Launching The First Wave Of The Of/By/For All Change Network

How do you build a movement for institutional change?

That's the question we've been grappling with as we start the OF/BY/FOR ALL initiative. Our goal is to help civic and cultural institutions become more representative OF, co-created BY, and welcoming FOR their diverse communities. We've see this model succeed at the MAH and at other community-centered organizations around the world. We want to share the methods and tools that make it work. Not as a prescriptive recipe, but as a pattern. We see OF/BY/FOR ALL as an adaptable playbook for community change.

The challenge is to figure out the best way to share that playbook. Last year, we tested out different formats. We explored opening a pelatihan center. Publishing toolkits. Consulting. Building a leadership development program. We even thought about franchising.

The model we landed on was movement building. We plan to fuel a distributed Change Network of organizations growing OF/BY/FOR ALL together. We'll offer an online aktivitas for change, support a global community of practice, and keep expanding the aktivitas based on community input.

We want to make the "how" of community involvement clear and achievable. Change Network organizations will make specific pledges to become of, by, and for new communities. We'll provide tools to help organizations meet their goals step by step. As the network grows, more of the tools and knowledge base will come from participating institutions, with our staff focusing on community organizing and connections.

Our near-term goal is to enroll at least 200 organizations by the end of 2020, collectively pledging to involve one million new people in their work. Eventually, we may build a certification program, like LEED for green buildings, or B Corps for social enterprise. But we're starting with a campaign to involve one million people - and to build a community of organizations helping each other make it happen.

We're excited about this movement-building model for three reasons:

• It taps diverse sources of expertise. The MAH is not the authority on all things OF/BY/FOR ALL. By building a change network, we will empower diverse organizations to share methods and expertise with each other. 
• It scales. We want to go big with this movement. We plan to involve hundreds of organizations in the next three years - and thousands in the years to come. We realized that models that rely heavily on in-person pelatihan or consulting wouldn't scale to the extent of our dreams. 
• It emphasizes action. Talk is good. Change is better. Change Network organizations will make specific commitments to become of, by, and for more diverse people. The aktivitas we're building will help accelerate their progress. But it starts with organizations demonstrating eagerness and pledging to take action.

The Change Network aktivitas launches next week in prototype form with a First Wave of twenty organizations (full list at the end of this post). We selected a First Wave that reflects diversity of geography, size, and sector, so we can see who this works best for and why. The First Wave includes 6 museums, 5 performing arts organizations, 3 public libraries, 3 parks, and 3 community centers. Half are led by people of color or indigenous people. We represent six countries and ten time zones. For this prototype, 19 of 20 are in English-speaking countries, to provide as much clarity as possible as we get feedback from participants. In the future, we look forward to taking what we learn from this First Wave to build a strong Change Network with organizations all over the world.

I can't wait to learn with and from these amazing First Wave organizations. Some are leaders in the field of community participation. Others are just getting started. All are ready and eager to grow of, by, and for their communities.

OF/BY/FOR ALL is one of many projects in a growing ecosystem of efforts to propel more inclusive institutions. Some people are writing toolkits. Some are giving workshops. Some are developing pelatihan programs. Some are leading academic studies. Some are funding projects. If we are going to build a more inclusive world, we don't need just one or two projects. We need an ecosystem of activists, academics, funders, professionals, policymakers, and associations striving together towards common goals.

With OF/BY/FOR ALL, we're playing a role in this ecosystem as an accelerant for organizational change. I respect my colleagues who are writing, advocating, funding, and researching the nuances of community work. Heck, I've spent lots of time participating in those ways myself. But today, I'm motivated to focus my resources and energy on a aktivitas to help organizations commit to action and make it happen. That's what OF/BY/FOR ALL is all about.

As we learn more from the First Wave and build the Change Network, we'll write about it on the OF/BY/FOR ALL website. So if you want to join us in sharing stories and opportunities to become of, by, and for your community, please consider joining that email list today.

Here is the brave, beautiful, and wide-ranging First Wave:

• Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz, CA, USA (host site)
• National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM, USA
• Techniquest in Cardiff, Wales, UK (science center)
• HistoryMiami Museum in Miami, FL, USA
• Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center in Niagara Falls, NY, USA
• Immigration Museum in Melbourne, VIC, Australia
• Te Manawa in Palmerston North, Aotearoa, NZ (museum)
• Stedelijk Museum Schiedam in Schiedam, Netherlands
• Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI, USA
• Oakland Symphony in Oakland, CA, USA
• Marfa Public Radio in Marfa, TX, USA
• Laundromat Project in New York, NY, USA
• ARTZ Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, USA
• Oakland Public Library in Oakland, CA, USA
• St. Joseph County Public Library in South Bend, IN, USA
• Dakota County Library in Eagan, MN, USA
• Los Angeles River State Park Partners in Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Divis and Black Mountain in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
• Movement BE in San Diego, CA, USA (youth empowerment)
• Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition in Minneapolis, MN, USA
• Genesis Centre in Calgary, AB, Canada (community wellness)

I can't wait to learn and build the Change Network with this First Wave in the months to come.