Untangling knots and finding new threads: how the CRE is transitioning into a new phase

As we conclude the first phase of the Community Resource Exchange (CRE) pilot, we are launching a series of blogs to reflect  on the transition to the next phase. In this first blog, we share what we have learned so far and outline the next steps of the transition phase. In the second one, published in April, we outline an overview of the key changes we will introduce in the second phase.

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Now, as we embark on the second phase of the CRE with hundreds of collaborators across more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, it’s time to look back at the picture that has started to emerge from the tapestry and consider which threads we need to draw in next.

Enabling collaborators to weave complex tapestries 

Over the last couple of years, we’ve realized that one of our most powerful tools is the ability to connect communities across the world who face similar challenges, opening spaces where they can learn from each other and access resources.

In 2023, for example, we facilitated an exchange between communities in El Salvador and Sri Lanka, both resisting the expansion of sugarcane plantations in their territories and facing similar challenges. While the Salvadoran group focused on community mobilization and the Sri Lankan group prioritized legal strategies, the exchange provided a space to explore different tactics, share lessons learned, and build solidarity.

Follow-the-money and security training in Nairobi, June 2024

Another crucial goal for the CRE is to support communities in accessing capacity-building with technical experts. In June 2024 – together with Inclusive Development International, Protection International Kenya, Afrewatch, and Freedom House – we co-hosted a four day in-person workshop for human rights defenders and civil society organizations from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Kenya, who are defending rights in the context of adverse Chinese investments. Grassroots groups developed skills on follow-the-money research to identify the financial actors behind the projects affecting them, as well as on how to assess security risks, plan protection strategies, and document violations.

As one of the participants said: “It is very helpful to learn about the different experiences and strategies implemented by others, to build knowledge within our community of practice, and identify patterns that can help define our advocacy strategy”.

Follow-the-money research has become a key strategy area for communities to test engagement with the CRE. So far we have supported 26 communities providing information about the financiers behind the projects impacting their territory, while dozens of other activists have attended training to be empowered to conduct their own research. Once they identify the actors involved, communities can use this information to advance their advocacy efforts and shape their vision of development. These learning and capacity-building initiatives allow communities to understand their inherent strengths, share them with others, and foster a sense of unity and solidarity.

As a participant from Colombia said, after a communications learning circle we facilitated, “Every day, we conduct many different activities, but we never have time to analyze what we do and take a look back at what we have achieved. We tend to focus on reacting to emergency situations, but this space has offered the opportunity to reflect on our strategy”.

In addition to facilitating linkages and capacity building, the CRE has provided a total of 89 small grants in its 3-year pilot phase. This financial support has allowed communities to advance their struggles through different strategies, from taking legal actions against mining companies to producing documentaries highlighting the environmental harm caused by infrastructure projects.

Finally, we are also seeing groups who have requested support in the past come forward to offer support in another context. For example, our collaborator Witness Radio connected oil-affected communities in Uganda with journalists, who covered their stories in national media.

Untangling knots, practicing new weaves 

No tapestry is woven without encountering some knots. Since its launch in 2021, the CRE has been undergoing a continuous process of self-reflection with the support of its governing structures, to understand what is causing the knots and untangle them.

As we are now transitioning into the second phase, we also launched a 360-evaluation that we are hoping to finalize in the last quarter of 2024. Through in-person and online consultations, we are seeking feedback from all the CRE collaborators (communities, civil society experts, networks, partners, and allies). The aim is to identify our strengths, gaps, and possible areas for improvement.

For instance, a key challenge is the dearth of collaborators that have the capacity and the expertise to support grassroots communities. For many organizations, the high number of requests we channel through the CRE can be overwhelming. It is difficult for them to add these additional requests to their already intense workload, considering their personnel and budgetary constraints. In particular, we are struggling to find experts that can provide pro-bono scientific and technical support to communities.

Another major knot is related to our budget. This year our regranting budget will only allow us to financially support 24 communities, less than the almost 40 grants we were able to process every year during the first phase of the CRE pilot. However, as in previous years, we will seek to refer to our referral partners those communities we cannot financially support with our own budget.

Finding New Threads

As the formal evaluation process is being rolled out, we continue facilitating new collaborations. In July 2024, we launched calls for proposals in the different regions, with each Regional Grant Working Group (RGWG) adapting the process for their own context. For example, in Latin America, the RGWG chose to have a targeted call, inviting communities working around the theme of climate and the just energy transition to apply. 

Going forward, we want to lean deeper into peer-to-peer support across communities, so that grassroots groups build their own capacities to advance the change they want to see. We also continue to recruit new organizations or networks who can support the growing needs of our collaborators. We are hoping these strategies will strengthen the CRE from the bottom-up.

We also want to welcome new funding partners, aligned with our mission and values, who could support our regranting programme or establish a referral partnership with us. When we act as a referrer, apart from taking care of conducting the necessary due diligence, we also strive to ensure that the support goes to those communities who have less connections, prioritizing groups who might benefit the most from a grant to advance their struggles.

The connections fostered through the CRE show us the complexity of each and every community struggle, and the strengths of the threads that communities are weaving every day. Each knot encountered is an opportunity to make our collective tapestry even more resistant and beautiful. In this second phase of the CRE, we look forward to bringing in even more threads, more colors, and more weavers.

Read more

• “The power of collective learning” (September 2023)
• “Weaving together 200 tapestries of resistance” (February 2023)
• “Learning while we create together” (April 2022)