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1W1V Research

Campaign Training Resources for Women

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Marjorie Scott
June 21, 2003

Seek ye first the political kingdom and all these things
shall be added unto you.
- Kwame Nkrumah

Research for Phase I of the 1W1V report focused on information regarding women's voting patterns, level of political participation, and barriers to political involvement by women. Phase II featured information on local women's political history, highlighting the pioneering achievements of female city councilors and school board members. In this phase of research, focusing on training women for political involvement, I have attempted to identify a variety of sources of leadership/campaign training for women, and locally available resources for curriculum development for campaign/leadership training. Information gathering focused on three areas:

  1. Internet Search
    There are a variety of organizations and groups providing campaign training, some exclusively for women. These include:

    • International, national and community non-governmental organizations
    • Political parties (national/provincial/state)
    • Chambers of Commerce
    • Trade unions and special-interest groups
    • Universities
    • For-profit organizations

  2. E-mail inquiries
    Attempts to obtain curriculum ideas/materials from sources identified above

  3. Local libraries
    Print resources readily available through the Edmonton Public Library, University of Alberta Library, and Alberta Legislature Library

The time has come for many of us when politics has become too
important to leave to the men only.
- Barbara Rogers

  1. Internet Search

    Initial searches using such terms as "women in politics", "leadership training", "campaign training", "campaign school", and election training yielded hits on a variety of sites. Sample pages from some sites are appended. These sites are indicated with an asterisk. If there were a large number of sites in any category (e.g., for-profit organizations), sample sites were chosen to represent the category. For the most part, sites which were mentioned in previous research reports are not listed again.

    1. International organizations (Activities take place primarily outside North America)

      Name of Organization Website Purpose/activities
      CEDPA (Centre for Development and Population Activities)* www.cedpa.org Provides women's leadership training (not necessarily politically-based) in a variety of nations. The training is designed to help women assume leadership re: local community issues.
      The Desmond Tutu Leadership Academy* www.tutu.org A program of the not-yet-constructed Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, the academy will offer, among other programs, a woman-specific leadership development program.
      International Women's Democracy Center* www.iwdc.org Based in Rhode Island, this organization "was established to strengthen women's global leadership through training, education, networking and research".
      Center for Korean Women and Politics* None A sample of extensive training activity in Asia. CKWP is a non-profit organization that works to assist Korean women in entering politics and campaigning for public office by providing comprehensive campaign skills workshops and other support. I could not find a site specific to the Center, but a UNESCO Courier article (appended) has details of their programs. The Center is a member of the APWIP - Asia-Pacific Women in Politics Network (also no website)
      IFES (International Foundation for Election Systems)* www.ifes.org Washington, D.C. based organization provides comprehensive assistance in promoting and organizing democratic elections worldwide. Includes voter training, staff training, candidate/campaign administrator training, acting as election observers.
      Women of the World* www.wownow.org Non-partisan organization, based in Kansas, which "works to empower women to leadership in existing and emerging democracies throughout the world". Provides free training seminars for women leaders.

    2. U.S. and Canadian organizations

      Name of Organization Website Purpose/activities
      Canadian Women Voters Congress* www.canadian
      womenvoters
      congress.org      		 A non-profit volunteer-run organization based in Vancouver which runs an annual non-partisan campaign school, largely attended by women from the Vancouver area.
      Equal Voice* www.equalvoice.ca A "multi-partisan/non-partisan action group for the election of women in Canada" works toward getting Canadian women elected to public office, and also toward reforming electoral systems to promote greater numbers of women in office.
      Make Women Count* www.make
      womencount.org      		 Based in Rhode Island, this organization " was established to strengthen women's global leadership through training, education, networking and research".
      Southern Women in Public Service* www.stennis.gov/
      swips.htm      		 Bipartisan organization providing conferences in which women from the Southern U.S. are given opportunities for leadership development, and to network with established female political leaders.
      YWCA of the USA Institute for Public Leadership* www.ywca.org Washington, D.C. based organization provides comprehensive assistance in promoting and organizing democratic elections worldwide. Includes voter training, staff training, candidate/campaign administrator training, acting as election observers.

    3. Political parties (only token examples given, as some sites listed in research report for Phase I of OWOV, and many parties are not currently engaged in active candidate training)

      Name of Organization Website Purpose/activities
      21st Century Democrats* www.21stcentury
      dems.org      		 Youth-oriented site recruiting young progressive Democrats. On page appended, note promotion of workshops for campaign workers as opposed to candidates.
      Libertarian Party of Michigan* www.mi.lp.org Small right-wing party's site (like other fringe-party sites and unlike most Dem/Rep sites) provides considerable campaign advice online.

    4. Chambers of Commerce

      Name of Organization Website Purpose/activities
      Battle Creek, Michigan* www.battlecreek
      .org/candidate
      school/index.html      		 Offered 5-session non-partisan Public Service Candidate School. Some curriculum and forms available online.
      Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce* www.gacc.org Offered 4-session Political Training Institute to assist members of the business community in running for office.
      Muncie-Delaware County, Indiana* www.muncie.com Offered 3-seesion Public Office Campaign School in conjunction with local League of Women Voters

    5. Special-Interest Groups - samples of groups including trade unions, lobby and advocacy groups

      Name of Organization Website Purpose/activities
      American Medical Association* www.ama-assn.org/
      ama/pub/category/
      4219.html      		 Provides Annual AMPAC campaign school for physicians, spouses and medical students who are interested in political office. Also provides instruction in lobbying for the interests of the association
      IAAF (Firefighter's Union)* www.iaff.org/politics/
      us/content/training.htm      		 Offers political training academy to union members and their spouses
      Local Victory* www.localvictory.com Offered 3-seesion Public Office Campaign School in conjunction with local League of Women Voters
      Women's Campaign Research Fund* none A group which promotes and supports pro-choice candidates of any party. Provides training to both political hopefuls and women who have been elected

    6. Universities Many U.S. universities, reflecting the increasing sophistication of the election process in the United States, offer training varying from multi-day seminars to graduate degrees in leadership and political consultancy. Following is a representative selection.

      Name of Organization Website Purpose/activities
      Thomas C. Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership* www.ccps.virignia
      .edu      		 Non-partisan institute at the University of Virginia provides 10-month program to potential political leaders
      James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership* www.academy.umd
      .edu/training
      		 University of Maryland Academy offers Community Action School - a variety of seminars on leadership - both political and non-political. Offers woman-specific campaign training
      NEW Leadership Institute* www.newleadership.
      rutgers.edu      		 Year-long program designed to "educate and empower young women to assume political leadership". Administered by the Centre for American Women and Politics (CAWP)
      The Women's Campaign School* www.wcsyale.org/
      train_session.html      		 Single and 5-day training sessions held in summer for women who are seeking elected office
      University of Florida* www.polisci.ufl.edu/
      campaign      		 Offers MA in Political Science with a certificate in Political Campaigning

    7. For-profit organizations This is a fast-growing sector of the political training world, especially in the United States. Rather than creating materials themselves, some smaller non-profit and community-based organizations contract with political consultancy/training firms to provide training to their target audience. Some companies provide free samples of training materials/articles on their websites.

      Name of
      Organization      		 Website Purpose/activities
      American
      Association of Political
      Consultants      *      		 www.theaapc.com Professional association for political consultants. Member's publications page appended.
      Campaign Training.org* www.liquidpolitics.com
      		 Republican-based. Offers "Campaign War College"
      Campaigns & Elections
      Magazine      *      		 www.campaignline.com Comprehensive U.S.-based political resource providing training seminars (see also locally available print resources)
      Capitol Online* www.capitolonline.net Everything from fundraising to printing yard signs
      Ideation
      Conferences      *      		 www.ideation
      conferences.com      		 Offered New Media Election Seminar in Conjunction with Campaigns & Elections magazine
      Marketing
      Sherpa.com      *      		 www.marketing
      sherpa.com      		 Provides weekly e-mail newsletters on marketing topics
      Political
      Team.com      *      		   Provides technological assistance (e.g., websites, online fundraising) to campaigns
      PoliTrain* email:
      politrain@aol.com      		 Toronto-based firm offering a variety of political training services. Also assists interest groups in lobbying elected officials.
      Reputation* www.repdirect.co.uk British communications consulting firm - free downloads on website of materials on politics, personal branding, managing workload, etc.
      TJWalker.com
      Media Services      *      		 www.tjwalker.com
      		 Web-based training school specifically for democratic candidates. The company only charges students if they want individualized feedback on assignments

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