THINGS YOU CAN DO BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE EVENT

Broken down into “Simple and Quick,” “Simple and Long,” “Complex and Quick” and “Complex and Long” for each of these four.

Disclaimer – different people have different ideas of what counts as “simple” and “complex”, or even of “quick” and “long.” If we’ve got it wrong in your case, apologies! If you have ideas that we haven’t listed, PLEASE get in touch with us – mcmonthly@gmail.com

BEFORE

 Simple and Quick

Follow relevant councillors on twitter (not just Neighbourhoods Scrutiny – also Richard Leese, Nigel Murphy, Bev Craig, Suzanne Richards, Kate Chappell etc

Lobby relevant councillors on twitter

Leave comments (positive and polite) on the websites of relevant councillors, encouraging them to ask detailed questions and suggest ways the scrutiny committee could more closely scrutinise and support the council in its climate actions

Watch the 90 second videos that are put up about the impending meeting (scrutiny system, annual carbon budgets etc)

Critique these videos so that future versions are better

Publicise these videos to friends, family, allies

(Especially if you are NOT coming)

Agree to be part of the team that monitors twitter during the relevant time frame (1400 to 1600 on Tues 15 July) and retweet pictures relevant messages, sending in questions and suggestions.

Create and send out tweets about the event, why people should come, what to expect

(You can send out your own, clearly. We will provide suggestions)

#beyondc02budget – vital we help #mcc cllrs scrutinise #climate plans! #democracy #manchester Tue 16/7

#beyondc02budget – meet other #climate activists #manchester Tue 16/7

#beyondc02budget- #biodiversity report launched #manchester Tue 16/7

#beyondc02budget – new forms of #engagement #democracy #manchester Tue 16/7

sequence of tweets that people can send, on different days

#beyondc02budget – new video about #council #democracy #scrutiny #manchester

Simple and Long

Write letters to your local newspaper about the upcoming event (template provided)

Leave comments (positive and polite) on the websites of councillors, encouraging them to ask detailed questions and suggest ways the scrutiny committee could more closely scrutinise and support the council in its climate actions

Engage with local journalists (print and electronic), encouraging them either to attend or to report afterwards

Engage with local bloggers on environmental/democracy issues, encouraging them to either attend or to report it afterwards

Engage with your local councillors (ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE ON THE COMMITTEE!) about climate issues, and start to build a constructive relationship with them.

Encourage the other scrutiny chairs and other exec members to attend

Complex and Quick

Suggest the names of people who have not been invited and who SHOULD be specifically invited to attend.

How can these people most easily be helped to get their heads around the agenda?

Come up with questions about the event, what will happen at it

Explain what Manchester City Council could be doing to make itself more transparent, more responsive, more “engaging” to citizens

Explain what the “activist community” could be doing to better engage with councillors and each other
Complex and Long

Read the existing Carbon Reduction Plans and see what is missing

Compare the Carbon Reduction Plans to those of other cities – what is Manchester not doing that it COULD be doing, within the existing (and increasing) spending constraints) – share this analysis with other people, and with councillors

Ask the Local Government Association its opinion

Talk to scientists (e.g. Kevin Anderson and others)

What are other Local Authorities in Greater Manchester doing?

Create a storify for the project

Create a document “things the Scrutiny Committee(s) could do”

DURING (Tuesday June 16th 1245 to 1600)

Simple and Quick

Tweet about the meeting to your followers. Ask them to retweet

Circulate the spotters guides to people who didn’t come to the pre-meeting

Give copies of the biodiversity report to the councillors

Keep tabs on who is there, who is absent
If you are not there

Follow the “right” people and retweet the tweets

Circulate twitpics/flickr images of people before they go into the meeting

Change your facebook profile picture for the hours before and during
Simple and Long

Keep tabs on who is asking questions within the “Carbon Budget” section (we will provide forms for this

Complex and Quick

Use other social media (besides twitter and facebook!) to spread the word

Complex and Long

Keep an account of who asks what questions about the report – ideally directly onto a laptop

Keep an account of exactly what answers are given by which officers and Exec members – ideally directly onto a laptop

Keep an account of exactly what commitments officers and Exec members make -ideally directly onto a laptop

Keep an account of what recommendations come out – ideally directly onto a laptop

AFTER

Simple and Quick

Circulate the “scorecard” of which councillors asked what questions

Send thank yous to the councillors who engaged with the process well

Simple and Long

Tabulate (and analyse) the anonymous feedback forms from the event.  3rd July; We have a volunteer!!

Engage with members of the committee – what went well, in their opinion.

Look at the tweets that were sent. Which ones got “picked up”?

Complex and Quick

Comment on the blog post(s) that get put up on MCFly, Mcr Citizenship etc
Update the storify

Complex and Long

Take part in detailed debrief of what went well and poorly and what could be done better next time.

This would involve reflecting on the initial goals, the execution of pre-during actions, on how the lessons can be

Start planning/thinking about the 2014 Annual Carbon Reduction Plan event, pre-event

With thanks, as ever, to Marc Roberts for his wonderful icons…