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6 Phases of the PICO Organizing Process
(see PICO Terminology for definitions)
- Exploration and Startup
PIA staff meet with prospective clergy and congregation leadership to:
- Discuss community issues and relationship to neighborhood.
- Create relationships between PIA, clergy, and congregation leadership
- Inform leaders about organizing model
- Invite 20-30 congregation members to PIA training
- Initial Training (3 sessions, 1-3 months)
PIA staff meet with prospective clergy and congregation leadership to:
- Discuss community problems and develop visions for constructive change
- Examine pressures on households and communities
- Learn methods of organizing through one-to-one relationship building
- Build an organizing team of 15-25 leaders
- One-to-One Interview Campaign (2-3 months)
Organizing team of 15-25 leaders conduct 150-300 one-to-one interviews to:
- Build relationships with congregation members and neighborhood residents
- Surface specific, concrete community concerns
- Identify and invite new leaders to participate in the organizing process
- Develop relational skills of an organizing team
- Issue Selection and Research (2-6 months)
Leaders select a priority concern from one-to-ones and conduct multiple research meetings to:
- Open relationships and explore partnerships with public and private decision-makers
- Understand and document causes of problems
- Identify alternative solutions to problems
- Bring concerns into focus as solvable issues
- Action and Implementation
Leaders conduct a large action meeting with community, congregation, and decision-makers to:
- Gain commitments to solve community issues
- Educate and inform community and decision-makers regarding issues and solutions
- Create collaborations among neighborhood, congregation, private sector, and government
- Follow-up to action can include a 2-12 month process of implementation
- Ongoing Leadership Development
Throughout the process, PIA develops the capacity of congregation leaders through:
- Training, evaluation, and reflection
- Development of skills in analyzing issues, speaking in public, conducting disciplined meetings, negotiating solutions, and creating accountability
- Examination of values and organizing principles in relation to community issues
- Invitation and involvement of new leaders
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