BASIC ISSUE DEVELOPMENT FOR ORGANIZERS
Download Free Basic Issue Development for Organizers.pdf This document is intended to help organizers be more comfortable with the ways ACORN thinks about the most common and most important issues you will hear on the doors. If you are clearer about what is within the realm of the possible and how it can be achieved, you will be more confident and effective in your organizing. Remember, most anything is possible, because it’s all a function of power, but its necessary to have a good practical and political analysis that guides issue development at the local group level.
Issue development is the process of taking a problem and turning into an issue – a matter that can be acted upon that has a clear target and demand. Remember that in every rap on the doors, you are developing an issue and coming out of the interview section (Section II) with an action proposal, which is essentially a developed issue with a clear target and demand. You then build a vision around how the member can achieve the power to win the issue as framed, and sign em up! This document is intended to help you imagine the possibilities in your rap as you encounter issues. It is broken down by issue area with some concrete ideas of what ACORN can do to win on the particular issue.
If we’re organizing to address speeding on one block, or basically want to treat this as a quick hit, then we can demand speed bumps for a block. Typically, we will have already beaten the crap out of the City on speeding for a while, so they will have set up a mechanism by which blocks can get speed bumps, based upon an annual allocation of funds per Council district. Typically, we’ll need to circulate a petition, and then the City will do a feasibility check (make sure the street isn’t a major throroughfare or isn’t too short). We can also do follow up quick hit actions, or do an informational action where we get the speed bump guru to come explain the process to a group of members. Speed bumps typically cost $3000 per, and in many cities, the problem is a huge backlog, so once a block gets approved, it can take 1-3 years to get them. In some ways more interesting than campaigns at one block level would be systemic campaigns to break the speed bump bottleneck.
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