Sharing knowledge and developing skills

17 February 2010

Late last year I received a Winston Churchill Fellowship to look at the way bicycle advocacy is undertaken in the UK and North America. The Fellowship allows Australians to learn from organisations and individuals based overseas and bring that knowledge back home and share it with as many people as possible. My personal interest in this subject comes from my involvement with BIKESydney, a bicycle user group based in the City of Sydney local government area.

I chose to look at advocacy organisations that were based in cities that share a similar road use culture to Australia and which had seen significant increases in the number of people choosing bicycles as a form of transport. I was interested to learn about how the organisations operated (their structures, planning, financial management, membership programs and volunteer management) and their strategies (campaigns, lobbying tactics and policy development).

The trip provided me with the opportunity to meet with some really switched on, passionate and knowledgeable people. And I had the chance to see first hand how cities are actively encouraging people to adopt more sustainable ways of moving around.

A comprehensive account of my trip will be available online soon (March 2010). In the meantime, I thought I would share insights from my travels in the upcoming issues of Push On. This issue I’m focussing on advocacy skills development.

What’s it like overseas?

In the UK and USA organisations provide opportunities for volunteer advocates and campaigners to learn from experts and learn from each other.

The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) encourages local volunteer lead groups to share successful campaign tactics in their monthly magazine. The “Local Group News” section of their magazine London Cyclist provides campaign updates and details of local meetings. LCC runs workshops once or twice a year for volunteers which provide networking opportunities and the chance to hear what’s worked and hasn’t worked for local groups.

There is a focus in the USA on the professional development of advocates. Organisations such as the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the Association for Pedestrian and Biking Professionals (APBP), the National Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Centre provide advocates with ongoing training opportunities and access to a wealth of information resources. The skill sets of advocacy and campaigning are well recognised and well regarded – advocates are recognised as having power and influence that is worth harnessing and developing.

I attended APBP’s annual professional development seminar which was held in partnership with the International Walk 21 Conference in New York. The learning opportunities were spread over four days and were presented by high level representatives from government and private industry. The audience was made up of engineers, policy developers, planners, community development staff and advocates. As well as providing in-depth and relevant information, the sessions provided an excellent opportunity to network.

APBP also provide a range of other professional development opportunities for members including: monthly webinars; email discussion lists; a quarterly newsletter; and annual awards that recognise excellent work.

The Alliance for Biking and Walking provides professional development opportunities for cycling and pedestrian advocates. I attended the two-day training course “Winning Campaigns” run by the Alliance in Little Rock Arkansas. The training is run by seasoned campaigners and provides participants with a blueprint for developing campaigns. The Alliance also provides a weekend training session on Membership, mutual aid calls and an excellent online library of resources.

The Alliance provides a grants program which funds programs that broaden the knowledge and skill base of advocates. Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling received $9,600 to develop a handbook to help bicycling advocates understand how to best influence and play a constructive role during the design of new facilities. The manual will help bridge the gap between advocates, successful advocacy, and design engineers and will be available online.

The League of American Bicyclists runs an annual National Bike Summit. The summit provides professional development and lobbying opportunities for participants. The professional development component includes a general session (in 2010 it will set the vision for bicycling for the next decade) and a series of breakout sessions which examine policies, programs and ways to improve the effectiveness of advocacy. The League is expecting up to 1,000 participants this year.

The Pedestrian and Bicycling Information Centre provides training, website development, resource development and research to promote walk and bicycle friendly communities.

Fellow advocates are also working together to provide skill development opportunities. BikeLoudoun in Virginia organised for an advocate with an engineering background from a neighbouring advocacy group to run a workshop to help people make constructive suggestions for change during the design of new road facilities.

What I learned?

• Effective advocates need a variety of skills and that organisations need to identify and foster the skills that help them meet their aims.

• While conferences and training courses are valuable, we shouldn’t overlook opportunities to share our own experiences.

• To help retain our volunteers and improve our effectiveness, BIKESydney could foster a culture of ongoing skill and knowledge development.

• That to strengthen our own organisation and the broader bicycle advocacy community, BIKESydney could develop a series of formal and informal opportunities to exchange knowledge, experiences and ideas.

What’s next?

I hope that as an advocacy community we can work together to create ways to share our experience and knowledge.

BIKESydney is hosting its first Brainstrust session in March. We hope to see you there.

This article has been published on Sydney Cyclist. If it sparks ideas for you please drop by and leave a comment. Let us know how your group develops the skills of its volunteers. http://www.sydneycyclist.com/profiles/blogs/advocacy-sharing-knowledge-and