Stepping Into Action

Citizen Agency and Voice

Common Agenda

ACTIVATE

Citizen Agency and Voice

One of the ways to encourage and support citizen voice and agency is to create a more enabling environment within the ‘top-down’ authorising environment, which is often experienced as disconnected and disabling.

This section will give you access to resources that will help you work with constituencies outside the authorising environment, to empower them to understand how the state works in practice and the different ways in which state power can be challenged and engaged. This section will also give you the necessary tools to work within the authorising environment to ‘disrupt’ the silos and hierarchies, and the command and control attitudes and behaviours that inhibit citizen voice and agency.

The resources provided are divided into several key areas:

  • Engagement Beyond Traditional Boundaries: The resources aim to facilitate interaction with constituencies outside the conventional authorising environment, empowering them to understand how the state operates and how to challenge and influence state power.
  • Tools for Collaboration and Conflict Resolution: Strategies such as the “Connect, communicate, collaborate (3Cs)” approach and the “Confronting and collaboration” framework offer methods for building relationships, fostering open dialogue, and addressing conflicts constructively among stakeholders.
  • Creating Inclusive Spaces: Frameworks like the “Creating an enabling environment” emphasise the importance of identifying and dismantling structural barriers that hinder citizen participation and agency, promoting inclusivity and diversity in decision-making processes.
  • Navigating Complex Environments: Insights from the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach provide practical guidance for navigating intricate political and institutional landscapes, advocating for change through iterative problem-solving and adaptation.
  • Amplifying Impact: Strategies for scaling impact offer guidance on extending the reach and influence of grassroots initiatives and advocacy efforts by leveraging networks, resources, and partnerships to drive broader systemic change.

Resources

Tools


Places to Intervene in a System

Four Ways to Deal with Problematic Situations

Building a Common Agenda

Creating a Common Agenda

Place-based Approaches

Place Based Framework

Videos