COMMUNITY ORGANISING HANDBOOK
Turn Conviction into Campaign Action
The Community Organising Handbook teaches both the principles of effective organising and how to apply them in practice. It explains the ideas that underpin successful community leadership and provides the tools to turn those ideas into real campaigns, actions, and results.
Use this page to study each learning topic, understand the thinking behind it, and then apply it through the practical exercises and examples provided in the Handbook.
Learning Topics
Each section below is a standalone topic drawn from the Community Organising Handbook. You can start anywhere, but together they form a complete pathway from your first local meeting to building state and national representation.
- Building Local Leadership
- Understanding Power and Purpose
- Identifying Issues and Setting Goals
- Planning Campaigns and Actions
- Communication and Public Engagement
- Meetings and Decision-Making
- Growing Membership and Momentum
- Connecting with the Wider Movement
1. Building Local Leadership
Learn how to gather people around shared values and turn fellowship into organised strength.
This section covers the foundation of leadership: personal storytelling, trust, and one-to-one connection. You’ll learn how to inspire others through your own story, build confidence, and create shared purpose. These skills turn conversations into commitment and community into movement.
Handbook Modules included:
- Story of Self, Us, and Now – Inspiring Others Through Our Own Stories
- Relational Organising – Building Trust and Leadership One Conversation at a Time
[VIEW TOPIC 1 - Building Local Leadership]
2. Understanding Power and Purpose
Explore how organised people and organised resources create real influence in civic life.
This section helps you understand power not as control, but as the capacity to act together. You will define your Association’s goals, shape its purpose, and learn how collective strength can achieve the outcomes that individuals alone cannot.
Handbook Modules included:
3. Organising Social Capital – Turning Fellowship into Collective Strength
[VIEW TOPIC 2 - Understanding Power and Purpose]
3. Identifying Issues and Setting Goals
Find out how to listen to your community, identify what matters most, and design campaigns that win.
This section explains how to turn shared concerns into clear, achievable goals through structured planning and community dialogue. You will learn how to select the right issues, set priorities, and build campaigns that make measurable progress.
Handbook Module included:
7. Campaigns – How to Build One
[VIEW TOPIC 3 – Identifying Issues and Setting Goals]
4. Planning Campaigns and Actions
Learn how to move from planning to visible, public action.
This section provides the practical steps for creating campaigns that attract attention and deliver change. You will explore strategy, timing, and tactical coordination that helps your Association grow its presence, mobilise supporters, and influence decisions in local public life.
Handbook Module included:
8. Tactics – How Communities Take Action
[VIEW TOPIC 4 – Planning Campaigns and Actions]
5. Communication and Public Engagement
Gain the skills to communicate your message with clarity and confidence.
This section focuses on public speaking, media engagement, and alliance building. You will learn how to present your Association’s values, work constructively with journalists and councillors, and represent your community with integrity and influence.
Handbook Module included:
9. External Engagement and Alliances – Representing the Community with Integrity and Influence
[VIEW TOPIC 5 – Communication and Public Engagement]
6. Meetings and Decision-Making
Develop the ability to run effective, fair, and productive meetings that lead to action.
You will learn how to chair discussions, take minutes, and maintain transparency while fostering participation and respect. This section also covers how to handle conflict, mediate disputes, and keep fairness and fellowship at the heart of your Association’s culture.
Handbook Modules included:
5. Running Effective Meetings – Keeping the Association Alive and Working Well
10. Conflict and Resolution – Keeping Fairness and Fellowship at the Centre
[VIEW TOPIC 6 – Meetings and Decision-Making]
7. Growing Membership and Momentum
Keep your Association active, growing, and sustainable.
This section focuses on developing leadership capacity, maintaining engagement, and building strength for the future. You will learn how to recruit and mentor new members, share responsibility, manage resources, and plan for long-term success.
Handbook Modules included:
6. Developing Leaders and Committees – Sharing Responsibility and Building Capacity
11. Growth and Sustainability – Building Strength for the Future
[VIEW TOPIC 7 – Growing Membership and Momentum]
8. Connecting with the Wider Movement
See how your local work fits into the national story.
This section explains how independent Associations link together to form a coordinated, state-wide, and national movement. You will learn how to maintain your local identity while contributing to shared advocacy, cultural renewal, and representation at every level.
Handbook Modules included:
4. Building an Association – Turning Informal Networks into Lasting Structures
12. Movement and Renewal – Carrying the Work Further Afield
[VIEW TOPIC 8 – Connecting with the Wider Movement]
Next Steps
Once your group is active and organised, use the Heritage Australians Constitution Toolkit to formalise your Association, elect a committee, and connect into the wider movement.
Learning Topics
Each section below is a standalone topic drawn from the Community Organising Handbook. You can start anywhere, but together they form a complete pathway from your first local meeting to building state and national representation..