SURVEY

Overview
Any land based design would begin with a survey - that is gathering all of the site information, drawing a base map and interviewing users of the land to learn their needs and desires. For this non land-based design the survey process is just as important. Surveying work that I have undertaken has included: * Researching What is fracking? * Collating data relevant to Somerset * Researching the potential risks if fracking was actualised in Somerset * Undertaking a campaign design questionnaire * Researching resistance to fracking in general to look at patterns of effective organising and points of leverage

Gathering Information
The whole technological process of fracking was new to me understanding the technical language has been a challenge and communicating this to others even more so. Fortunately there are many useful resources developed by campaign groups and scientists concerned about fracking. In order to observe the potential points of intervention, it was necessary to illustrate the process. As is seen in the diagrams below which show how fracking itself works. The flow chart titled How the process works illustrates the steps to gain permission to frack in a UK context.

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design

SURVEY
Overview
After surveying and researching fracking as a process, the second survey task was to explore how fracking could affect Somerset. This involved: * Looking at the Petroleum Exploration and Development Licenses and which areas they cover in the county. * Contacting the local environment agency and talking to a local water consultant, who provided the map below showing areas of groundwater protection in Somerset. * Listening to the head of Bath & North East Somerset Council deliver a presentation about fracking and the risks to Bath. This allowed me to learn of the local economic importance of Bath to the South Wests regional economy and the ecological fragiliy of Baths hot springs, which themselves are a natural fracture. * Researching local geology to understand the fossil fuel interests in the county and also to help identify which areas may be most likely areas for planning applications in the near future. On the following page there is a map of the licenses covering Somerset. It is worth noting however that the next series of PEDL licenses due to be sold by the Government cover the whole of Somerset as well as Bristol and other parts of the South West. * A further research task was to look at the companies that wish to profit from these operations in Somerset.

Geology

0 1 2 3km

Making Bath & North East Somerset an even better place to live, work & visit

These include: - UK Methane own PEDL licenses 226, 227 and 228. This covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Peasedown and Chew Magna. They are partnered with Adamo Energy, the UK branch of Eden Energy, an Australian multinational. - Fairfax Shelfco 320 Ltd own PEDL 225, covering Wells, Shepton Mallet and Bruton. This appears to be a front company for Reservoir Resources, who were bought out by American Energy Development (AED) in March.

Making Bath & North East Somerset an even better place to live, work & visit

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design

SURVEY
Overview For companies to be able to frack, three things need to be in place: 1. The Government needs to sell a PEDL license (Petroleum Exploration and Development License) to the company (s) wishing to frack. 2. The land needs to be leased by a public or private landowner. 3. The council have to award planning permission. In Somerset four PEDL licenses have already been granted, which can be seen in the map to the right. Towns they cover include: Keynsham, Whitchurch, Saltford, Chew Magna, Pensford, Marksbury, Clutton, West Harptree, Chewton Mendip, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Shepton Mallet, Wells, Wookey, Pilton and Evercreech. This area also includes a large number of villages, farms and water catchments for several areas, including the city of Bristol.

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design

DESIGN QUESTIONNAIRE
Overview In land-based designs, a main element at the start of the process is the client interview. In order to gain information about fracking, I conducted a design questionnaire with National Group, Frack Off, who are one of the leading groups organising against fracking and extreme energy in the UK. Please note opinions expressed of an individual nature from the interviewee, which may not have group consensus are italicised. What do you want? What are your goals? To raise awareness of shale gas and all forms of extreme energy in the UK. To prevent the development of unconventional gas & all forms of extreme energy in the UK. This includes shale gas, coal bed methane (which both require fracking) and underground coal gasification. To stop these forms of energy from ever starting and to not continue testing in the UK. To use the imminent threat of unconventional gas development as a gateway to raising awareness about peak oil & the unsustainable nature of the global economic system. Who has the power to meet these demands? The fracking process needs three things to be in place - the Government needs to sell a PEDL license, the land needs to be leased by a public or private landowner, and thirdly the council have to award planning permission. Technically the Government has the power to not sell licenses, which are managed by the DECC and the Coal Authority manage the off shore assets. However this is extremely unlikely! The councils have the ability to reject planning permission in response to complaints from their constituents & for technical reasons. Examples of this being a successful tactic include: - Vale of Glamorgan where the local water company couldnt guarantee water wouldnt be totally safe (this is under appeal). - South Lanarkshire - Planning application rejected in response to hundreds of letters of complaint (this was just from concern of individuals, there was no organised letter writing local campaign).

Councils need to hear concern & dissent. They have a fear of not being re-elected and therefore at such large numbers it would be foolish for them to not listen to constituents. The Government also fears non re-election and local MPs may feel more vulnerable in areas where fracking is widely contested. Who do they need to hear it from? Councils - need to hear from constituents, but they also need to witness it kicking off all over the country, to understand the effects of local resistance. Companies - need to see it all e.g. local campaigns, direct actions. The idea of a coordinated, widespread and relentless campaign is intimidating. Investors also need to witness the picture of resistance, ideally in the mainstream media as it shits up investors & therefore the company. The Government do need to hear what voters think in their concern for re-election. They also have little idea about what fracking actually involves and therefore have to listen to information from contacts they trust e.g. boys club, industry leaders and so forth. How should we present ourselves to the public and powerholders? A well networked campaign of genuine grassroots resistance alongside a convinced mainstream media & activist network. We want to be portrayed as - a coming together of radical environmentalists & regular people who have their landbases threatened. Threatened vulnerable local people & powerful privileged people (e.g. activists) - we need both. Feel it is important to have identification as radical to inspire some radical activity. What resources do we have? Frack Off - popular website - email accounts - Fracking is a hot topic of interest. - Good skill bank: web developer, experienced organisers, research skills, public speakers, graphic design, DA skills, writing Financial - Capacity to access funding. - Now capacity to take donations via website.

Human resources: - 10ish in size. 4ish full timers. - Relatively experienced activists - US economist available - Independent energy consultant available - Inhouse web developer

Companies in themselves have the power to withdraw, this would only happen with concerted pressure from regular people. They can be challenged economically and psychologically. Water companies also have the power to not sell water resources to companies, however are torn between consumers and customers - fracking is a large potential customer, and this is a financial decision. What do they need to hear? Companies will need to hear and witness widespread local resistance. However this can often mean that as an activity, fracking will be re-located to where it is tactically advantageous (areas with little resistance or local resources). Therefore companies will need to either be stopped by legislation or be driven out of business/ understand it is not a financially beneficial descision to frack. Examples of these include: Economic pressure - Lock the Gate campaign in Austraila, have a large grassroots campaigns with regular blockades and the company have literally left. They were legally ready to go but physically prevented. - In Canada, resistance from local groups & indigenous peoples, with rolling regular blockades, effectively sent Shell packing. Economically, investors of companies would need to hear from their own kind that this was not a wise economic decision. This is a challenge when there are major spokespersons for the industry, for example Lord Browne. Legal pressure - France has outlawed fracking. However they do not have similar natural resources as the UK or the US and have a larger nuclear program. - Bulgaria has outlawed fracking for cultural reasons e.g. aesthetics, a different relationship to the land.

What resources do we have as a movement? * Opportunities for lots of local campaigns due to the vast area of land that fracking would cover - a massive amount of people who will be local & very near sites. * The UK used to have one of europes most visible environmental movements e.g. climate camp. * Radical organisers in the UK: - Have knowledge of effective ways to take action - Experience of using media - Passion - DA skills - General organising abilities * Local people - All groups will have different resources & skills e.g. some with masses of campaign experience, others with none - Will be connected to effected community What are our weaknesses that we need to strengthen? What are our limiting factors? Frack Off - Main limiting factors are time & energy which involve: - Feeling of time & energy being wasted - Lack of space to pause & reflect about this energy usage - Not having fully formed discussions about where time & energy goes - Group communication & personality clashes which may lead to bad decisions about where to put energy e.g. teach in event

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design

DESIGN QUESTIONNAIRE
What are our weaknesses that we need to strengthen? What are our limiting factors? Cont. - Doesnt feel like the man hours are available to escalate the campaign e.g. not enough people for each job in terms of fulfilling ambitions - For example opportunities are presented constantly which cannot be fulfilled due to people based limitations e.g. organising events, speaking requests, participating in actions *Radical organisers - Not enough of them! Many people are already embedded in lots of other campaigns. Many are yet to be convinced that fracking is a campaign worth committing some time to. There have not yet been many sexy opportunities to not get stuck in e.g. blockades, DAs - Many are still not aware of fracking & its potential affects *Local people - May have other commitments e.g. work, family - May not have campaigning experience - May fear contestation as controversial issues could threaten existing relationships within community e.g. loosing their own privilege, local reputations, positions of power & the need to be neutral and so forth - Many are starting from scratch in building local networks & groups - Group processes e.g. communication, decision making - Lack of support e.g. from other groups, financially - Majority of people dont know what fracking/extreme energy is. What is your niche? What role do you play that others cannot or will not? We exist in peoples minds as a national group with all knowledge/information. However in reality we are not actually a national group. We are the best known anti-fracking group and are currently the only people talking about extreme energy in UK. What is your role in movement building (the wider ecosystem)? One of our main aims is to catalyse local group formation & support them to the point in which they can be sustainable & autonomous. Tangibly this commonly means supporting a local to do a public meeting & support the setting up of a DIY local group.

How can we tell if the campaign & our efforts are working? How can we evaluate and measure our progress? Some tangible methods of measurement could include: - Volume of autonomous local groups. - Column inches/press coverage. - People taking action outside of our knowledge of it escalation of independent organising. - Number of planning applications stopped. - Internally with Frack Off - increase in requests for information, opportunities and so forth, number of hits on website. General escalation of workload. What are the strategic points of intervention to prevent fracking? Economic: Aside from the intervention points with influencing the Government and local councils, as explored above, economic affects could disable companies to frack in the UK. This economic pressure could only come from regular people taking action. The companies involved in fracking are tiny, they dont actually make any money and are using investment capital. They are burning out investment cash with the aim that would like to be bought out by bigger companies (patterns of capitalism). This was the same as with Biofuels - they were tiny start ups formed solely for purpose for going after brand new market. It would be possible to run them out of business - costing so much cash that they cant continue. Quadrilla are burning money to prove theyve got a useable resource. Psychological tactics could be used to influence foreign investors. What are the resources fracking companies need to frack? - Drilling rigs - there are not the drilling rigs available for this process in the UK (only one company makes drilling rigs) - Other resources needed include: the chemicals in the fracking fluid, water, sand, trucks, diesel, generators - Everything needs to be run from generators on site - Pipelines will need to be in place - Drilling pads - made by Fox company - Pads need to be turned into raised flat aggregate Logistics - All materials need to be trucked in. - Nearly all work will be subcontracted (needs further research to confirm)

Following the design questionnaire, the interview then returned to the first question - what are your aims? We then decided to use the Four Action learning Questions to help clarify the strategy of frack off & its relevance to local anti-fracking campaigns. What has been going well? - We have been producing high quality research & commentary pieces - Local groups are launching all over & we are supporting them - People know we exist - We are more in tune with situation on the ground in the UK - There is lots of energy for taking things forward - Got a good infrastructure in place - Funding opportunities are in the pipeline What has been challenging? - Making new resources for each event/things are being lost e.g. flyers, printing - Presentation material isnt stored in accessible place, having to re-do work - Basic stuff can be hard to find - To sustain intensity of campaigning that we started off with - Would like to have done more stuff e.g. on the ground actions What are your long term goals & visions? For this question, Frack Off returned to some original strategy documents which were formulated at the beginning of the campaign: Four overarching general aims: - To disrupt and dismantle power structures - To empower & equip communities to create a society without exploitation - To halt the destruction of the natural world - Something about consciousness, responsibility & changing the system in your head They identified five strategy areas and a short term (ST), medium term (MT) and long term (LT) for each area. 1. Building groups: ST = to catalyse the formation of local groups. MT = to support & train those groups. LT= to provide those groups with the skills to be sustainable & autonomous 2. Awareness raising: ST = just about fracking. MT = extreme energy. LT = total system

3. Building resistance: ST = to expose those responsible. MT = to disrupt . LT = dismantle 4. Alternatives: ST = To promote alternatives. MT = try alternatives. LT = build alternatives 5. Fostering communication: ST = research. MT = critique. LT = inspire It was clear that while these were inspiring aims, they are not completely clear, explicit or tangible, so we set a 12 month time frame. We aimed to create them as SMART targets (Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timed). What are goals & visions for the next 12 months (by May 2013)? - To have at least 5 active local groups in Scotland. - To have over 20 local groups in England & Wales. - To have 10 groups in Ireland. These group would have established working groups, websites, meet regularly and would be self organising. - To have had at least two major days of simultaneous nationwide action. - To have a permanent base in Lancashire by end of the Summer. - To have a UK focused film on unconventional gas. - To have established a regular funding stream. - To have undertaken another nationwide tour. - To have led a selection of local group training. What are your next achievable steps? To have a permanent base in Lancashire by end of the Summer: Have a group discussion ASAP. Talk to people in Lancashire ASAP. Write grant application To have had at least two major days of simultaneous nationwide action: Research number of groups needed to make day a success. Set a date (ideally before end of September). Local group training & support: Organise second tour Email all local groups to offer support. Assign members of Frack Off to each group & define responsibilities of this role. Process information from previous informal survey. Liase with Frack free somerset with when you are free to do presentation training To have a UK focused film on unconventional gas: Establish as a group what is wanted from a film. Complete grant application. Source filmmakers

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design

DESIGN QUESTIONNAIRE
Task or Area Website Spiral of Erosion/ Energy drainer/ Task *Takes a lot of time *Main challenge is updating content e.g blog posts, planning applications, calendar of local events, resources *Nearly all emails go to one address, large amount of time is spent processing them, generally falling on shoulders of one person!

This part of the design questionnaire focused on spirals erosion in the campaign and potential interventions which could be elements transferred & applied to other groups. Potential points of intervention & other suggestions *Asking local groups to send news items *Creating a facility where local groups could update the website themselves *Assigning more people, including new people, to take role of web content support Ideal situation: *To be able to forward/delegate all emails to different spokes taking responsibility for different areas *Send research items to the brain, who ideally would have a support team to help process volume of material *media@ address could go to a rotated media responder. Training could be developed for those less confident. A crib sheet could also be developed. *Stock replies can be bookmarked & use when needed to reduce repitition/save energy. *Separate address for speaker requests & someone responsible for managing this diary & liaison. *A local groups address book could allow fast send out of materials e.g. responses to media articles, which local groups could then utilise/put on their own website *It would be useful for all members of the team to have confidence and skills to manage info@ account. A crib sheet could be put together. *Different members of the core group could be responsible for a local group or region & these emails could then be delegated. *Each member of the core group could be responsible for a local group or region to make workload more manageable & effective. *A structure needs to be defined so that people are clear of roles & responsibilities. *Potential support for local groups could include = Really basic how to guide of how to set up an online presences, pre-arranged facilitation training for first meetings, list of contacts for all existing local groups, list of sympathetic funding bodies, DA training, basic photoshop/graphic design training & a how to guide for building a campaign. *Every meeting needs to have: a clear start & end time, a commitment to focus & professionalism e.g. no PCs/distractions, an agenda or aims for the meeting (even if extremely short), minutes taken which list SMART action points & who is responsible. *A potential chaser role could be introduced whose role is to make sure those who have committed have undertaken actions & delegate them to someone else or offer support if not so. They will need to be tactful & liked by the group.

Email management

Local groups

*FO feel they are not supporting local groups as effectively as they would like to be, generally due to lack of people/ time & energy.

Meetings

Research

Public speaking/ Giving presentations

Graphic design & publications

*There are generally 3 per week. *One general meeting once a week with others focused on specific things e.g. funding, planning *Meetings go badly normally and some potential reasons for this that have surfaced include: - lack of professionalism, ack of agenda (an agenda is done for the general meeting), blurry start & end times, minutes not always taken effectively especially related to action points & who has taken responsibility for actions. *One of the main group tasks is keeping up to date with planning applications & their statuses as well as licenses & other research data being released - This is managed with intense human hours as well as a scraper which is a computer developed tool to search online - Most of this work currently falls on one person who is under a lot of pressure *Feel like bare minimum of events are being supported due to lack of people/travel times/workload *Not everybody is confident doing presentations because of technical queries & public speaking confidence *Graphic design for leaflets of events is generally on an event by event basis, and often re-done each time because original templates cannot be found. Are one of the healthiest areas of organising. This is attributed to them being more interesting, physically interactive and they also have a deadline imposed.

*Could any of this work be outsourced or shared with others? *Could more development time be set to develop tool to monitor application process automatically

*A teach-in is planned to support new people to give presentations. *Local groups could be trained & supported to do their own presentations, reducing Frack Offs workload & being more effective locally

*Time could be dedicated to creating an easily accessible gallery of leaflets & designs that can be tweaked simply and used
again, reducing the workload *More work can be delegated to graphic design volunteer

Events

*Deadlines could be applied to other areas of the campaign. *Some of the above interventions could be undertaken for an event e.g. local groups training which would motivate those involved to do the background work for the event. There would then be more of a yield and the work would be more likely to be followed through.

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design

LOCAL GROUPS SURVEY

The Vale Says No! REAF

As part of the survey stage of designing the campaign, I created a local groups survey that was emailed to local groups. Three groups answered and their comments are below. These helped to shape Frack Free Somerset by helping us to identify common patterns in local group organising and what could potentially support us to be more effective.

Transition Keynsham

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design

LOCAL GROUPS SURVEY

Overview Another aspect of the survey process in the campaign design has been to observe other groups and the strategies they employ, especially if successful. Below is a table of local groups campaigning against fracking (observed during May 2012) with notes on their tools and resources that are visible e.g. websites, email lists as well as notes on their approaches and tactics, in so far as the ones they promote on their websites or literature. This has been a particularly inspiring part of the survey process, witnessing community resistance across the country. Group Name Ribble Estuary Against Fracking Location West Lancashire Website http://reaf.org.uk Tools & Resources Website. Local support (diverse groups). Meetings every 2 weeks. Approaches & Tactics Our main aim is to raise awareness and facilitate access to information as well as encouraging people to lobby their councillors and MPs. Petitions, object to planning application, contact MP, FOI request, phone calls, leaflets, WOM, mailing list, electricity suppliers, donate.

Vale Says No

Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales East Kent Sussex

http://thevalesaysno.com/

Website. Twitter. Mailing list. Donations section. Facebook. Facebook. Website. Email newsletter. Pictures with detailed stats e.g. 16,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid scheduled for Balcombe Website, facebook Facebook. Facebook. Meetings. Facebook. Different Irish groups. Website (V. professional). Twitter. Mailing list.

Lobbying against planning application (was successful, but could be overturned) Facebook. Public meetings / film showings. Write to MPs, objection letters. Flyers to spread.

No fracking in East Kent Frack Free Sussex

http://www.facebook.com/ EastKentAgainstFracking Frack-Free-Sussex facebook http://gasdrillinginbalcombe. wordpress.com/

Lingfield Anti fracking N.E Wales Anti Fracking Network Fracked Swansea No Fracking Ireland Residents Action on Fylde Fracking

Surrey Wrexham, Wales South Wales Ireland Lancashire

http://nofrackinginlingfield .webs.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ NEWAFAN https://www.facebook.com/ FrackedSwansea http://www.facebook.com/TransitionRegions http://stopfyldefracking.org.uk

Letters of objection, FOI, direct action, petitions Film showings, letters, Letters of objection Petitions. Letters. Petitions. Letters. Is a post-fracking campaign (fracking started without community knowledge) hence residents reports. Actions: write to DECC, petition, councilors, MPs, meetings, press work. Write to councillors & politicians. Film showings, media work. Byline We stand to loose more than we could ever gain.

Not for Shale

Ireland

http://www.notforshale.com

Website.

Frack Free Somerset Campaign Design