Titus Alexander
Freelance campaign coach, trainer, educator & author of Practical Politics: Lessons in Power & Democracy; Unravelling Global Apartheid; Family Learning: Foundations of Effective Education
Location Kings Langley, north of Watford, UK
Activity
-
@SaraTchoryk - it simply means looking for the systemic relationships in the situation: feedback loops, dependencies etc. Email me titus@democracymatters.info for more
-
Too true: I heard David Blunkett, former Labour minister, express anguish at the many things he had set up in government only to see them dismantled or diminished by the next government. But the lesson he gave was to persist, not to give up, and learn how to make change more durable in future.
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
I’ve been away for two weeks, then had to send my computer to be repaired, so I’m only just catching up in the last few days and am sorry to have missed the conversations, but I will follow up afterwards.
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
The “one line amendment” to a Bill in Parliament can be an effective way to get attention and support for an issue: in the early 1990s I proposed the “Parents’ Amendment” to successive Education Bills, “to support parents as a child’s first and most enduring educators” and built cross-party support for it - then in 1997 the new Labour Government supported the...
-
Titus Alexander replied to Susannah H
I’ve also organised productive ‘lunch & learn’ sessions for people to share experiences & ideas, and also been pat of “community lunches” in a London borough, where different agencies organised a lunch once a month, with a speaker & facilitated networking time. Very productive, stimulating lots of connections and actions at a local level.
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
My 3rd audience is educators, for whom I wrote a book on teaching practical politcs
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
To promote education for practical politics 3 audiences & messages:
1. NGOs & Change agencies
Head: we need more people with the skills, knowledge & commitment to solve problems, as well as wider public understanding & support for our role as change agencies; the more people who have political skills, the more effective we can be in achieving our mission; we... -
The publication of gender pay gaps informed & enabled countless local campaigns within organisations to seek practical measures to close the gap. Good information can be a powerful tool for change
-
To create systemic change you need to understand the systems at work and how and where to intervene - sometimes it may involve an intervention targeted at a powerful individual or agency, through an inside track; sometimes it involves making a lot of noise to get your issue onto the agenda It all depends what stage your campaign is at (see...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
I’m interested in enabling people to develop their power to work with others to give everyone greater power over their lives from within – i.e. to use all 4 expressions of power to create a better world. I’m therefore particularly interested in the institutional power of education, which has the potential to give more people the confident, skills and...
-
Titus Alexander replied to Susannah H
@SusannahH, one of the best ways to learn more about influencing people with power is to teach and practice it. As leader of a university staff network you could work with your colleagues to bring even small lessons about power and influence into any subject taught at your university, as described in my book Practical Politics: Lessons in Power and Democracy...
-
Titus Alexander replied to Titus Alexander
To add a point: overwhelming physical, military or monetary power does not guarantee the ability to get the outcome you want - the US coalition against Saddam Hussein had immense force, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, but failed to achieve its objective and probably reduced US power as a result. Everyone has power to analyse their situation and use...
-
Titus Alexander replied to Sabine Delhaise
Stories work at all levels of society - from the myths and narratives societies tell themselves ("American Dream", "punching above our weight", rainbow nation) and political narratives ("Make America Great Again"), to organisational, family & personal stories. One definition of community I've heard is "people who share common stories" - it usually refers to...
-
Titus Alexander replied to Shagota Chisim
Thank you Shagota,
This is so true: good intentions can make us "accidental diminishers" - Liz Wizeman wrote a useful book on this called "Multipliers: How the best leaders make everyone smarter" - see TED talks: https://youtu.be/HxLlgBATjpI
https://youtu.be/GN1V8Y_kOEI -
Titus Alexander replied to Shruti Patel
Thanks Shruti,
when people are genuinely interested and want to listen, they share and also increase the power of those who are heard. Organisations that really listen are also more likely to improve and increase their effectiveness, hence their power in the world. -
Titus Alexander replied to Dalia Saravia
The power to heal is wonderful. It gives people life, hope & more possibilities. Health centres, services and health promotion spread the power of healthy living more widely. Thanks Dalia
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
I agree that all change is about renegotiating & redistributing power, but we need to focus on the creation & use of social power: power is not a finite resource, but created by people through action and organisation, which is constantly changing at every level. Most power is embedded in social systems, which are designed to give groups or individuals...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
I like the definition of power in Joseph Nye's book Soft Power (2004): ability to get the outcome one wants. Eg a parable: the sun, wind, rain & thunder argue about who has most powerful and suggest a test: whoever can get the coat off a man walking in a field is strongest. Rain, wind & thunder drench, lash and buffet him, but he just holds the coat tighter....
-
It is a heuristic rather than a mathematical formula, to guide questions rather than calculate a precise outcome. Assessing the value of each each variable is therefore a matter of judgement: how great is the dissatisfaction? How clear is the vision? Are there small steps people can take towards the vision? - If one of these is missing, then the change you...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
My change goal is that every education institution offers at least an introduction to skills for democracy and social change, so that all citizens develop confidence, abilities & knowledge to tackle social and political problems if they wish, & education for practical politics is as widespread as business studies.
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
There are so many inspiring examples of people creating change - going back into history, cooperatives grew from 28 weavers in Rochdale in 1844 to a world-wide movement; labour movements which established many basic working conditions & public services through industrial action & political power; Citizen's UK campaign for the Living Wage; and today the school...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
Case studies too brief & context specific to inform me on making change happen in my context & issue. More useful to study changes analogous to what you want, if possible from your context, & look at research into effectiveness & success factors for the kind of change you want. E.G, behaviour change, like the young people wanting to reduce partner violence,...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
I like to add an "S" to PESTLE, for Systms
-
Have you heard of the “Gleicher Formula” - D x V x F > R?
This model describes conditions necessary for change and can gives you a quick, first impression of the possibilities and conditions to change an organization (or society), where:
D = dissatisfaction with the status quo
V = vision of a positive future state
F = first steps to achieve the vision
R... -
Titus Alexander made a comment
Thank you
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
The Law of Unintended Consequences is one of the most universal. Getting a deep understanding of what's happening, plotting all possible consequences and talking with people (as other contributors have said), is therefore essential. Even then you have to test, try things out and adjust in response to results. Many of our biggest social and political changes...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
See my comment in previous step.
It is also worth asking why millions of sexual assaults did not create #MeToo moments, and why most people put up with bad stuff happening?
Some interesting research, called System Justification Theory, suggests that people who feel powerless do not question or challenge social conditions because accepting the world as it is... -
Titus Alexander made a comment
A spark or incident often motivates people to seek change, but it rarely gets far without enabling factors, such as:
- encouragement & support (it may only be one other person at first);
- contacts, network or organisation to spread the message;
- an achievable objective or first step, which gives people hope that change is possible & action will be... -
Titus Alexander made a comment
The change I would like is that education for democracy becomes a basic skill for all citizens, so that everyone can develop the confidence, knowledge, skills and contacts to bring about social change. Most people can see things wrong about the world, or have ideas about how things could be better, but feel powerless to act. Yet with encouragement and support...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
This outline has an implicit model of activism & collective action. It has a role, & sometimes is the best way to bring about collective change. But many mass movements fail, like the miners’ strike, Countryside Alliance and protests against the Iraq wars in the UK. Some passionate, determined committed activists strengthen their opponents & teach them how to...
-
Hi Duncan, I am currently running my first campaign apprenticeship with trade unionists. Individuals in employment can apply and be funded from the Apprenticeship Levy: http://bit.ly/2EIZkI6 - I would be very happy to develop with other charities, such as Oxfam. It is a challenge addressing both the conventional Leadership & Management criteria and campaigning...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
What’s missing from this list is analysis: it is like looking at a changing landscape without understanding the seasons, ecology, agriculture, tourism, land tenure and other systems that affect it. Which analyses you need depends on your priorities. Often you need several – how does ecology interact with farming, food markets, finance and politics. ...
-
Titus Alexander replied to Liz C
Apartheid South Africa was in many respects a microcosm of the world as it still is, except discrimination is based on national citizenship rather than racial identity, and global inequality is much greater than between black and white in South Africa. Walls, fences & barriers around the West, on the Mexican border, in Ceuta and the Mediterranean, are enforced...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
CONTINUED FROM BELOW (PART 3): In some parts of the world standing up for change can be brutally crushed, as at Tienanmen Square in 1989, or Egypt, Syria or Sudan more recently.
Self-awareness therefore needs to include an understanding of your particular social systems and cultures, which vary according to time, place and position in society (which may be... -
Titus Alexander made a comment
CONTINUED FROM BELOW (PART 2): We also need to be aware of systems of power, privilege and identity which create immense barriers between us: eg the Global Passport Index shows inequality in freedom of movement for citizens, with much of Africa and the Middle East at the bottom, and Western citizens at the top (https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php)....
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
English was not my first language, so I was taunted at primary school, but being seen as different helped me see how much people have in common in all our diversity. I remember feeling powerless in relation to my Dad, Kindergarten and teachers, but discovered a sense of power being naughty with friends, creating dens, playing pranks, running away and following...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
Great to read about people’s passions and projects. I am currently piloting an apprenticeship in campaigning, funded by the Apprenticeship Levy. For many years I worked with local communities, creating a resources centre, neighbourhood associations, cycle lanes, anti-racism campaigns and many other initiatives. But people often felt they were beating their...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
Great to read about people's passions and projects. I am currently piloting an apprenticeship in campaigning in England, funded through the Apprenticeship Levy. For many years I worked with grassroots communities in England, creating a community resource centre, neighbourhood associations, disability access, childcare, cycle lanes and many other projects (some...
-
Titus Alexander made a comment
Hi,
The key point I took from this is that this course is a big commitment – and so is making change. I've worked on many campaigns, on climate change, global governance (launching Charter 99, which led to a 10-year global accountability project), family learning (which changed UK national and local policy & provision), and many local campaigns. But my...
