The New Organizing Institute is a unique grassroots program that trains young, technology-enabled political organizers to work for progressive campaigns and organizations. The Institute is being created by experienced online organizers in conjunction with MoveOn.org to fill an urgent need in progressive politics.
The mission of the NOI is:
- To train and support a new generation of technology-enabled campaigners.
- To consolidate and disseminate knowledge gained in the field of political technology and online organizing.
- To conduct new research and post-campaign investigations that employ results-focused, systems thinking to make progressive campaigns and organizations more efficient.
We are seeking to fill an urgent need among progressive campaigns and organizations. Right now, they're hitting a brick wall when trying to fill new online organizer or Internet director positions. A network of talented, sophisticated and experienced operatives simply does not exist in the field of online organizing the way it does in the established areas of field organizing, fundraising or campaign management.
Moreover, there is no formal training program for progressives in online politics. The Internet was shown to be a vital source of income, volunteer organizing and activism for campaigns and organizations through the 2004 cycle. So far, progressives have been the innovators – from MoveOn.org, to the rise of the blogosphere, to the Clark and Dean campaigns, and the work of hundreds of online efforts through the General Election.
Yet already, progressives are falling behind. Conservatives are training online organizers in-house at the RNC and moving them out to campaigns. Independent conservative training organizations are taking online politics seriously as well. There is no systematic effort among progressives to apply the lessons from 2004 to the campaigns of 2006 and 2008.
The NOI seeks to begin immediately filling this gap. In February 2006, the New Organizing Institute held an extraordinarily successful intensive training for online organizers geared toward electoral campaign work.
In addition to training, the NOI will also conduct research in the fields of online organizing, technology in politics, and campaign IT and logistics.
