We are an alliance of organisations with a common interest in increasing cycling in Milton Keynes. Using the methods and tools of community organising, our goal is to double cycling in Milton Keynes.This will reduce carbon emissions, improve personal health  and reduce personal financial costs. See Vision, Membership, Events and Wins.

 

Community Organising emphasises ‘power with’ rather than ‘power over’.  Leadership is distributed amongst people rather than over people. Relational power is built through multiple conversations which seek to identify common interests, leaders to plan actions, actions to win change.

Background

This project began in January 2021 with the aim to increase cycle usage among Citizens:mk members and partners. A project action team was set up with leaders from MK Green Alliance, MK Anglican Deanery and The Open University (Phase One Report). In August 2021 the project was extended to July 2022, and the team grown to include school and business leaders (Phase Two Report). The project was extended into Phase 3 to July 2023, to develop a self-sustaining broad-based alliance of pro-cycling institutions (Phase Three Report), with continued funding from MK City Council and via Capability grants from Active Travel England and the Department for Transport. The alliance now consists of civil society members and business sponsors.

What is Community Organising?

Community Organising is an approach to community change which builds relational power through 121 meetings. It develops leaders and strengthens their institutions, bringing them together to create system change.

Aims & Objectives

	Aims	Objectives for 2023-24
Organise	Organise an alliance of pro-cycling business, education and community institutions, through 121 meetings with their leaders and help them do the same, building relational power; organise money so the alliance can sustain itself.	8 dues paying member institutions contribute £10k.  Provide training to institutional leaders.
Listen	Listen to member institutions talk about the issues they see preventing more people from cycling to work and school. Organise listening campaigns, through 121s and house meetings, surveys to understand actual usage and attitudes, including cycle counts, and share the results across all alliance members.  Educate against fear.	Repeat Schools Travel survey.  Launch Business Travel survey.  Establish benchmark figures.  Launch ‘Cycling Transition 567’ project.  Deliver school and parent assemblies.
Plan	Organise Leadership Group (LG) to plan SMART goals which address the issues, including alliance members in the planning of actions which exercise the power of the alliance through participation of members.  Use tools of power analysis to identify power-holders, e.g. senior Councillors and Council officers.	Get members represented at LG.  Plan annual cycling-to-school/work competitions, Mayor’s Cycling Awards and critical mass rides through CMK.  Plan and deliver Bikeability Olympics 2024
Act	Act on power-holders, using turnout, testimony, humour and media (where appropriate), to get their reaction on specific requests for public pledges (see Actions so far).	3 competitions, 3 Cycling Awards events, 3 critical mass rides, 3 Bikeability Olympics Heats and 1 final.
Negotiate	Negotiate with power-holders to ensure pledges are fulfilled and power-holders held to account, while developing positive relationships for further work in common interest.	Dedicated meeting with Council Leader and each of four Cabinet Members.