Difference between revisions of "Opportunity Spaces (33)"

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"opportunity spaces" for people and communities who need them.
 
"opportunity spaces" for people and communities who need them.
 
Text: Douglas Schuler; Image: Wikimedia Commons
 
Text: Douglas Schuler; Image: Wikimedia Commons
Strategic Capacity (34)
 
Occasionally, a small group with meager resources fighting a powerful foe,
 
actually wins. One of the most famous examples is David vanquishing
 
Goliath. A thousand other struggles, against poverty, against oppression,
 
against environmental degradation, retell the story with equally improbable
 
outcomes. What's the secret to these unlikely successes? Resources
 
don't tell the whole story: the powerful group sometimes fails while the
 
impoverished group succeeds. Neither does the idea of "political
 
opportunity." And characteristics such as dedication, drive, emotional
 
commitment don't always portend success or failure of activist struggles or
 
social movements. According to Marshall Ganz, "Leaders devise strategy
 
in interaction with their environments." He stresses that leadership teams
 
are more likely to have effective Strategic Capacity when they include
 
"insiders" and "outsiders", have strong and weak "ties" (connections) to a
 
variety of networks, and have "knowledge of diverse collective action
 
repertoires." Based on Ganz's reading of Jerome Bruner, "Strategic
 
thinking is reflexive and imaginative, based on ways leaders learn to
 
reflect on the past, attend to the present, and anticipate the future."
 
Text
 

Revision as of 12:56, 5 May 2011

Opportunities help determine the possible paths to the future that are available to people. Hence the opportunities that society offers are of critical importance. An Opportunity Space presents possible steps that people might take as they plan for, and move into, the future. Opportunities can include classes and seminars, volunteer positions, jobs, contests, access to the media, timely announcements, mentoring, scholarships, grants and others. A number of questions came up in our exploration of opportunity spaces. What opportunities exist? Do they exist for all citizens or just privileged ones? How are these opportunities developed? Do people know about them? How are they publicized? It is important to devote attention and resources (including policy, services, media and technological systems) to help create new (and improve existing) "opportunity spaces" for people and communities who need them. Text: Douglas Schuler; Image: Wikimedia Commons