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Future Focus
What will campaigning
be like in 5 years’ time?
7
Published by NCVO
The Future Focus series was
originally published by the
Whatever plans w e make, changes in our external
Performance Hub, a partnership
between The National Council for
environment influ ence voluntary and community
Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
and Charities Evaluation Services
(CES). Future Focus was written
organisations (VC Os). These might be reducing or
and edited by NCVO’s Third
Sector Foresight and Strategy
and Impact Teams.
shrinking sources of funding, changing government
Written by NCVO Third Sector
Foresight: Natalie Williams
policies and regul atory priorities, shifting social
Design by SteersMcGillan Design Ltd
Printed by Emtone Print
attitudes, new tec hnologies, and so on.
ISBN: 978-0-7199-1795-0
© NCVO 2009
NCVO, Regent’s Wharf, 8 All
Saints Street, London N1 9RL
Registered charity no: 225922.
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying or otherwise, without All organisations can become more executive and senior managers, but community organisations (VCO).
the prior permission of NCVO. successful by spending some time they still put it off: “I’ll do it after this Each guide focuses on a different
Every effort has been made improving their understanding of next funding application”; “…after this topic. For those keen to learn how
to ensure the accuracy of the the likely future of these external next board meeting”; “…once the new to do it themselves, we have also
information contained within
this publication. However, NCVO
pressures and using this to make trustees are recruited”. published Looking Out, an accessible
cannot be held responsible for any a stronger organisational strategy. This is understandable; a good analysis introduction to help VCOs develop
action an individual or organisation Some view this as a luxury: “It’s only of the future does take time, and can these skills.2
takes, or fails to take, as a result of for rich charities”, or as impossible: involve learning new skills. For people This is the seventh guide in the series
this information.
“It’s stargazing! You can’t predict the with little time on their hands, NCVO (see page 46 for details of the full series).
future!” Others think that it is just an Third Sector Foresight1 have produced This guide explores how campaigning
intellectual exercise that won’t change the Future Focus series to provide will change in the future. It suggests
what their organisation does. Others ready-made analyses of the future ways for you and your colleagues to
appreciate that it is one of the critical changes that are most likely to affect use this information to help make
tasks of the chair, the board, the chief small and medium-sized voluntary and strategic choices and plan ahead.
Future Focus 7 Future Focus 7
How to use
Future Focus 7
In the following pages,
we outline the most
important drivers that
we believe will affect
campaigning in the
coming years. What are drivers?
22 Future Focus 7
Driver 4
‘Professionalisation’ of campaigning Moving forward:
26 Future Focus 7
Driver 5
Increase in competition and coalitions Moving forward:
30 Future Focus 7
CCT V
Driver 6
Marginalisation of dissent Moving forward:
Hopefully you now have a better understanding Selecting the most First of all, how important did you
think each of the six drivers would
of some of the key drivers affecting how changes important drivers be for your organisation?
to campaigning may impact on your organisation Driver 1: Growth of consumer activism
over the coming years. The next step is to turn
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
this information into choices about future actions. Driver 2: More fluid activism
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Driver 3: Growth of new technologies
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Driver 4: ‘Professionalisation’ of campaigning
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Driver 5: Increase in competition and coalitions
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Driver 6: Marginalisation of dissent
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
This process is covered in depth in How much time do you have
Looking Out: A practical guide to planning to consider these further?
for a changing environment but the If you’re short of time, pick the one or
following questions will get you started. two which are the most important for
Why not consider them with colleagues your organisation. If you have more
or with your trustees? time, consider more.
34 Future Focus 7 Future Focus 7 35
So what?
Strategic opportunities Thinking about
and challenges your stakeholders
You may already have started to jot down ideas Stakeholders are those who have an interest in
about what these drivers will mean for your what you do. Don’t forget to consider how these
organisation in the future. We suggest you develop drivers may impact on them, and how this may
these ideas a little more, perhaps by drawing up then influence your relationships.
a table like the one below.
Once you’ve understood what the future could Why not develop some ideas and
options for these different types of
look like, you can identify actions that you can take opportunities? You could draw up a
table like the one below.
which will maximise opportunities and minimise the
negative effect of risks and challenges. It can be
helpful to think about three kinds of opportunity:
This example sets out the actions an organisation More 4 the Community (M4C) is a
community centre in Morecambe that
M4C has two full-time and two part-
time members of staff who run and
takes in response to these drivers to help put it campaigns on local issues to enhance administer the community centre,
the well-being of vulnerable groups but their campaigns are mainly driven
on a stronger footing in the years to come. This in the area. They have run a number by a core group of volunteers. They
organisation is fictional, but its story is based on of campaigns which range from also have other volunteers that become
lobbying the council to install better involved depending on the cause.
anecdotal experiences from real VCOs. street lighting in an area where older They receive a small amount of
residents live, to promoting better use funding from the local authority and
of contraception amongst teenagers. a grant-making foundation to support
Some of their campaigns are more their core staff but most of their
successful than others, often campaigns are run with no funding
depending on the cause. and are volunteer-led. Their latest
campaign is for the installation of
CCTV cameras in an area where
groups of young people have been
fighting, some with knives.
• Fluid activism: M4C is finding that • New technologies: One of the • Professionalisation: Some of • Coalitions: M4C contacts other
volunteers are getting involved for activists is keen on getting the M4C’s previous campaigns have local organisations with an interest in
shorter periods of time than in the campaign online as a way of raising not been successful but they are not combating gang fighting to increase
past, usually just for one campaign, its profile and getting more people sure why. So they seek advice from credibility and gain support, and many
and even dipping in and out as the involved. M4C’s manager is resistant their local CVS, which has recently of them sign up. The national body
campaign progresses. However, at first because she is worried that developed new campaigning tools that campaigns on knife crime also
more people are getting involved in they may lose control of the campaign thanks to investment in capacity decides to support the campaign
some way than 10 years ago, and that people may make comments building and new National which receives a lot of positive
especially online. that reflect badly on the organisation. Occupational Standards (NOS) coverage from local councillors
However, their blog and presence on for campaigning. Some of the and media. Getting a local celebrity
Facebook and other social networking activists are resistant, seeing this to endorse the campaign raises the
sites brings in a huge amount of as bureaucracy and are hurt by what profile significantly as it receives more
support as well as local press they perceive as a suggestion that press coverage but the celebrity
coverage, and the activist maintaining they cannot be effective because starts to receive more credit for
it is careful to counter or remove any they are not paid campaigners. progress of the campaign than
inflammatory comments. M4C also However, some of the methods they M4C and this changes the campaign’s
set up an online petition which many start using have immediate effect focus. This damages the morale of
young people forward to their and they become more positive the volunteers and the organisation
peers. Although there are many about the use of such resources. struggles to recruit more supporters.
more signatures than campaign
volunteers, the petition allows them
to recruit some young people who
know the groups that are fighting.
If you would like to be kept informed about the Future Focus series, please
email your details to: futurefocus@ncvo-vol.org.uk
44 Future Focus 7 Future Focus 7 45
The Future
Focus series
National Council for Voluntary Organisations National Council for Voluntary Organisations National Council for Voluntary Organisations National Council for Voluntary Organisations National Council for Voluntary Organisations National Council for Voluntary Organisations National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Third Sector Foresight Third Sector Foresight Third Sector Foresight Third Sector Foresight Third Sector Foresight Third Sector Foresight Third Sector Foresight
Future Focus Future Focus Future Focus Future Focus Future Focus Future Focus Future Focus
What will our What will our How will we use How is local How are social What will the UK What will campaigning
funding be like volunteers be like new technologies democracy attitudes changing? population be like be like in 5 years’ time?
in five years’ time? in five years’ time? in five years’ time? changing? in 5 years’ time?
1 2 3 4 5 6 Future Focus 6
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