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Tools

Training Tools Publications Resource Links

Below is our toolbox of tool topics. Click to reveal tools that correspond with the categories you select.

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Upside-Down Triangle: Understanding the Consent Theory of Power

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionDiversity & Anti-Oppression iconDiversity & Anti-OppressionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & StrategyTraining Fundamentals iconTraining Fundamentals
By themselves, rulers cannot collect taxes, enforce repressive laws and regulations, keep trains running on time, prepare national budgets, direct traffic, manage ports, print money, repair roads, keep markets supplied with food, make steel, build rockets, train the police and army, issue postage stamps or even milk a cow. People provide these services to the ruler though a variety of organizations and institutions. If people would stop providing these skills, the ruler could not rule. - Gene Sharp, The Politics of Nonviolent Action
Type :Training Tool
Language :EnglishSpanish

Parallel Lines

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionDiversity & Anti-Oppression iconDiversity & Anti-OppressionMeeting Facilitation iconMeeting FacilitationTeam Building iconTeam Building
A quick tool for skill-building and practice, where everyone is involved. It's an elegant role-play format, one of our favorites, known as parallel lines (sometimes referred to as "hassle lines").
Type :Training Tool
Language :English
Workshop :Training for Social Action Trainers

Líneas paralelas

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionDiversity & Anti-Oppression iconDiversity & Anti-OppressionMeeting Facilitation iconMeeting Facilitation
• desarrollar la habilidad de realizar actividades diferentes (tal como recabar fondos) • otorgar una nueva experiencia a los participantes (tal como la intervención no violenta)
Type :Training Tool
Language :Spanish
Workshop :Training for Social Action Trainers

Spectrum of Allies

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & StrategyTeam Building iconTeam BuildingTraining Fundamentals iconTraining Fundamentals
This approach to strategizing serves bottom-up preferences in building social movements. In Starhawk's terms, it serves power-with rather than power-over, and is inherently democratic.
Type :Training Tool
Language :EnglishSpanish
Translation Priority :Optional

From Tactics to Strategy

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & StrategyTeam Building iconTeam Building
A tool to connect many activists favorite topic -- tactics -- with larger questions of strategy. It uses tactical thinking to help connect to larger frameworks for social change.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English
Translation Priority :Optional

Macro-Strategy Tug of War

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & StrategyTeam Building iconTeam Building
A physical strategy tool: to assist groups in understanding more deeply the internal and external forces that impact their organization's success.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Strategy in an Hour!

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & StrategyTeam Building iconTeam Building
"Strategy -- in the face of impending war, financial crises, time crunch, staff changes or despair -- is impossible." Well, I don't think that's true, but certainly lots of us do carry that belief! So here's a one-hour tool that I've used when all of those factors were true! -- maybe it can work for you and your group, too.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English
Translation Priority :Optional

Banner Making for Activists 101

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect Action
In demonstrations, vigils and anywhere else you are making a public statement, banners are terrifically useful. They tell who you are and either graphically or by their presence in a place, declare your intent. They also help you get a group together in a large gathering, or focus the TV cameras, as well as catching the eye of other, related groups that may want to associate themselves with you.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Sustaining Self-Care: a tool for personal awareness

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionDiversity & Anti-Oppression iconDiversity & Anti-OppressionTeam Building iconTeam Building
This tool is support participants in increasing their awareness around their own self care practices
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Review of Activities

Topic:3rd Party Nonviolent Intervention icon3rd Party Nonviolent InterventionDe-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
Activists know to act. But they may not create the space to reflect. Reflection without action is impotent; but action without reflection is aimless. This tool gives participants a structured way to review “what they have been up to” – it’s a great intro to sessions on strategy, a simple tool, and a great way to catch themes carrying a group. Place this tool early in a strategy workshop to get a diagnostic read on the issues and struggles in the group.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Village Game

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
This simulation/exercise serves to build community and give groups an experience of nonviolent action. Participants report it as a powerful tool to help them understand more fully the challenge and strategy of nonviolent action.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English
Workshop :Creative Workshop Design

Voice Barometer

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect Action
A political group we work with has a slogan, "Speak up before your silence is misunderstood." This tool gives participants a chance to practice confidence-building skills, especially concerning voice. It is easy to lead and we've had great success every time we lead it. A great tool to counter voicelessness!
Type :Training Tool
Language :EnglishSpanish

Nonviolence Sociograms

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect Action
An updated version of the commonly used "nonviolence spectrums." Use this tool to help a group looks at its diversity of opinion on issues related to nonviolence along with see unexpected commonalities and similarities.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Quick Decisions

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionMeeting Facilitation iconMeeting FacilitationOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & StrategyTeam Building iconTeam Building
A classic nonviolent training tool: quick decisions. In one minute, groups are challenged to reach a decision of an action to take based on some situation. Great for action basic workshops, consensus training, and affinity group preparation.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Nonviolent Responses to Terrorism: a strategy game

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionTeam Building iconTeam Building
This strategy game explores ways of navigating difficult scenarios and gain perspective from multiple angles of an issue through a fictional country Eslandia, whose economy is faltering, ethnic tensions are high and terrorism is on the rise.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

How to Lead Roleplays

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionDiversity & Anti-Oppression iconDiversity & Anti-OppressionMeeting Facilitation iconMeeting FacilitationTeam Building iconTeam Building
A roleplay is an improvised dramatic enactment of a problem situation in order to find new and creative ways to respond. This may be done in preparation for an anticipated situation or for evaluating a past one.
Type :Training Tool
Language :EnglishSpanish

Action Storming

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
Here’s a chance to stretch and practice creating new actions or tactics for your organization. It is about creativity. It can also be a chance to apply strategy lessons taught in earlier activities.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Fishbowl Observation Challenge

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionDiversity & Anti-Oppression iconDiversity & Anti-OppressionMeeting Facilitation iconMeeting FacilitationOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
A tool to assist people to notice more in the midst of conflict. Great practice for training observers, protestors, and anyone wanting to help people practice staying aware in the middle of conflicts.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

How to Facilitate Street Speaking

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
Street Speaking takes participants out of the training space and into the street to make a real time soap-box style public speech! In it we face our fears and practice the art of public speaking.
Type :Training Tool
Language :EnglishSpanish
Translation Priority :Optional

Moving Your Allies

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
This exercise is meant as a follow-up to the Spectrum of Allies exercise. We develop arguments and one specific request to move a given constituency one wedge over to our side. We then roleplay the interaction.
Type :Training Tool
Language :EnglishSpanish

Finding Tactics that Matter

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
Here is a way to bring out unreflected wisdom about what makes actions effective. Depending on your goals, you may have your own generalization pieces of theory, but a great winner to help kick-start people thinking innovatively about tactics.
Type :Training Tool
Language :EnglishSpanish

Fishbowl, Panel and Speak-Outs: Three Listening Exercises

Topic:De-escalation & Peacekeeping iconDe-escalation & PeacekeepingDirect Action iconDirect ActionDiversity & Anti-Oppression iconDiversity & Anti-OppressionMeeting Facilitation iconMeeting FacilitationOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
Three related tools to help any group interact with its own margin. A good workshop provides opportunities for mainstream people to get new information about margins, in a way that goes below the surface and involves the emotional learning channel. The expectation is that, by highlighting the experience of a few margins in a dramatic way, participants will learn that they need to become pro-active in order to be fair with people on the margins. Similarly, the experience of powerfully speaking often increases the margins' self-confidence and clarity.
Type :Training Tool
Language :English

Into the Streets! Training as a Tactic

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
A roadblock in our campaign provided just the opportunity to innovate a new tactic to boost our confidence with arrestable actions and create a strong push-back on our opponents. What did we come up with? A public civil disobedience training – a training that we took to the streets and used as a tactic.
Type :Article
Language :English

Training after Tough News

Topic:Direct Action iconDirect ActionOrganizing & Strategy iconOrganizing & Strategy
Recent events, from major political set-backs to police violence against Black civilians and Indigenous water protectors at Standing Rock, have many of us on the left having to absorb the shock of hard news on an all-too-regular basis. As movement trainers, educators and organizers, it’s our job to help groups build up their skill and resiliency for weathering these moments.
Type :Article
Language :English

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