Power

In the community organizing / activism / nonprofit world, when most people refer to, "power analysis," they're describing the framework first articulated by Anthony Thigpenn. In our Collaboration Muscles & Mindsets program, we have a number of exercises designed to develop greater muscles around navigating power, such as Playing with Status and Power Video Analysis. These are heavily influenced by improv (particularly Keith Johnstone's notions of status outlined in his book, Impro) and Theatre of the Oppressed.

Thigpenn's framework (often attributed to the organization he founded, SCOPE, which described the process in its book, Power Tools: A Manual for Organizations Fighting for Justice) is based on these questions:

• Who has power in your issue area? Plot them according to the powers they have (e.g. decision-making, influencers, etc.)
• Who has power among your opposition? Plot them as above.
• Who is impacted by your issue area and are not yet organized?