How do I get support with running a campaign?

UCU campaigns nationally on a range of broader issues, from pay to casualisation and equality. But every day, UCU branches campaign at local level on issues raised by members: campaigning against job cuts; campaigning to improve recruitment; campaigning to win changes to a policy at our college or university. Campaigning branches recognise that campaigning is necessary because we won't win by force of argument alone. We need to get members active and interested and we need to orient and direct their efforts toward achieving an objective. This is the essence of campaigning.

'Running a campaign' can sound quite daunting, but in reality, the skills we use are the same ones that we use in many other areas of life. The keys to campaigning are:

1. identifying a good campaigning issue - we have to know that people care, or be able to persuade them that they should care in order to win the support of our members. If we don't do this, we won't run a good campaign
2. knowing what we want to achieve and how we will try to get there - if we know what we want to achieve and can tell other people how we can get there with their help, it will be easier to win support for our campaign. Making the campaign realistic and winnable will ensure that our members will be more likely to support us.
3. knowing who will get us there and who will try to stop us - if we understand who will try to stop us achieving our objectives and who can help us, we can plan our tactics better and try to win broader support for our cause.

UCU has produced a detailed campaigning toolkit that will help you to plan and run campaigns of any size or type.

See what UCU materials are available to assist your campaigning

In addition, you can get advice and support from UCU's national campaigns team or your regional offices. Contact UCU's head of campaigns, Ed Bailey or find your regional officers here.