What Does an Organizer Need to Know?

Excerpted from Listening-Building-Making Change: Job Profile of a Community Organizer, this shorter companion report highlights what organizers could gain from an educational program, in addition to what they need to learn on the job. This included: organizing theory, history of social movements, examples of specific organizing efforts, strategy and how to build a strategic analysis, methods of participatory education, civics and levels of government, communication skills, and time management and organizational skills. Sneak preview – “History and theoretical background to what community organizers do is very important because it gives you a grounding in what others have tried before and what informs the current situation that people find themselves in.”