What is circuit riding

What is circuit riding and why should you care?

• TLDR: Model for doing tech capacity building for organizations
• What do you think of
  • Finding the right tools for your mission
  • If you don’t have the “right” people, turning the people you have into the right people
  • How will tech further the mission
    • Not necessarily the biggest, shiniest tools
    • What is most appropriate for your needs

• What are good elements/practices/methods for good tech capacity building?
  • Free/low cost
  • Will the people/tech do the things the org needs
  • Do we have an implementation plan?
  • Articulated, shared, strategic goals
  • Evaluation models, using data in retrospective processes
  • Can they pass skills on?
  • How sustainable is it?
  • Transparency & communication practices – on how we get stuff done

• Capacity – power to do or understand something
  • Tech capacity building – work done to help an org achieve its mission and understand how tech can or can’t further that mission

• Circuit riding experience
  • Quest – how can low income communities build power for themselves
  • Accidental techie
  • Job description – traveling, training technology use to use welfare better
  • Get organizing groups online for better communication, countering silos

• Model: 19th century ministers traveling on a circuit, traveling judges
  • 90s nonprofits – resistant to technology, not well resourced
  • Requirement was to be a problem solver, not necessarily having the tech skills in advance
• Problem: reinforcing existing power dynamics
  • Personal background – used to connect with the communities
• Building an email list – but not a priority for the users
  • Wanted better ways to connect with and build members – databases
• One of many circuit riders – different riders working on different issues
  • Learning strategies from different circuit riders
  • Circuit rider roundup

• Does anything like circuit riders exist now?
  • 1998 was an early circuit rider roundup – 30 people there
  • Grew exponentially for a while
  • Circuit rider term didn’t resonate as well internationally – change name to eRiding
  • Riding – a shared resource, helping people achieve their missions, connector, developing a network
  • Similar but not called circuit riding? Engine Room, School of Data
  • Building networks to help specialize

• How did the community groups access your services? Get integrated into the circuit rider model
  • Circuit rider org got to choose/identify community groups
  • Looking for building coalitions, potential impact
  • Who is open to working with you?
  • Initial work helped build reputation, open doors
  • Built networks that are still strong now, years later
  • Where could this model be applied now?
  • By issue area?
  • By existing networks?

• What happened with circuit riders?
  • Funders wanted work to be self funding
  • Direction to fees for service, but not a good fit for the mission
  • Sliding scale
  • eRiders set up with funding models in mind, set up as social enterprises
    • Commercial work to fund the nonprofit work
  • Range of capabilities and resources

• How similar were the organizations you were working with?
  • Common thread – everyone wanted a database, but specific needs may vary
  • Coalitions had more communication needs
  • Some mapping needs – especially for pressuring elected officials
  • Approach each group uniquely, doing assessments, unique path forward
  • Organizations want to be unique
  • Peer to peer facilitation – sharing information about how they tacked tech problems

• Important not to other marginalized communities
  • Let the community be the guide to building relationships, sharing their needs
  • Some cases, need to acknowledge that you don’t have the same experience/don’t know their context, but still want to support them
  • You own your knowledge, how can I help you unlock that power
  • Honoring the differences