INDEX
- Take initiative
- “Neutral” platform
- “Jockey” to provide logistic support and resource needs
- Strategic activities
Can be one of following options:
- Start internally or facilitated from outside: form of intentionality needed to activate process
- Spiritual process e.g. years of prayer and intercession, building trusted relationships which have developed into a city/town process: Piet Retief and Nelson Mandela Bay are examples
- Response to a crisis e.g. Covid-19, hunger, drought, poverty, fire, floods, racial conflict etc
- Response to economic perception: City Story in Durban came into being where a group of business and church leaders, and government people responded to the bad publicity Durban was receiving
- Private funding towards community transformation: Ranyaka has been requested to assist with community processes in a number of towns, communities, townships, and neighbourhoods which has started a process of collaboration: https://ranyaka.co.za/where-we-work/
- The Centre of Public Witness in the Western Cape has a vision of establishing local dialogues in 100 cities/towns of which 40 community forums have materialised over the last three years. Valuable lessons have been learnt about complexities; church, racial and class divides; sustaining momentum; local challenges; white flight; etc. Braam Hanekom can be contacted at the Centre. http://getuienis.christians.co.za/100-dorpe-dialoog-projek/; https://www.publiekegetuienis.org/100dorpedialoog; https://www.litnet.co.za/reguit-met-robinson-n-zoom-gesprek-met-braam-hanekom/
- Ensure inclusivity from the start by including a wide range of stakeholders representing a variety of sectors in society. Importance of prayer, building relationships, listening to one another’s stories, creating safe spaces, developing a common purpose for our city/town, shared values, unity, etc.
- An interim steering committee should take ownership of the process.
- Initially an informal platform which may develop into a formal constituted body with leadership, constitution, vision, values, strategies, bank account, registration number, etc
- Need operating platform to design, plan, coordinate, strategise, facilitate Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and mobilise city/town process
- The formation of a platform is normally an outcome of accumulated goodwill and understanding
- In Metro’s or large cities, there can be more than one coordinating platform
- These platforms might be housed in a back office, church, service centre or home from where logistic support is provided to the process
- City Story in Durban (platform) housed in office space (back office)
- Transformation Christian Network in Nelson Mandela Bay (platform) operating from a house (back office)
- War against Poverty in Naledi, Soweto (platform) operating from the AFM Church (back office)
- Tshwane Church Leadership Forum in Pretoria (platform) operating from Doxa Deo Church in Brooklyn (back office)
- Asibambisane Impact Platform in Piet Retief (platform) operating from Wellspring Church (back office)
“Jockey” to provide logistic support and resource needs
- Person to execute decisions of leadership team
- May be a volunteer or paid person
- May be fulltime or few hours per day/week
- Durban has a fulltime paid person as General Manager and a Marketing and Communications Officer
- NMB has a part time person
- Piet Retief has two facilitators: one fulltime and one part time
- Most places have a volunteer fulfilling this role
- Resources are needed to sustain the process like leadership, relationships, commitment, experience, vision, prayer, time, finances, strategic planning, back office etc; these resources have to come from within the city/town
- Mapping: who is doing what where. See Research.
- Strategic planning and SWOT analysis
- What will a transformed city look like? See Vision and Research.
- Practical ways of collaboration, sharing of resources and experiences, which could be one of the following. See Research.
- Identification challenges. See Research.
- Identify what is working and why. See Research.
- Leverage of existing assets, resources, and efforts to generate momentum, and achieving goals and objectives: mobilise volunteers: http://tcn.org.za/just1hr/
- Organise efforts around common causes
- Organise efforts around communities
- NMB Church Leader Network: Against Hunger: manual for Coordinated Action: http://tcn.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/NMB-CLN-Manual-Coordinated-action-against-hunger-v2.pdf
- Celebrate small victories:
- Durban: Good News Stories: https://city-story.org/good-news/
- Identify what is not working and why. See Research.
- Understanding city planning and policy processes, IDPs, Ward Committees, etc.
- Importance of privacy, data protection and security measures
- Link with external processes and resources where applicable
- Linking city wide events/rhythms to the city process/catalytic events
- Acknowledge different focus areas, approaches, priorities, and scope of operations
- Continuous measurements, research and consultations. See Research.