Identifying the strengths of the peace and security community is critical to building momentum for policy change through collaboration. This resource attempts to address a need that emerged during the 2005 annual Peace and Security Legislative Strategy Retreat for basic information to help potential partners more easily find one another. With a better understanding of grassroots activities and interests, stronger relationships can be built between grassroots organizations and other sectors of the community (e.g., think tanks, advocacy organizations, etc.) This map of the community can serve as a tool for efforts to mobilize citizens to action and to create highly effective collaborative campaigns.
What is this resource and where did it come from?
This resource emerged as a next step from the 2005 annual Peace and Security Legislative Strategy Retreat’s working session focused on nuclear weapons and crafting integrated legislative and grassroots campaigns. The Peace and Security Initiative (PSI) took the lead in surveying the peace and security community to identify its assets in mobilizing citizens to action. This resource should provide a better sense of which resources to share across the community, the strengths of the grassroots, and issue specific interest. It is important to note that some of the organizations that responded may not be traditional “grassroots” organizations, but they responded because they believe they can be of help in mobilizing citizens to action.
How can this resource be used?
This resource helps identify individual organizations by specific program issues and by geography. Detailed information is provided to understand the structure and resources of each organization and to identify people within an organization for collaborative efforts. It also provides other sectors with insight into who is interested in resources (e.g., issue briefs, access to experts, etc.) and hopefully will work to enhance coordination across sections of the peace and security community (e.g., think tanks, academics, advocacy organizations, grassroots organizations, media experts, funders). Finally this resource can also be used to develop pathways to new alliances through affiliated networks to other communities of the organizations profiled here.
Click below to access the Grassroots Mapping Resource:
