Your strategy probably talks about shifting power externally – but what about inside your organisation? This post unpacks hidden power in strategy and how to address it.
06.03.2026 15:18
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Your strategy probably talks about shifting power externally – but what about inside your organisation? This post unpacks hidden power in strategy and how to address it.
Your Theory of Change Isn’t a Theory
More Takeaways from The Strategy Design Festival Most of us talk about our “theory of change” as if it were a fixed truth. In practice, it’s often a polished narrative on a slide deck, respectable enough to show a funder, but not quite sharp enough to shape…
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Co-develop dynamic, responsive strategic plans alongside civil society peers. FabRiders’ Strategy Design cohorts are designed for civil society leaders and practitioners who need to develop or update their organisational or program strategies.…
Strategy is a verb, not a document
In January, we gathered a room of civil society leaders, organisers and strategists for the very first Strategy Design Festival in London. It was a day to step away from the day‑to‑day and ask a simple but unsettling question: What if we treated strategy less…
What do we want? To stop using Google Docs! When do we want it? TBH It’s complicated.
This edition of the FabBlog is built around an Internet Exchange piece we wrote with the Rise Against Big Tech Coalition: “What Do We Want? To Stop Using Google Docs!” It’s about why our movements need to talk…
A board‑and‑CEO‑only strategy process produces a glossy PDF that’s dead on arrival.
Org after org at the Festival said they want strategy to be a live, ongoing practice of collective power – something you negotiate in public, not announce from the top.
No one was arguing against leadership.
What people wanted was shared strategic authorship: communities, members, young people and staff pulled into the centre of how priorities are set, not just consulted after the fact
Two weeks ago, at The Strategy Design Festival, we covered the walls and floors with theories of change and stakeholder maps.
A pattern jumped out: strategy power lives with boards, CEOs and funders – while staff, communities and movements mostly orbit the edges.
R.I.P Sly Dunbar. Your percussion was at the heart of all the tracks I adored in my 20s and beyond. song.link/i/1442364205
Huge thanks to everyone who came, shared generously and stretched their assumptions about what strategy can be. If you’d like to join a future Strategy Design Festival or hear about follow‑up sessions, reply here or DM me.
We also heard a clear call for “more”: time to dive deeper into implementation, organisational culture and sector‑specific challenges, plus follow‑up resources and clinics to keep the momentum going.
A big theme was doing strategy with communities, not to them: honest conversations about collaboration, shifting power and designing processes that centre the people most affected by strategic decisions
The atmosphere mattered as much as the tools. One participant described the co‑created space as “like the warm hug I didn’t realise I needed,” helping them think more boldly about strategy in uncertain times
Hands‑on exercises like stakeholder mapping, exploring power dynamics and linking Theory of Change to strategy gave participants frameworks they can use straight away with boards, teams and communities.
People told us they left realising they “have more power in strategic planning than originally thought” – especially when it comes to bringing stakeholder voices into the process and influencing how strategy gets made.
Last week we wrapped the first Strategy Design Festival at Coin Street in London, and I’m still feeling the buzz. Participants described it as “an incredible thought‑provoking day of learning” and “a really valuable space to reflect and plan.”
Yes! Very cool. But you're reminding me that I should have a proper catch-up with him. Thank you!
Our last #RABiT meeting, dug into why we’ve become so reliant on corporate suites and what realistic pathways out could look like for NGOs, grassroots groups and networks. If you’re wrestling with “what would it take for us to stop using Google Docs?”
internet.exchangepoint.tech/what-do-we-w...
What excites me is that we’re not pretending this transition will be pretty, easy or quick – but we are treating it as both possible and worth the effort because a more resilient, rights‑respecting digital infrastructure strengthens our movements in the long run.
Many of our organisations run on corporate suites by default, which shapes not just our tools but also our power and autonomy as actors in civic space.
Getting involved with the #RABiT Coalition has really underlined for me how much civil society and social change organisations need honest conversations about our dependence on Big Tech for everyday work.
FabRiders’ first in-person event this decade! 🎉
On 20 Jan in London, The Strategy Design Festival will help organisations make strategy participatory, adaptive and alive in day-to-day work.
Please share with London-based orgs and networks who might benefit: www.fabriders.net/strategy-des...
The Strategy Design Festival
Are you embarking on a strategic planning process for your organisation or programme in 2026? The Strategy Design Festival is an opportunity to discover how participatory, adaptive approaches can make strategy a living, breathing practice that your organisation returns…
Getting involved with #RiseAgainstBigTech showed me that it isn’t just about new tools, it’s a collective, values-led journey. Mission-driven migration builds trust, autonomy & digital justice. Change is hard, but collective action makes it possible. internet.exchangepoint.tech/rise-against...
The Facilitating Collective Power Lab is THIS WEEK!
Oct 15 & 16, 3–6 pm UTC, online.
Join to co-power groups and build inclusive, community-led change with FabRiders.
Pay-what-you-can pricing—open to all!
More info & sign-up: www.fabriders.net/facilitating...
#FacilitativeLeadership #PowerAnalysis
The Event Strategies Network: Managing Multi-Stakeholder Tensions
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FabRiders helps organisations co-create participatory strategies that are both vision-driven and responsive to real needs.
Why a Collective Power Approach to Strategic Planning Matters
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With social media gutting the 'pay for news' model and donors abandoning the information integrity space, the future of media development vital to strong democracies depends on you!
Please support @globalvoices.org to ensure local news reaches a global audience. globalvoices.org/donate/
I give you the musical wild horses of May Hill
