Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education

1) LOCAL AND REGIONAL ORGANIZING (7 staff) Grassroots organizing is the core of who we are and what we do. Low income and communities of color must be actors in the struggle to win systemic change. AGENDA in South Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Alliance in the Silver Lake, Hollywood and Echo Park communities (SHEPMA), are SCOPE?s organizing vehicles through which members and member-leaders are consistently engaged in shaping and driving our local and regional campaigns. 2) RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS (1 staff) Steady research and analysis of the dynamic landscape within which we operate and attempt to effect change is critical to targeting and maximizing our resources. SCOPE?s Research Department delivers cutting edge information in support of our policy campaigns, and incorporates analyses and findings into our popular education and organizing strategies. 3) TRAINING AND POLICY EDUCATION (1 staff) Training and Policy Education (TPE) reflects a major aspect of our contribution to movement building as we increase the capacities of other organizations and alliances working with poor and disadvantaged communities. The TPE training curriculum is based on SCOPE?s 14-year history and experience in community organizing, leadership development, electoral and policy campaigns, and capacity building. Our curricula includes: Power Analysis, Basic and Advanced Community Organizing, Civic Participation Strategies and Programs, Coalition and Alliance-Building, Public Policy Advocacy Campaigns, GIS Mapping and Strategic Planning. SCOPE?s training services and products earn income to financially support the organization and diversify our funding base. 4) STATE AND NATIONAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES (5 staff) Structural barriers to SCOPE?s mission and goals extend beyond our immediate context to policy and decision making at state and national scales. California?s eroding tax base and federal policies that emphasize military over domestic spending, for example, aggravate conditions in communities already plagued by cruel poverty and disinvestment. To challenge these trends, SCOPE has incubated, provided fiscal sponsorship for, and led the formation of the California State Alliance and the Pushback Network ? state and federal strategies, respectively, designed to win progressive public policy and increase participatory democracy by those pushed to the political margins. SCOPE?s best practices and methodologies, particularly in the areas of civic and voter engagement, serve as models for these movements. SCOPE engages in strategic planning and institutional building for both entities and provides training and capacity building assistance to the Alliance?s and Network?s member organizations.