About the Strategy Team
Extinction Rebellion has long struggled with the question of how to do strategy for a decentralised movement. It has been approached in many different ways.
We have matured our thinking and our approach over this time, each iteration an improvement on what had come before.
Strategy is not a matter of representing the views of the movement. We have needed a process that would tell us what is unique about us, what we have done, the skills we have and, given the landscape we were in, and who and what we were up against, how we can win.
Since late 2021 XRUK has had a permament Strategy Team that sits as a subcircle of the UK Rebel Hive. This has allowed ongoing improvements to be made through each Strategy cycle. SittngSitting in the Hive means that it is accountable to the elected representatives of the regions and nations, as well as other key circles like Operations and Systems and Cultures.
In December 2023 the Hive passed a new mandate for the Strategy Team, improving what came before - and what comes next will be another improvement as we’ve tested the process and found where it is strong and where it is not.
The changes were made to address four key areas: mitigation of power, transparency, consultation, comms.
It transformed the mandates of the internal and external coordinator, crafted mandates for all team members and created a range of policies to lay out the check and balances needed for a team with such an important job.
You can check these out on the Organism.
Having used this process it is clear to see what worked well, and where there is room for improvement for the next iteration, as we reflect and learn. The current team is debriefing and collecting their experiences, and the rebels from the region and nations that sit in the Hive will decide what changes are needed.
The XRUK Strategy Team is a diverse group of rebels, spanning various education levels, nationalities, ages, genders, ethnicities, and working backgrounds.
If you would like to get in touch with the Strategy Team you can contact them using strategy@extinctionrebellion.uk