[Información en español aquí]

[Download briefing sheet here]

Summary

Justice United leaders will build the power of the organization through a listening session campaign this summer (June 1 - August 31). Listening session campaigns are used to set a new grassroots agenda for the organization, and take place through a series of small or large group meetings hosted within member institutions.

Listening sessions are your opportunity to ensure the unique voice and interests of your institution are addressed by Justice United's new action agenda, and they serve as a powerful tool to identify new leaders in your community who have the appetite to act.

Commitments and Timeline

Participating member institutions will be asked to make the following commitments:  

1. Send a team of 3 - 5 leaders to listening session training in late May (JU University). More information here: http://www.ocjusticeunited.org/event_calendar

2. Attend the Countywide Leaders Meeting on June 1 to kick off listening sessions and to set a pledge for engagement within your institution.

3. Host a listening session within your institution between June 1 and August 31. Send the results to JU Organizer Devin Ross: [email protected].

4. Turnout 10 or more members of your institution to our internal assembly on September 14 (tentative) to vote on our new action agenda.

Detailed Overview

Justice United’s 2017 listening session campaign has three main priorities:

1. Engage 1,000 members of our institutions and the communities that surround them;

2. Develop new priorities based out of collective concerns that are deeply and widely felt;

3. Identify new leaders who are willing and able to take action on those concerns.

During a listening session campaign each JU member institution hosts facilitated group conversations; either a series of small meetings - or one large event where participants break out into groups. At the conclusion of the conversation, hosts prioritize the top three concerns that are most widely felt (ex: biased policing, access to healthy food, better public transportation).

Each member institution should have a trained team of 3 - 5 facilitators; training information available here (Justice United University):http://www.ocjusticeunited.org/event_calendar

Strategy Team members and key leaders will review the results from each institution, and will group all institutional concerns into no more than 10 broad categories. Notes from this process will be available for review to ensure transparency.

Once we have hit our quota the JU membership will meet in an internal assembly to vote on a new issue agenda (tentative date: Thursday September 14). Votes are allocated by institution, according to the amount of people each institution turns out to the assembly:

1. Turnout of 1 - 3 = two votes

2. Turnout of 4 - 9 = four votes

3. Turnout of 10 or more = six votes

4. Institutions that are discerning membership get one vote

Following the assembly, JU leaders will form new action teams, conduct research, and prepare for an external assembly where relevant decision makers will be invited to publicly react to our new agenda.