Practical Issues in Forming an Organisation and Mounting a Campaign

Abstract

In the previous chapter we looked at the formation of client support groups as a precursor to formal organisations dedicated to a programme of social action. In this chapter we turn our attention to the practicalities involved in building the organisation and mounting the campaign. In moving from support group to lobby group, a client group will need to take account of at least four basic considerations: (a) how to plan and market its ideas; (b) how to formalise the organisation; (c) how to obtain resources; and (d) how to lobby decision-makers. Although we will discuss each of these issues in turn, it is worth stating at the outset that community organisation of this kind does not progress neatly from one step to the next, and activity often proceeds on all four fronts at once.