Community
Mapping
&
Power
Analysis
Wellstone Action
Community Mapping
→ Tool to assess community
resources and networks
Power Mapping
→ Tool to analyze power
relationships around an
issue or agenda (more on this later)
Wellstone Action
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What we learn from each
• Community Mapping
– Learn more about our community
– Identify resources and community assets
– Develop lists of key contacts/social networks
– Help prioritize and focus outreach
• Power Mapping (more later)
– Analyze current power relationships
– Help determine who/what you need to win
– Help formulate strategy to move a target
Wellstone Action
Community Mapping
Step 1: What defines and shapes
your community?
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Culture & Language
Public Institutions/Agencies
Shared Stories/History/Tradition
Community Groups
Informal Networks
Impacted by a demographic, economic and social environment.
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Public Sector
Institutions
• Health Care
• Social Services
• Schools
Service Organizations
• Health care services
• Housing services
• Immigrant services
• Issue advocacy groups
• Food shelves/shelters
• Counseling centers
• Senior support
• Family support
• Child care/development
• Crisis intervention
• Police/Justice
• Politicians
Private
Businesses
• Hospitals
• Key employers
• Banks
• Developers
• Manufacturing
• Retail
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Our Community
Informal
Networks
Community Organizations/Associations
• Religious institutions
• Cultural organizations
• Unions
• Business associations
• Neighborhood groups
• Youth organizations
• Mutual support groups
• Sports leagues
• Fraternal organizations
• Anti-tax/govt. groups
• By culture
• By activity
• By geography
• By unique skill
• By service
What does your community
look like? What does it face?
• Demographics
– Age
– Income
– Family status
• Socio-Economic
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–
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Public service funding
Community public infrastructure (e.g. parks, transportation, schools...)
Crime
Health/health care issues/access
Racial relationships
Age and condition of housing stock
Wellstone Action
Community Mapping
Step 2: Narrow your scope and keep
in mind:
• Why am I collecting this
information?
• What do I want to use it for?
Hint: Community mapping can be very involved and time
consuming. It is helpful to narrow your scope to the task at
hand – e.g. a specific geography or issue focus. It should
be an ongoing process that evolves as you learn the
community.
Wellstone Action
Finding potential allies
Other Potential Allies
Other Stakeholders
Core
Constituencies
Wellstone Action
Community Mapping
Step 3: Reach out and inventory
community assets and resources
• Identify capacity: resources/assets
• Determine interest
• Identify relationships with other
groups/parties
Wellstone Action
What are
Community Assets?
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Person
Infrastructure
Business
Financial
Expert knowledge
Relationships or access
Wellstone Action
Our Organizing Challenge:
Our challenge as organizers is to
connect the interests of community
members and groups with our
campaign.
Only if the community sees our
campaign as their campaign and in
their interest will their resources be
made available to build the power
needed to pass our shared agenda.
Wellstone Action
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Summary: Key Points
• Every issue has at least one
opinion leader
• Every agenda affects at least
one stakeholder
• Every organization has at least
one gatekeeper
Mapping helps identify them,
so we can reach out to them.
Wellstone Action
Developing Strategic
Issue Campaigns
Building Power to
Win on Our
Issues
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Why plan?
• Provides focus and direction –
people know where they are going
• Uses resources and people
efficiently
• Establishes benchmarks
– Creates accountability
– Know if you are winning
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Step by Step
Strategic Planning
• Step 1: Establish clear goals
• Step 2: Power Analysis
• Identify key players
• Assess strength: yours and your opposition
• Develop a strategy to move targets
• Step 3: Put together plan
• Message, Tactics, Resources, Timeline
Wellstone Action
Overall Strategic Goal
• This is your overall “victory” goal
• Be concrete about the issue or
problem to be solved? (Hint: this
is harder than you think)
• Be concrete and specific in
order to identify a solution.
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SWOT Analysis
• What’s your capacity?
(Organization or coalition)
Strengths
Weaknesses
• What is the political environment
you are operating in?
Opportunities
Threats
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Strategy
• Your strategy is a general plan for
building your power to achieve your
goals.
• Your assessment of existing power
relationships determines what you
will need to do to rearrange them.
Wellstone Action
Who do we need
&
What do we need to do
to win?
Wellstone Action
Power
Analysis &
Mapping
This is a powerful tool to analyze
power relationships and help
develop a strategy for winning.
Wellstone Action
Definitions:
Decision-makers
=
The people/groups who can
actually make the decisions to
change or resolve the problem,
not the people who can influence
the process
Organized Allies
=
Organized groups who support
our agenda
Organized Opposition
=
Organized groups who oppose
our agenda
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TARGETS
Primary Targets
=
The people/groups who can actually make the
decisions to change or resolve the problem.
Secondary Targets
=
The people/groups who can influence the decision makers
Wellstone Action
Power Map
10
Decisive
Decision
making Power
or Influence
8
Active
Participant in
Decisionmaking
Amount of
Power
6
Power to have
Major
Influence on
decisionmaking
4
Taken
into
Account
Position or
Perspective
on our
Agenda
3
Can Get
Attention
1
Not on
Radar
Die Hard Support
Active Support Inclined Towards
Wellstone Action
Inclined Against
Active Against
Die Hard Against
Key Influencers
• Who do the decision makers
listen to? Who has influence
over them?
• Note: This often requires people
who know the decision makers
and the process, or additional
research.
Wellstone Action
Next Steps
Using the map we have picked our targeted
decision makers, developed a strategy for
winning, and identified the key members of
our coalition.
Now we need to develop our message and
write our plan, which will outline the
activities we will deploy to demonstrate our
power to the targeted decision makers, and
assign responsibilities and a timeline with
deadlines for action and outreach.
Wellstone Action
Key Messages
• Who is your audience?
– Your message must be in a language that
makes sense to your audience
• What is the vision you are
communicating?
• Develop an overall campaign
message
– What are 2-3 specific talking points to emphasize
with different audiences
Wellstone Action
Putting it all in a plan
Who
will do
What
to
Whom
When
for
How
much?
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Assign who is responsible
The most effective activities and actions
to demonstrate and leverage our power
Key decision makers and outreach
targets
A timeline for the campaign with each
action and activity
How many resources – time, people,
and money – will it take?