was that the state will need to fine-tune PB to best fit the Amazon region and its communities.

There are particularities to life in the Amazon that don't necessarily fit with the urban model of PB - least of all the more limited contact people have with state institutions like the Police and Healthcare and also the ways in which such communities mobilise to address challenges. It would certainly be fascinating to see how PB plays out in the Amazon region over the coming years. Perhaps a reason to return someday, although I don't think I need too many excuses...