Where to Start?
This provides an introduction to frontloading: What is it? What is DNA? Roughly how long does it take? Where does this process come from? This document scratches the surface of answering those questions!
Frontloading is a term coined by Paul Engler, but almost all successful movements and campaigns have engaged in serious, strategic planning of some sort. This particular process was influenced by the kinds of strategic planning used in the Indian independence movement, Otpor, and the civil rights movement, as well as organizers such as Marshall Ganz and Bill Moyers. Frontloading was translated into the Momentum Community by Cosecha, who then coached IfNotNow, who in turn coached Sunrise, who in turn coached Dissenters and the list goes on and on.
But before jumping into what frontloading is and how to do it, take time to review Momentum’s Core Concepts or check out the webinars. Even better, do both!
What is Frontloading?
Movements require sustained scale to achieve sweeping reforms, and therefore must rely on self-organizing rather than centralized command and control. Self-organizing requires organizers to give the movement away to millions of people and create systems of mass participation. Frontloading is the process of creating that system and deciding what needs to be given away so that people can act with unity and autonomy.
Frontloading is about visioning our future while anticipating problems that will come up, so people can make aligned decisions without command and control. We frontload because our dreams and vision deserve it-- and because movements that aren’t frontloaded have trouble scaling enough, for long enough, to effect deep transformation. It is a strategic planning process that creates movement DNA. DNA, simply put, is a set of genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning and reproduction of an organism. In other words: DNA tells the organism/movement how to grow in a healthy way. Movements are living organisms, which means they require strong DNA to be powerful in the world. Frontloading is the process of creating that DNA. It requires a clear-eyed assessment of the scope of change needed and allows us to make the biggest possible leap toward that change in a 5-year period.
Components of the DNA
Each component of the DNA is important on its own, and, as you can see above, each element also overlaps with others. Important note about equity: equity and inclusion is not something that is relegated to just the culture element, or even just the structure element, but should be considered in every aspect of the DNA.
Why Story?
Humans are hardwired for story
Captures the purpose of our movement: why we are coming together and the future we are trying to create
Helps people understand and identify with the movement
More elements of story: battle of the story (us, them, the problem, a choice, and vision); meta-brand We are thankful to the Center for Story-Based Strategy and Beyond the Choir for these concepts and their many powerful contributions to movement narrative.
Why Strategy?
Explains the objective of the movement
Brings people in on the plan
Provides a blueprint of where we are going and how we are doing it
Serves as a filter for alignment
More elements of strategy: theory of change; grand strategic objective; & grand strategy, including phases, campaigns ideas, tactical ideas, and qualitative & quantitative metrics of success.
Why Culture?
Provides tools to solve future problems that you can’t anticipate during frontloading
Allows for scale, allowing people to join the movement so long as they are aligned
Helps establish a vibe for your movement, encourage desired behaviors and ways of being
Builds collective understanding for how to stay focused, combat oppression, respond to challenges, relate to other organizations, maintain distribution of power within the movement
Protects the strategy. There’s a saying that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ If we don’t intentionally set a culture, our strategy won’t matter.
More elements of culture: principles; practices; rituals; where and how we gather (i.e. online, on-campus, city-based, regionally - these decisions are shaped by who we want to organize)
Why Structure?
Supports absorption in moments of momentum and enables scale
Explains how to onboard new folks into your movement and move them into teams and roles that create new capacity
Distributes leadership and prevents bottlenecks
Promotes self-organizing
More elements of structure: mass training program; roles & teams; decision-making; online and offline structures; how people join the movement
Getting Going
This takes time! You want to make sure you have a team aligned around a theory of change, a clear purpose, and other values (such as an approach to combating oppression).
You are looking for a diversity of leaders: this crew should ideally represent who you want to or are most likely to organize in the first phase of your movement. Things to consider: what will it take to build a multi-racial, cross-class movement? What geographies are people coming from?
You need a range of skill-sets & organizing experiences: What is their organizing background? Do they have training and facilitation experience? Do they come from a structure-based organizing or mass protest tradition?
Map your movement ecology & where your movement is at in influencing and activating the public on your issue.
Take time to deeply process your past organizing and leadership experiences. What worked well that you want to carry forward with you? What would you want to do differently moving forward? There are always lessons to learn that can enrich your process.
Moving Forward
If you take one thing away from this process remember this: it is meant to be a creative design process anda leadership development process, full of learning & asking big questions, such as:
Why are we here?
What is needed?
What is the state of the movement right now?
Where is the public on our issue? Where are decision-makers and elites?
What’s the best we could do?
What changes if we are successful?
What do people need to come together and challenge powerful institutions?
How do we scale by distributing leadership?
Who is this movement for? And whose hearts and minds are we trying to change?
Interested in learning more and getting a look at what a frontloading timeline looks like? Check out our presentation on Frontloading here >>
Interested in frontloading? Check the Momentum website for new resources as they arrive, and follow up with us for more by emailing team@momentumcommunity.org