Resiliency+ Roundup July
July 10, 2020
To weather uncertainty and change, civil society organizations need to cultivate resiliency in their systems, staff, and strategies.
PartnersGlobal’s Resiliency+ Framework helps civil society organizations identify the external threats and internal vulnerabilities impeding them from implementing resilient operations and offers strategies, tactics, and tools to build resiliency around 7 key factors.
Check out what we’ve been reading recently, organized by our R+ factors.
Adaptive Capacity
Check out Anne Janzer’s interview with writer and global citizen April Rinn, who discusses the concept of a “flux mindset” and why it is so critically needed in this current moment.
In “Scenario planning for beginners: two methods and some options,” Dave Algoso offers a couple tools and guidelines for any organization engaging in a scenario planning process.
Business Acumen
Freedom House released a new advocacy toolkit for CSOs operating in restrictive environments as part of the Lifeline Embattled CSO Assistance Funds – an emergency fund that provides urgent financial assistance to civil society organizations (CSOs) under threat or attack and rapid response advocacy and resiliency grants to support CSOs in responding to broader threats against civic space. Check out the toolkit HERE.
In “Nonprofit Innovation for a Post-Crisis Future,” Nithin Iyengar and Reilly Kiernan share four principles to help nonprofits continue to generate new ideas and solutions to challenges they are confronting in times of crisis.
Connectedness
In 2017, Visible Network Labs spoke with Katie Edwards of the Nonprofit Centers Network about how to spark new connections and relationships within networks. Check out the recorded webinar HERE.
Curtis Ogden argues that now is the time to cultivate network literacy and strength to understand systems-as-networks in “Bringing a Network Theory Perspective to These Times.” He posits one must focus on those dynamics that support the self-renewing (regenerative) and saluto-genic (health promoting) capacities of networks so that they evolve and adapt to disturbances in their environment.
Legitimacy
Independent Sector, in partnership with Edelman Intelligence, recently released the Trust in Civil Society: Understanding the Factors Driving Trust in Nonprofits and Philanthropy report which explores the nuances of trust in American nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.
Check out the West African Civil Society Institute’s second edition of the Social Accountability Guidebook for CSOs, which presents case studies of social accountability initiatives from the West African region and contributes to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the concept of social accountability, its potential for strengthening accountability in the region, and the challenges that may be encountered in implementing social accountability initiatives in the West African Context.
Narrative Competency
Narrative Power and Collective Action’ is a new publication from Oxfam and On Think Tanks based on a series of conversations with people across different sectors and disciplines – from activists and strategists to scientists and marketers – to learn about their work in the narrative change space.
Check out the recording of a recent conversation, “Narrative + COVID-19 + Uprisings + The Future: The Role of Narrative in Building a More Just Society” to learn more about a definitional framework for understanding the difference between narrative strategy and messaging, as well as why the distinction matters.
Resiliency Ethos
In “Why ‘digital’ is not separate from organisational resilience,” Cassie Robinson argues “You can’t be a resilient organisation in 2020 and going into the future if you aren’t ‘digital.’ Digital is something you are, not something you do.”
Ari Honarvar reflects on his experience growing up in Iran during the Iraq-Iran war in his piece, “When savoring a pleasant moment is a radical act” and posits that in times of crisis, we must “infect each other with love and fortifying stories.”
Situational Awareness
Blueprints for Change developed the following guide, “Systems thinking for campaigning and organizing,” which looks at systems practice as an overarching approach to help campaigns and organising strategies be more effective at driving systems change.
In “Sensemaking 101: tips for improving your sensemaking in a time of confusion,” Phoebe Tickell offers ten tips for anyone trying to make sense of new information they receive, how to evaluate it in their own context, and determine what it means for the world around them and for their work.