270409

Transition Sheffield Hub Group Strategy Meeting

Our aims for this year:

• To build inclusive local Transition groups working on concrete projects
• To develop city-wide theme groups (food, energy, transport etc)

To achieve these we identified these secondary aims:

• Build public awareness of Transition approach
• Training & learning opportunities
• Developing relationships with potential allies & City Council

This process is directed towards developing a Sheffield-wide EDAP.

In other words:

We felt that our primary goals were to get about 6 new groups operating this year - a mix of new local groups and also city wide themed groups. We should only undertake other activities where they feed into these goals. The activities might start to inform an energy descent plan, but coming up with a definitive energy descent plan isn't a definitive goal for this year.

Theme groups

The goal of each theme groups should be to work out how Sheffield’s need for that resource can be met without fossil fuels, and to work towards achieving this.

This will involve working with existing organisations in the relevant areas (eg Grow Sheffield, food retailers & producers, City Council etc), and encouraging a strategic focus on meeting Sheffield’s needs in a resilient and sustainable way.

Suggested theme groups:

• Food
• Transport
• Health/well-being
• Work
• International solidarity/migration
• Social Justice/Equality (or this could be a working principle across all groups)

Local groups

Developing more local groups with practical projects (notes of small group discussion, fed back to meeting)

• we need ways of replicating successful projects from one local group to another

• local groups may need support with: facilitation of discussions, techie side of showing films, etc

• hub group members or others could offer support to local groups

• we need a structure for documenting what works well - e.g. on the wiki

• we need 'new groups midwifing' to help new local groups form

• 'new groups midwifing' can act as contact, support people, do outreach, share skills

• could target a local area with posters in shops giving a contact, to develop a local member base

• once a local group forms they could strengthen links with local allies (not appropriate for this to be done by hub/midwives)

• we will promote the identity of Transition Sheffield as a series of local groups with practical projects, not as the hub group

• local groups could use local newsletters, noticeboards and shop windows for publicity
• we will do things that keep local groups lively and creative - participatory, inclusive and fun

• it will be important to build peer support locally to help prevent burnout

• there could be local 'heart and soul' groups that help provide emotional support and explore the psychological side of Transition

• we could provide training opportunities in using creative facilitation methods

• we could set up a press group to support/do press/media work

• it would be good to have a "Transition Times" blog with photos, videos and newsy stuff

• it would be good to have a leaflet template to help local groups do their publicity

• we could have an 'offers of help' list so that people can get help easily with e.g. creative facilitation processes, computery stuff, film stuff.

Objectives in 2009/10

To work towards our aims (above) we agreed on the following priorities:

To build 2-3 theme groups by: Organising several conference-type events on specific themes eg ‘The future of food in Sheffield / Food after oil’ to get different organisations working strategically together.

To build 3-4 local Transition groups by:

• Connecting people in the same areas through our email lists.
• ‘Midwifery team’ within hub group
• Encouraging existing groups and theme groups to support new local groups.

Set up a publicity sub-group to do awareness-raising, media work, publicity material etc (volunteers so far: Ronin, Steve?)

• Organising a Transition Training workshop in Sheffield

Next meeting: Monday 11th May 7.45 at New Roots, Spital Hill, Burngreave

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