The Calgary Alliance relies on Research Action Teams (RATs) to guide and lead on issues. We currently have three primary Research Action Teams—the Mental Health Research Action Team, the Environment (and Climate Change) Research Action Team, and the Truth and Reconciliation Research Action Team. They meet on a monthly basis and take action on winnable issues, while also leading listening campaigns and involving our fellow Calgarians into changing our city for the better. Research Action Teams also work with members of the Alliance and their core teams to involve and include Calgarians in our shared work.

The Research Action Teams and their current campaigns can be found on the main website of the Calgary Alliance, and they are visible here.

RESEARCH ACTION TEAMS/ISSUE DEVELOPMENT

Research Action Team Composition:

• Open invitation (of members or invited allies)
• Deliberate mix
• Institutes- graduated or will attend
• Led by co-chairs

Team Expectations

Team members commit to live our values by: 

1. Meeting on average once a month and prioritize attending our regular meetings. Meetings will be planned.
2. Take action by taking assignments for work to be done between meetings.
3. Engage their own institutions in the work.
4. Build relationships with each other and with other potential allies, knowledge holders or people in power.
5. Will work to develop their own and each other’s leadership abilities. This includes attending our foundations for community organizing training. 
6. Will hold each other accountable for assignments taken, building constructive relationships and our development as leaders and as a team. 

Purpose and Process of the Research Action Team 

1. Clarify Interests — The team will work to clarify the interests of our members and people connected to the issues.  This is done through listening campaign, institutional listening, 1-1s and research action visits. 
2. Learning/Research – The team will develop our collective understanding of the issue engage the alliance membership in this learning. This is done through reading and research action visits, civic academies and seminars with the best people. 
3. Build Relationships – The team will build relationships with those who have knowledge about the issues, are already working on it or have the power to address this issue. 
4. Move from Problem to Issue – The team will move from a broad vague problem to identify a concrete, specific, significant and winnable issue that the alliance can take action on. 
5. Conduct Power Analyses – The team will work to understand who has the power to impact the issue, the power dynamics that influence the issue and strategies for action that can effectively engage that power. 
6. Create Opportunities for Action – The team will identify specific action opportunities and engage the boarder membership in taking action both collectively and within institutions. 
7. Reflection/Evaluation – The team will be a learning team. We will evaluate every meeting and action and reflect on not just the issue, but on our own leadership. 

Research Actions:

• 2 or more members of the RAT meet with someone knowledgeable about problem
• Agenda for meeting
  • Introduce the Alliance/Why personally involved
  • How/why you came to be interested in the issue (team members and the person you’re meeting with)

Sample Questions (aimed at both content and power analysis):

1. What is your analysis of this problem? (Global & local)
2. What concrete changes would have the biggest impact?  What would you do to address this problem if you were the czar (or if you had some extra muscle / resources)?
3. Challenges and opportunities on the horizon?
4. Who are the key players?  What are the power dynamics at play?
5. Who else to see/what to read?
6. Interested in meeting again?

**Important to remember this is not an interview! It’s relational. Not simply about gathering facts or talking theory, but in building relationships, learning practical realities, establishing allies (or identifying opponents), and stimulating imagination about what can be achieved through collective action.

Co-Chairs

Why Co-Chairs? 

To develop each other’s leadership ability. To assist each other in leading. To support each other when life happens. 

Expectations of co-chairs

Co-chairs meet before each meeting to plan the up-coming meeting and communicate about the meeting. They facilitate and evaluate each meeting. They often take on a public role for the campaign, though they are not the only ones.