Building a Field-Wide Communications Hub: Lessons Learned

Transcription

1 Building a Field-Wide Communications Hub: Lessons Learned a

2 Security & Rights Collaborative partners with individual donors and foundations to award $1.5 2 million a year in grants to reframe the public discourse and advance progressive national security policy goals. c

3 Introduction since late 2008, I have had the pleasure of working with the Security & Rights Collaborative (SRC) and our donor partners to develop a set of shared communications resources aimed at building communications capacity, supporting strategic communications wins, and increasing collaboration among organizations working in the field of national security and human rights. We refer to these resources as the Communications Hub. As the program has developed and grown, the Hub project has attracted a good deal of attention from other funders who are looking to build communications and media capacity in their interest areas. What is this Hub that brings all your grantees together? How do you provide a set of shared resources for groups with differing needs? Is it working? How much does it cost? We have been approached enough times with this recurring set of questions to realize that the lessons learned are worth sharing. This report provides an account of our process, outcomes, and key findings as the project has evolved. It is intended to be a frank peer-to-peer report of discoveries that may be useful for funders considering a similar project. We do not believe that our model could easily be applied to other fields or issue areas using a cookie cutter approach, but we think that our experiences might inform and ease the development of new collaborative communication efforts. The work described in this report would not have been possible without the generous and bold support of the SRC donors who have been active partners in the creation and development of the Communications Hub. This report benefited from input and insights of many talented colleagues including Meg Gage, Yolanda Hippensteele, Lindsay Ryder, Amber French, Amy Landry, Lynn Fahselt, Lisa Russ and Monique Mehta. As you will see in reading our story, the SRC Communications Hub is a great value to the field in a number of anticipated but also surprising ways. We hope that this innovative model for supporting the communications work of a community of grantees can be as helpful to advocates in other social change sectors as it has been for the national security and human rights field. Sincerely, Dimple Abichandani Program Officer, Security & Rights Collaborative, Proteus Fund

4 Why a Shared Communications Infrastructure? The Security & Rights Collaborative (SRC) is a funder collaborative that seeks to restore civil liberties and human rights lost in the name of the war on terror. The SRC focuses on human rights advocacy in four issue areas that are connected by their emergence from the post-9/11 dynamic: 1. Secrecy, Oversight and Accountability 2. Profiling and Discrimination 3. Surveillance and Dissent 4. Torture, Detention and Rendition Fostering effective and collaborative communications is a central element of the SRC strategy, given the largely successful efforts by the right to control public opinion on these issues by framing safety and security in opposition to civil liberties and human rights. When the SRC was launched in 2008, the field suffered many challenges. First, the organizations that work on the SRC s four issues did not identify as a part of the same field with a common purpose. They had varied goals, targets, and audiences. The organizations had vastly different levels of communications capacity, ranging from major national organizations like the ACLU with significant, dedicated communications departments to small grassroots groups that had little or no staff but a powerful story to tell. Perhaps the greatest communications challenge to the field was the lack of consensus on policy goals and priorities what the field wanted to communicate and what they wanted to achieve. The SRC decided to prioritize a collaborative communications approach within the field, not only because shared resources were much less expensive than building the communications capacity within each organization, but also because jointlyshared capacity could help build a unified field of organizations working strategically toward common purposes, even if not always toward precisely the same goals. 1

5 The Design and Development Process When the SRC began its planning for a collaborative communications project, no single Security & Rights Communications Service existed. There was no clear model to suggest what capacities should be built, what services should be offered, or how the project should be staffed. So the first step was to assess the needs of the field by researching existing models in other sectors. Once a model for the Hub began to emerge, SRC staff worked to identify a firm or team of consultants that could create the structures necessary to develop the services they required. They also developed coordination mechanisms and a plan for who would manage the firm(s). These considerations were critical to the success of the project. ReThink s expertise, collaborative nature, access to information, and method of letting the field lead are incredibly important. SOUTH ASIAN AMERICANS LEADING TOGETHER The Key Players The Funders The Communications Hub has been developed and funded by the Security & Rights Collaborative, whose funding partners included the Open Society Foundations, Atlantic Philanthropies, Akonadi Foundation, Oak Foundation, Wallace Global Fund and an anonymous donor. The SRC is housed at the Proteus Fund, with Dimple Abichandani serving as Program Officer. Abichandani convenes the funding partners to discuss strategy and the SRC serves as the client to which the Hub consultants are accountable. Abichandani manages the Communications Hub, providing support, guidance and strategic direction on issues ranging from resource allocation to questions about who best to contact for a particular resource. The Field The SRC chose to make the resources in the Communications Hub open to all organizations funded by the SRC, as well as other groups working on national security and human rights issues that are funded by key partners at Open Society Foundations and Atlantic Philanthropies within their National Security and Human Rights (NSHR) Campaign. Representatives from more than 100 organizations were involved in the initial conversations, surveys, and needs assessments that shaped the development of the project. A special task force of advocates representing a balance of SRC s four issue groups was tapped to play an advisory role for the communications experts, in order to guarantee feedback from the field. The Communications Experts In the early phase of development and planning the SRC worked with a number of different firms and consultants on projects that included a message audit for the field, a communications needs assessment, public opinion polling research, rapid response PR, and field-wide message development. The final model for the SRC Communications Hub is staffed by one main entity: ReThink Media, a nonprofit strategic media organization focused on strengthening the media capacity, infrastructure, and communications competencies of advocates working on progressive foreign policy issues. In order to take on the substantial work of developing and staffing the Hub, ReThink hired two dedicated communications staff to work full-time on the SRC Hub, in addition to both ReThink co-directors working at least 50% of the time on this project. ReThink Media currently has four staff members based at their office in Berkeley, CA, and five based in Washington, DC. 2

6 The Design and Development Process continued Identifying the Field s Needs Early in the planning process, the SRC contracted with ReThink Media to conduct a needs assessment of the communications capacity of national security and human rights organizations. The purpose of the assessment was to evaluate the current communications capacity of organizations working in the field, determine what resources were already available to them, and to clarify what messages were being used. After reviewing the results of the assessment, the SRC asked ReThink Media to undertake a more detailed survey of organizations priority needs and contracted with other firms on further communications research, including an analysis of polling and public opinion research conducted over the past two years and a media audit covering the same period. The needs assessment found that the media and communications capacity of the national security and human rights field was weak compared with other progressive sectors. Overall, the field had a shortage of capacity within the individual organizations, with 62% of grantees surveyed lacking communications staff, 76% not having access to a media database or distribution system, and most grantees lacking appropriate press pages or systems set up to meet the needs of journalists. The needs assessment also helped the funders understand the wide diversity of communications capacity levels within the field. The SRC complemented the needs assessment with a media audit conducted by Spitfire Communications analyzing how priority issues were covered in print media in order to learn more about the media landscape in which grantees were operating. The media audit found that the absence of coordinated messaging was a key challenge. In contrast to the opposition, who had one overarching frame of Keep America Safe that resonated across a variety of issues from torture to profiling to Guantanamo, the SRC s grantees were not effectively articulating messages that connected national security concerns and the protection of human rights and civil liberties. The grantees also did not coordinate their messages to build an echo chamber as effectively as the opposition. Costs COMMUNICATIONS HUB SET-UP COSTS: $563,429 Initial investments made on research to design the model, including: needs assessment and baseline research, two field convenings, two field surveys, a media audit and public opinion analysis. MESSAGING RESEARCH: $412,670 A year-long messaging research project undertaken by U.S. in the World, which included significant engagement of the field in the process. ANNUAL MAINTENANCE: APPROXIMATELY $500,000 Maintaining the Hub, developing new resources and training, providing consulting and managing collaborative campaigns, conducting media audits focused on different issue tracks and state-of-the-art media monitoring. The needs assessment helped determine that the internal communications capacity of organizations should be prioritized. While the organizations understood that funders cannot build up all of their staffing needs, they supported efforts that would move them toward greater staff capacity, such as communications training and access to technology, including a media database and tools. There was strong support for a shared approach to message development, including more professional polling and message testing through a shared communications infrastructure. As the SRC reviewed input from the field and began to develop a model for communications capacity building, it asked ReThink Media to conduct an audit of models developed and used in other fields. The SRC s model draws upon the success of initiatives in other areas, while adding capacities and resources specific to the field s needs. 3

7 The SRC Collaborative Communications Model The SRC s goal was to fund a project that would increase communications capacity for grantees with a range of needs, allowing for a deeper level of coordination among organizations. The model that emerged includes trainings and access to daily communications tools plus shared messaging strategies and strategic communications support for joint campaigns. Building Individual Organizations Capacity A central principle of the communications model is that efforts to build communications outcomes have been designed to work through existing organizations, building their skills and the effectiveness of organizational leaders. Most of the Hub s first year was focused on working with individual groups to develop trust and working relationships and a minimum threshold of communications capacity within each organization. Given the range in organizational capacity, the SRC made it a priority to offer resources that various groups could use differently, with a cafeteria of options rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. The organizations with the least capacity to advance strategic communications were supported with training, additional staff capacity, access to new resources and access to collaborative opportunities. ReThink provided group training through online resources, web-based seminars and in-person institutes, as well as one-on-one training, coaching and consulting to dozens of participating organizations. Organizations with a significantly larger communications capacity that do not require training still benefit from the Hub, by accessing the media database and distribution system as well as the guide to top reporters. The SRC saw high levels of participation from these larger organizations in communications strategy calls hosted by ReThink. ReThink s role as a neutral convener also allowed the smaller organizations to participate in the campaigns the larger groups led. In its first year, ReThink focused on establishing baseline training and relationships with all the groups. In its second year, ReThink expanded its work to include more media presentation training among individual groups and experts. This work included increased one-on-one media training and consulting as well as assisting groups to improve their online pressrooms. ReThink also worked to organize faceto-face meetings between advocates and journalists and to directly pitch op-eds and guests for broadcast appearances. In the third year of the model, ReThink has increased communications capacity in the field by supporting several proactive strategic communications campaigns. One example is work with a group of organizations to advance a particular issue through an op-ed or Hill communications strategy. ReThink also helps each advocate and organization build relationships with the journalists that regularly cover their issues, and to develop a stronger bench of spokespeople for radio and broadcast opportunities. 4

8 The SRC Collaborative Communications Model continued Developing Shared Resources Developing a set of basic media and communications resources for the entire field accomplishes a number of objectives, including building capacity for both groups and coalition efforts while integrating the issues of the field. The Hub originally launched with a set of basic tools, and has since added the following additional resources. I read the clips faithfully every day. The Communications Hub does a great job of building bridges between organizations. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION Daily Alerts Since the launch of the Hub, ReThink has tracked press coverage every day, producing a digest each morning called the National Security and Human Rights News and Breaking Public Opinion Clips. Currently, 329 individuals receive the daily clips, representing over 100 organizations. In addition to compiling news coverage, the daily alerts list provides a shared calendar of upcoming events and news hooks, as well as a means by which organizations publicize key events and publications to their colleagues in the sector. The news clips include opposition messaging analysis and the latest polling and public opinion data. Press Database The Hub provides all members with access to a state of the art, continuallyupdated media database of 800,000 national and international media contacts. It can be used to develop targeted press lists by issue, journalist role, media type or geography. The web-hosted database is coupled with a distribution system that allows users to readily access their targeted media lists, enabling both quick responses to breaking stories and more advanced planning to frame issue coverage. ReThink also creates and maintains shared press lists that can be accessed by all users in advance of media opportunities. The lists created by organizational users are also visible to other Hub participants so that organizations can build on each other s efforts. 5 Rapid Response Capacity When a big story breaks on an issue relevant to the SRC field, ReThink sends breaking news alerts, talking points and suggested actions that organizations can take. They typically host a strategy call so that advocates can share resources, update each other on their plans and identify opportunities for action. Journalist Profiles ReThink developed a comprehensive guide called 90 Journalists You Should Know, which provides detailed profiles and contact information for the top reporters and bloggers covering the issues of the national security and human rights field. This provides a level of research and targeting that even the largest organizations are unable to undertake. The guide is published both as a hard copy book and as a searchable, constantly updated online database. Database of Polling and Public Opinion Info ReThink maintains a searchable online database of all publicly available polls conducted on the SRC s issue areas since President Obama took office. ReThink augments the data with memos defining the trend lines and lessons that can be derived from shifts in public opinion. Media Tracking and Audits In its second year, the SRC increased its investment to cover the costs of a technology that allows real time tracking of national security and human rights issues across any number of media outlets. This media audit capacity allows ReThink staff to make quick assessments of how issues are breaking and to provide well-supported message and narrative development advice and specific tactical recommendations for refining messaging and outreach to journalists. This technology also allows ReThink to conduct media audits to inform funders about the media work of their grantees and to evaluate investments in message development.

9 Communications Hub Tools and Resources The Hub s online database of journalist profiles provides users with up-to-date links to journalists recent articles and Twitter feeds. Journalist profiles are available in print form as well as a constantly updated online dabatase. Users can find contact information and learn about individual journalists areas of interest and recent article topics. A screenshot of the National Security and Human Rights News Clips and Breaking Public Opinion daily alerts. In March 2012, ReThink initiated a monthly Media Tips newsletter. The newsletters are designed to inform the Communications Hub users of the various services available to them, and provide helpful tips on how to develop a comprehensive communications strategy. A sampling of the online trainings available to Communications Hub member groups. 6

10 The SRC Collaborative Communications Model continued Shared Messaging The media audit and public opinion analysis commissioned in the early stages of the planning process clarified some of the challenges and opportunities the field faced in terms of framing how the public thinks about national security and human rights. It was clear that the opposition s effective efforts to create a message echo chamber was drowning out the SRC grantees uncoordinated and sometimes dissonant messages. An overwhelming majority of groups surveyed in the SRC s needs assessment wanted to see greater coordination of messaging among groups and greater use of shared and unifying communications strategies. In its first year of funding, the SRC invested in large framework-oriented messaging research undertaken by U.S. in the World. Their findings were, in part, disseminated through the Hub, and were also used to help inform the development of ReThink s talking points and messaging advice. After this initial investment, the SRC decided to leave the funding of messaging research to others and instead focus on the development of infrastructure that can be used to disseminate and translate abstract research into immediate messaging. When groups represent a diverse array of perspectives, the Hub serves an essential role in collecting and distributing guidance on framing and messaging. The media monitoring technology also provides an objective, fact-based assessment of which messages and messengers are dominating media coverage and which are not. ReThink has produced messaging memos, talking points and more detailed communications analyses on a variety of key issues in the field, supplemented with online or teleconference presentations. Coordinated Campaign Work In its first year, the Hub provided SRC grantees with multiple shared resources and training opportunities to create a baseline of capacity within the field and a well-tested framework for general messaging. In its second year, the project advanced field-building efforts by putting these tools in action to support coordinated campaigns among member groups. ReThink has assisted with existing collaborative efforts, identified strategic opportunities and initiated calls to bring groups together, as well as provided training to enable rapid response to events. The Hub also creates a space for innovative and strategic big picture thinking, using its media audit and opinion analysis to identify sector-wide tactical gaps in the field s media outreach and to inform collaborative communications planning and message development for moving a larger audience. In the third year of funding, the SRC prioritized support to help the field launch a proactive, coordinated communications campaign around a strategic opportunity for which the groups can plan together several months in advance. A prime example is the ten-year anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo, and ReThink s work to support a cohort of organizations maximized the media opportunities present in this anniversary. The coordination and capacity expansion produces strategic benefits for all organizations working on these issues. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 7

11 Outcomes In a short period of time, the set of tools, services and resources offered by the Hub have begun to make a coordinated and effective field out of a disparate set of groups that were previously unconnected and lacking in basic communications capacity. The Hub s offerings have been the subject of ongoing, unsolicited positive feedback by advocates, and have allowed organizations to gain greater and more effective media coverage. In early 2012, the SRC worked with ReThink to conduct a field-wide survey in order to document the progress that has been achieved, and get an updated assessment on the communications needs of the field. The survey found that each of the SRC s top four communications capacity building priorities received high marks for improvement. With regard to Building Organizations Individual Communications Capacity, 93% of groups indicated that there has been significant improvement or improvement, 88% in Developing Greater Rapid Response Capacity, and 67% and 63% respectively on Improving Collaboration and building a more Unified Message & Messaging Strategy. Training Over 100 staff members from organizations across the field have been trained in using a state-of the-art media database and distribution system as well as communications and media skills. Based on feedback from the field indicating the high value of these trainings, SRC and ReThink are moving forward with plans to expand training opportunities, including in the form of multi-day intensive workshops. Information Access 329 individuals from over 100 organizations receive daily news briefs on national security and human rights issues, creating a shared understanding of the media environment. Additionally, the Hub model has provided a space for organizations to share information on their communications plans and press lists. Media Placements Over the three years since the SRC started the Hub, their grantees have increased the number and reach of their media hits in print, online, and broadcast outlets, as well as their ability to respond more rapidly to breaking issues. The guidance on messaging is critical to our work. CENTER FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE Message Traction Since the Hub began working with the field on shared messaging, media audits reveal increased traction among opinion leaders and the public. An audit conducted after the Peter King Hearings found that 71% of the editorial coverage and 70% of op-eds adopted messages and talking points deployed as part of the collaborative communications strategy. 8

12 Case Study Campaign to Oppose Congressional Hearings on Radicalization of the American Muslim Community The following case study provides a contextual example of what the field can accomplish as a result of the SRC s communications capacity building work to date. in december 2010, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, announced a series of Congressional hearings scheduled for March, 2011, to probe the Radicalization of the American Muslim Community. The hearings posed multiple threats, both in terms of policies and increases in hate crimes and bias against Muslim communities. For the SRC s grantees, the hearings were an opportunity for the field s first major success in a proactive, collaborative, multi-organization communications campaign. A little over two years into the SRC s communications capacity building work, the field had gained significant capacity within individual organizations such that they were largely on the same page in terms of objectives, targets, strategy and message in response to the hearings. When the hearings were announced, the groups began to meet for weekly conference calls, which provided a common framework for action and a regular process for updating work, identifying areas that needed attention and addressing organizational self-interests. This collaborative campaign included large national security and civil liberties groups as well as Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian (MASA) groups who brought authentic perspectives as well as grassroots groups in New York that could work the local angles within Rep. King s home district. ReThink provided the organizations with a strategic communications plan that included an op-ed strategy and a Hill strategy, and over the course of ten weeks, worked closely with the organizations to implement the plan and provide resources. ReThink s contributions ranged from ghostwriting op-eds, developing press lists, placing spokespeople, compiling quotes from hearing witnesses and providing tactical advice to the organizations. With ReThink s help, the coalition made a major effort to engage allies, including spokespersons from national security and interfaith organizations, as well as members of Congress to frame and message the hearings using the SRC s themes. For a comparatively small coalition, the SRC groups were able to achieve notable successes in building an echo chamber wherein key themes, texts and quotes were repeatedly used, ultimately taking on a life of their own. With support from ReThink staff, multiple organizations coordinated outreach, sending editorial packets to wellrefined lists of writers challenging the hearings from three key perspectives (national security, interfaith and Muslim American communities). The groups also conducted mutually reinforcing outreach and follow-up efforts. Concerted efforts were made to generate op-eds and place content on the opinion pages of national and beltway newspapers as well as the in-district papers of Homeland Security members. The result was that the SRC position dominated the op-ed and editorial coverage at the top 30 national and regional newspapers in the country, with 70% of op-eds opposing King and the most influential papers like the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and Los Angeles Times all editorializing in favor of the SRC position. Through excellent outreach to the right reporters on a day-to-day basis, the SRC groups were able to dominate the frame of daily print coverage of the issue for nearly six weeks. In the broadcast arena, the leading voices addressing the hearings also heavily favored the SRC position. Two years of advance work toward the SRC s communications capacity building effort laid the foundation for this campaign. The years of training and resources had allowed smaller, less resourced groups to participate on equal footing with larger ones. The shared information and resources had brought groups closer together in their objectives and messages and allowed them to identify this as an opportunity for proactive intervention. The Hub provided coordination for press outreach efforts and media tracking that allowed for up-to-the-minute guidance on framing and message refinement. Hub staff prepared individuals for TV appearances and coached them on editorial board meetings. While there continue to be challenges and areas for improvement, this case study provides an early example of the demonstrated outcomes of the SRC s efforts to increase communications capacity and to support collaborative communications efforts. 9

13 Lessons Learned: Process 1 Involve both small, local organizations and large, national or international groups. While the large and well-resourced groups in the field are able to contribute significant capacity to communications campaigns, it is often the grassroots groups that bring the most compelling stories and the ability to localize big issues for use within Congressional districts. To foster collaboration and mutual respect among the diversity of groups in the field, the Hub has been careful to do personal outreach and provide excellent reasons for all organizations involved. The small organizations are drawn to the Hub by the training and general resources they would not otherwise be able to access. The larger groups are drawn to the Hub for its specialized resources like the handbook of journalists covering the field as well as its ability to bring new partners into their field. 2 Capacity building is key. Many efforts for improving communications and media work within a field outsource the strategy and message development to a P.R. firm and rely on the firm s relationships with reporters. The SRC s model builds real capacity within the field by training and supporting the organizations to do their own communications work using shared tools and resources, and to bring them together to make the field s collaborative work greater than the sum of its parts. The groups that participate in this project have developed proficiency in communications skills they once lacked and have applied these new skills to issue areas outside of the SRC. 3 Solicit input from the field early and often. The SRC gathered input from the field at every stage of the Hub process, starting with its early development. Whenever the Hub rolls out a new resource, they immediately request feedback and adjust accordingly. For example, when they launched the daily clips service, ReThink originally intended to offer clipping services separately for the main issues in the field such as torture and profiling. Feedback from the field encouraged them to put clips from all the issue areas into the same publication, more effectively bolstering the field s understanding of their allies work. Adoption and use of the services are high because the grantees feel they are getting the tools they want. 4 It is important for the field to have its own decisionmaking structures. The Hub has improved coordination in the field, in part, by providing spaces fororganizations to come together and share priorities and strategies. However, when organizations are working jointly on a communications campaign it is critical for the field to have its own decision-making structure and process so that work can proceed smoothly and the communications experts (ReThink) do not find themselves in a role in which they are making decisions that impact policy outcomes. The communications collaboration around National Defense Authorization Act issues allowed us to significantly leverage limited resources to better participate in the debate. THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT 5 A donor collaborative provides added value as a home and administrator for the Hub. For an expensive field-wide project that requires the contributions of multiple donors, a collaborative fund provides a neutral space that represents the donors range of interests. It is helpful for staff of the collaborative to facilitate funders discussion of long-term goals and strategy, and to provide a clear mandate to the Hub. This keeps the Hub out of the business of managing the range of expectations and preferences of the donors, and allows them to work from a more focused strategy. If this work were funded separately by each of the different donors, it is unlikely it would be as focused, as effective, or that it would cover the field as expansively as it does. The donor collaborative is also an excellent layer for evaluating priorities and spotting opportunities. 10

14 Lessons Learned: Outcomes 1 Shared communications resources can serve as a neutral convener in a field where there is none. In the SRC field, with its many divisions across issue area, strategy, and scope, no neutral convener existed to bring organizations together for shared strategy, and no group was positioned to play the convening role. The SRC learned that a shared set of communications resources could function as a meeting ground that educates groups on each others issues and brings them together for collaborative work toward mutual goals. For example, in the campaign against Rep. Peter King s Congressional hearings (see case study), the collaborative effort included smaller grassroots groups that would not normally collaborate with the larger national organizations. ReThink has established a trusting relationship with a broad range of groups, grounded in the neutral provision of resources and services without an organizational agenda. 2 Groups can coordinate on messaging even if they disagree on policy solutions. One barrier to collaboration among groups in the SRC field was a lack of agreement on preferred policy solutions to shared concerns. Working with the Hub, the SRC has learned that even without agreement on the policy details, groups can still work together to shape public opinion by echoing the message of a need for a solution. For instance, even when groups disagree about which accountability mechanisms the federal government should have in place, they can still send a coordinated message that there is a need for accountability. 4 Building communications capacity within a field is a long-term project. The type of capacity building and coordination effort the SRC undertook requires several years to develop before the field has the skills, tools, relationships, and shared analysis to be able to quickly and collaboratively respond to breaking news. This timeframe means that grantees staff learn by doing. For example, many SRC groups learned to do an editorial board meeting by actually doing one in the context of a campaign, with the support of ReThink. The SRC would not recommend this type of program as a solution for a funder looking for a quick fix on rapidly developing issues, but rather as a model for more long term opportunities, such as an election or change in administrations. A capacity building effort such as the SRC s also requires a longterm funding commitment to sustain and build upon the gains made in the early years of funding. 5 Funding collaborative communications provides rich insight that can guide future funding. Managing the collaborative communications work provides crucial intelligence to inform ongoing grant making strategies that benefit multiple grantees and enables funders to be more responsive to new and unforeseen opportunities. For example, the Hub has allowed the SRC to identify capacity gaps in the field, such as a lack of planning for crisis communications and a lack of experience and skill in on-camera spokesperson work. 3 Coordination, collaboration and shared communications resources inherently lead to better, more effective and faster campaign work. Better campaigns require advanced agreement on shared objectives and an understanding that no single group can play all positions. Shared resources and coordination minimize duplicate efforts, freeing staff in each organization to pursue more specialized work and respond more quickly to pressing issues. Collaboration provides space for bigger picture thinking and strategizing, limiting the degree to which groups with the same goals step on each other s toes or otherwise conflict. For instance, ReThink shares a daily news clipping service for the field so that individual groups do not have to do that on their own. In a campaign situation where work must move quickly, ReThink has addressed collective needs promptly. For example, they were able to create a contact list of communications staffers for members of Congress when they realized none existed. 11

15 Timeline Getting Started In 2008, funders decide to support communications capacity in the national security and human rights arenas. July 2008 The SRC funds a follow-up survey, asking groups to prioritize possible initiatives. November organizational leaders and communications staff convene for presentations on messaging research and a media audit. Throughout 2009 The Hub builds the capacity of over 50 organizations, hosts tailored online trainings, and provides rapid response messaging guidance. October 2009 ReThink trains SRC grantees on op-eds, blogging, and interviews. Early 2009 U.S. in the World message testing Summer 2008 The SRC commissions a meta-analysis of its four issue groupings. Winter 2008 SRC solicits a proposal for a Hub to provide capacity building, technical assistance and messaging guidance. Spring 2009 ReThink launches the campaign Hub and daily news clippings service and begins providing rapid response communications support to the field. May field organizations convene to develop a sophisticated and collaborative communications strategy. The SRC funds a needs assessment to determine capacity gaps. 12

16 Throughout 2010 ReThink provides breaking news alerts, talking points, media audits and rapid response coaching as key stories develop the Hub can now help SRC groups drive effective campaigns. Early 2012 The SRC works with ReThink to conduct a renewed needs assessment of the field to inform the Hub s future priorities. Spring 2010 U.S. in the World distributes Talking About National Security and Human Rights in the Post-9/11 Context: A Communicator s Toolkit. January 2011 ReThink supports a tenweek communications campaign on the Peter King hearings and launches an online tracking database. September 2011 ReThink provides support surrounding the tenyear anniversary of 9/11 and releases a second edition of their guide to top reporters entitled 90 Journalists You Should Know August 2010 Hub users build a shared toolkit of rapid response tactics. Late 2010 ReThink completes a comprehensive media audit on how issues of homegrown terrorism are covered, informing the 2011 Peter King strategy. September 2010 Release of 82 Journalists You Should Know, a detailed guide to the leading journalists whose reporting frames the vast majority of national media coverage of SRC issues. Fall 2011 ReThink conducts a two-day crisis communications training for 34 advocates in the field. Ongoing ReThink provides regular consulting to SRC member organizations as well as coalitions addressing profiling and discrimination, surveillance, torture, closing Guantanamo and the legal rights of detainees. Media contacts and best practices are shared across issue areas. 13

17 Participating SRC Organizations ACLU National ACLU Southern California Amnesty International USA Arab American Action Network Arab American Institute Foundation Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS) Asian American Justice Center Asian Law Caucus Bill of Rights Defense Committee Brennan Center for Justice Center for Constitutional Rights Center for Democracy & Technology Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU Law Center for Media and Democracy Center for National Security Studies Center for Victims of Torture Charity and Security Network City University of New York - CLEAR Clinic Columbia University Law School Constitution Project Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM) Electronic Frontier Foundation Faith in Public Life Federation of American Scientists Government Accountability Project Human Rights First Human Rights Watch Institute for Social Policy and Understanding Interfaith Youth Core Muslim Advocates National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers National Immigration Forum National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) National Security Archive National Security Network National Whistleblowers Center New Strategic Security Initiative New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) One America Open The Government PEN American Center Progressive Congress Rabbis for Human Rights - N.A. Rights Working Group South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Sikh Coalition 14

18 Download a Copy of This Report proteusfund.org/src/reports Join Us Security & Rights Collaborative welcomes the participation of new foundation and individual donor funding partners. Current funding partners and a list of recent grantees can be found on our website. Contact Shireen Zaman Program Officer szaman@proteusfund.org proteusfund.org/src Security & Rights Collaborative is a Proteus Fund Initiative Proteus Fund advances justice through democracy, human rights and peace. Proteus works with individual donors and foundations to achieve their goals through strategy development, research and fund management. Proteus is known for tailored grant making initiatives that are responsive, have high impact and integrate support for lobbying activity. Its work advances issues at the leading edge of democracy and social change.