Reimagining MobLab under collective & accountable leadership
We are proud to announce the launch of the MobLab Collective, now set up as a fully independent non-profit entity!
It has taken us some time and a lot of hard work to get here, but we can finally officially celebrate the beginning of a new chapter in the Mobilisation Lab story with the transition to a non-profit collective of highly experienced, primarily LGBTQIA+, working class, BIPOC, women and gender-nonconforming individuals. We are all committed to centering justice and equity while designing and delivering ‘the MobLab Approach’: people powered and collaborative approaches to systems change.
The MobLab Collective, as we shall now be known, brings together some of the former staff, as well as the social justice facilitators, educators, coaches, and strategists who over the years have designed, shaped and delivered MobLab’s curricula, training, workshops, and coaching. They have kept things running, often from behind the scenes, and delivered strategic programs in service of the community – from the Dispatch to webinars, stories, reports, and peer learning. Through this new collective, MobLab continues to listen, design, and share the resources, events, and materials that will help a wide and diverse network define the future of equity-centered, breakthrough advocacy and campaigning.
Our history
The Mobilisation Lab was born inside Greenpeace International in 2011, and over the course of five years facilitated a massive culture shift across the organisation towards more modern campaigning — from digital tools and tactics including listening and a/b testing, to more creative, nimble and participatory campaigns. Read more about our history and impact at Greenpeace here.
In early 2017, MobLab began the process of becoming fully independent and expanding its mission to serve the wider changemaking community. This new chapter of MobLab was incubated as part of an agreement hosted by CIVICUS, the global alliance of civil society organisations. As the agreement held by CIVICUS came to a close in late 2020, and in moving forward to set up Mobilisation Lab as its own independent entity, those now part of the Collective stepped forward to hold space for the future of our work.
Where MobLab is today represents the passionate commitment of all who have been part of the MobLab network’s fabric of founders and network-builders. Despite the chaos of the pandemic, throughout 2020 and 2021, members of the Collective have continued to offer campaign design workshops and trainings developed over the past years, as well as iterating and developing new offerings in response to the changing context. At the same time, we have been completing vital internal processes to ensure we are in compliance with both, the letter of the law and the spirit of the agreement held with CIVICUS, so that we may confidently accept the transfer of MobLab, with the assurance of a sustainable future ahead.
What's next?
Having satisfactorily completed all governance requirements, the Collective has now received ownership of the Mobilisation Lab assets: most notably our digital properties, and access to the rich community of campaigners, activists, and social change organisations so carefully nurtured over the past years.
We will continue to make past stories, reports, and resources available, while building new content, getting the beloved Dispatch back in your inboxes, and continuing to make sure that you have the community, as well as the skills and support you need to win.
All of us who have been part of building the MobLab Collective are proud that the future of campaigning will build on the efforts of the many people who have contributed to the work of the Mobilisation Lab over the last few years, particularly the many NGOs, activists and campaigners whose faith and trust gave us the power to innovate and challenge campaigning practices and cultures.
We are excited to connect again and to collaborate, learn and build power with you. Get in touch if you are looking for training, facilitation, coaching or strategic support, if you want to collaborate, or just want to reconnect! We’re on email, twitter, facebook, and linkedin and if you haven’t yet – do sign up to the Dispatch which will be back in inboxes very soon!
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