Activist Skills and Experiences Questionnaire

This is a list of useful skills and experiences for social change activists. It can be used for self-assessment, goal
setting, or progress evaluation. Consider including your applicable experience in non-social change activities too.

Experience Skill
None Some Lots Weak Fair Strong Expert
A Self-Education / Educational Outreach
1 Educate yourself about an issue
2 Clearly present your ideas to another person
3 Discuss your ideas with someone who disagrees
4 Attend a house meeting, community meeting, or teach-in
5 Plan a house meeting, community meeting, or teach-in
6 Arrange a speaker for a group (civic group, etc)
7 Speak to a small group
8 Give a formal speech to a large group (more than 30 people)
9 Engage in street speaking (public speaking to passersby)
10 Pass out leaflets on an issue
11 Table (pass out or sell literature from a table)
12 Canvass door-to-door to present information (not for $)
13 Make a sign, banner, poster, etc.
14 Write a flyer announcing an event
15 Write a news article for publication
16 Write an editorial for publication
17 Interview someone for publication/airing
18 Publicly sing a song
19 Write a social change song or poem
20 Perform a play or skit (street theater)
21 Write a social change play/skit
22 Publicly display social change artwork
23 Create social change artwork
24 Write a social change short story or novel
25 Create an audio tape presentation
26 Create a video tape presentation

B Background Research
1 Research a specific problem or solution
2 Compile data to illuminate a specific problem or solution
3 Statistically analyze data to learn about an issue
4 Write an informational leaflet or article explaining research
5 Write a research report/analysis explaining research results

C News Media Outreach

1 Write a letter-to-the-editor
2 Write a calendar or public service announcement
3 Create a TV or radio public service announcement
4 Write a press release (and send it)
5 Make follow-up phone calls to news media
6 Be interviewed by the news media
7 Build a relationship with a reporter/editor
8 Arrange a press conference
9 Speak at a press conference
Page 2 Experience Skill
None Some Lots Weak Fair Strong Expert
D Legislative Work
1 Write a letter to your Congressmember or other official
2 Sign a petition
3 Circulate a general petition (non-legally binding)
4 Circulate a legally binding petition
5 Write a general petition
6 Write a legally binding petition
7 Coordinate a letter-writing/petition campaign
8 Call or visit a public official (lobbying)
9 Coordinate a lobbying campaign
10 Speak at a government committee hearing
11 Arrange a government committee hearing (with an official)
12 Register people to vote
13 Walk a district (canvass) for a political candidate
14 Call voters on behalf of a candidate or to get out the vote
15 Write a speech for a candidate
16 Organize a political campaign
17 Handle the finances for a political candidate
18 Run for office
19 Be elected and hold a government office
20 Be an assistant to a government official
21 Be a delegate to a political party convention
22 Be a political party official

E Legal Intervention
1 Research the legal aspects of a social problem
2 Assist lawyers in preparing a lawsuit/injunction
3 Prepare a lawsuit/injunction
4 Argue a legal case in court

F Demonstrations / Protest / Direct Action

1 Wear or display a symbol representing a cause
2 Attend a rally
3 Participate in a vigil
4 March or parade for a cause
5 Fast for a cause
6 Participate in an economic, political, or social strike
7 Attend a civil disobedience demonstration
8 Be a nonviolent monitor/peacekeeper at a demonstration
9 Provide support for those risking arrest/jail
10 Plan a demonstration (rally, march, strike, blockade, etc.)
11 Negotiate with opponents or police
12 Risk arrest for a cause
13 Be arrested for a cause
14 Spend time in jail
15 Participate in boycotts
16 Organize boycotts
Page 3 Experience Skill
None Some Lots Weak Fair Strong Expert
G Strategic Planning — Campaign Design
1 Evaluate the forces supporting and opposing social change
2 Establish a specific goal for a campaign
3 Design a campaign that accomplishes a specific goal
4 Evaluate a campaign for its effectiveness

H Building Organizations
1 Contribute money to an organization
2 Volunteer for an organization (some involvement)
3 Join an organization (active involvement)
4 Encourage someone to join an organization
5 Form an organization

I Group Bonding
1 Teach or lead a group in song
2 Teach or lead a group in a game or ritual
3 Organize or facilitate a group outing (party, picnic, etc.)
4 Organize or facilitate a community ceremony or celebration

J Cooperative Decision Making

1 Plan a meeting agenda
2 Facilitate a small meeting
3 Facilitate a meeting of more than 30 people
4 Facilitate a difficult meeting
5 Propose a social change activity for a group
6 Write a formal proposal for a group activity

K Personal Skills / Conflict Resolution

1 Ask someone who is unlike you about her/his background
2 Sympathize with another person’s perspective (unlike yours)
3 Tell someone your criticisms of her/him
4 Tell someone your appreciations of her/him
5 Mediate a dispute between individuals
6 Mediate a dispute between groups
7 Learn/develop techniques to help yourself when upset
8 Arrange for others to support you when you are upset
9 Support another person when she/he is upset
10 Set personal goals and achieve them
11 Help another person evaluate her/his goals
12 Encourage and support another person to reach a goal
13 Learn about oppressive behavior (sexism, racism, etc.)
14 Interrupt interpersonal oppressive behavior
15 Ask a disruptive person to leave an organization

L Multicultural Connection
1 Teach someone else about your group’s culture
2 Learn the background of someone from another culture
3 Work closely with someone from another culture
4 Learn a great deal about another culture
5 Teach someone of your culture about another culture
6 Resolve conflicts between people of different cultures
Page 4 Experience Skill
None Some Lots Weak Fair Strong Expert
M Coalition Building
1 Actively participate in a coalition event/campaign
2 Design a coalition event/campaign
3 Speak to a group to get them involved in a coalition
4 Negotiate with another group to resolve disagreements

N Fundraising
1 Write a fundraising letter
2 Purchase a mailing list for fundraising
3 Write a grant request proposal
4 Make a presentation to a foundation granting committee
5 Arrange a benefit event (speech, film, dinner, etc.)
6 Call a potential donor
7 Visit a potential donor
8 Canvass to raise money

O Office Work
1 Mail requested literature
2 Answer correspondence for a group
3 Copy, collate, and staple documents
4 Use a computer for email and surfing the web
5 Use a computer for wordprocessing
6 Use a computer for page layout
7 Use a computer for financial analysis
8 Solicit articles, photos, graphics for a newsletter/newspaper
9 Design a flier, leaflet, newsletter, or newspaper
10 Edit a flier, leaflet, newsletter, or newspaper
11 Lay out a flier, leaflet, newsletter, or newspaper
12 Have a flier, leaflet, newsletter, or newspaper typset
13 Have a flier, leaflet, newsletter, or newspaper printed
14 Prepare a bulk mailing
15 Write a budget for a project
16 Perform basic bookkeeping (check deposit, recording, etc.)
17 Perform complete bookkeeping
18 Manage petty cash
19 Manage an organization’s finances (check writing, etc.)
20 Manage a mailing list
21 Manage an office (organize files, establish procedures)

P Supervising Others
1 Recruit a volunteer/intern
2 Hire an employee
3 Supervise an employee, intern, or volunteer
4 Evaluate the performance of an employee, intern, volunteer
5 Fire an employee, intern, or volunteer
Page 5 Experience Skill
None Some Lots Weak Fair Strong Expert
Q Kitchen and Life Skills
1 Cook for more than 10 people
2 Plan a meal for more than 10 people
3 Plan a meal for more than 100 people
4 Babysit a toddler
5 Babysit a young child
6 Babysit an older child
7 Babysit several children at once
8 Work with teenagers

R Teaching Skills to Others

1 Attend a skills-building workshop
2 Teach a person one-on-one
3 Present activist skill information to a group
4 Facilitate a role play or exercise
5 Develop a skills-building workshop
6 Facilitate a short workshop
7 Facilitate a several-days-long workshop
8 Evaluate the effectiveness of a workshop
9 Write skills-building leaflets or manuals

S Other Things Not Listed Above — Please Fill In

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Inspired by: Skills and Knowledge of a Social Change Agent,

by Jim Nunes-Schrag and Christopher Mogil, April 5, 1984, Movement for a New Society.

— Prepared by Randy Schutt, P.O. Box 608867, Cleveland, OH 44108 <http://www.vernalproject.org>.

OK to copy for non-commercial purposes.

ActQuest-4.4E, Pt. 1 RDS 8-10-01

 Activist Knowledge and Experiences Questionnaire
Philosophy, History, Issues Topics, and Methods
This is a list of social change philosophy, history, issue topics, and methods about which activists should
have at least some knowledge. It can be used for self-assessment, goal setting, or progress evaluation.

Knowledge
None Some Lots Expert
A Economic Systems / Philosophies
1 Capitalism/corporatism
2 Free enterprise/entrepreneurialism
3 Welfare state
4 Marxism/socialism
5 Communism
6 Cooperativism (cooperative ownership)
7 Stewardship
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B Political & Social Systems / Philosophies

1 Dictatorship
2 Fascism/nationalism
3 Representative democracy
4 Pluralism
5 Libertarianism
6 Participatory democracy
7 Statism
8 Anarchism
9 Pacifism
10 Militarism
11 Colonialism/imperialism
12 Humanism
13 Multiculturalism
14 Environmentalism
15 Consumerism
16 Religion and spirituality
17 Utopian visions
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C Oppressive Social / Cultural Institutions

1 Patriarchy/sexism
2 Racism
3 Ageism
4 Heterosexism
5 Classism
6 Consumerism
7 Authoritarianism
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Page 2 Social Change
Knowledge Experience
None Some Lots Expert None Some Lots
D History of Major Social Change Movements
1 Anti-slavery
2 Populist
3 Labor (1890s-1920s)
4 Women’s suffrage
5 Labor (1930s-1950s)
6 Civil rights
7 Ban the bomb
8 Anti-Vietnam
9 Women liberation /feminist
10 Gay/lesbian/transgender rights
11 Anti-nuclear power
12 Anti-nuclear weapons
13 Anti-U.S. intervention in Central America
14 Anti-globalization (corporatization)
15 Andti-prison-industrial complex
16 Environmental
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E Common Progressive Change Target Issues

1 U.S. foreign policy, generally (militarism, military spending)
2 Russia/Eastern Europe
3 Western Europe/NATO
4 Africa
5 Latin America
6 Middle East
7 Southern Asia
8 Pacific Rim Countries
9 Transnational corporations, World Trade Organization
10 Labor, economic class system
11 Wealth distribution
12 Homelessness
13 Hunger
14 Mining
15 Real estate, land, and development
16 Agriculture (and pesticides)
17 Energy
18 Transportation
19 Waste Disposal and Toxics
20 Health care
21 Social security and retirement
22 Family issues and childcare
23 Family planning and abortion

(Continued)
Page 3 Social Change
Knowledge Experience
Target Issues (continued) None Some Lots Expert None Some Lots
24 Cultural conditioning, generally
25 News media
26 Entertainment media (including sports)
27 Schools
28 Churches
29 Oppression of women
30 Oppression of African-Americans
31 Oppression of Chicanos/Hispanics
32 Oppression of Native Americans
33 Oppression of disabled people
34 Oppresson of gay/lesbian people
35 Oppression of animals
36 Prisons
37 Taxation
38 Governance
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F Large, Progressive Change Constituencies

1 Labor/workers
2 Professionals
3 Farmers
4 Students
5 Military personnel
6 Government officials
7 Homeless/poor
8 African-Americans
9 Hispanics
10 Asians
11 Native Americans
12 Women
13 Gay men
14 Lesbians
15 Elders
16 Young people
17 Religious community
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— Prepared by Randy Schutt, P.O. Box 608867, Cleveland, OH 44108 <http://www.vernalproject.org>.

OK to copy for non-commercial purposes.

ActQuest-4.4E, Pt. 2 RDS 8-10-01