Responding together gives you the possibility to contribute in various ways. You can either simply drop us a link here or, after having registered to the website, you can interact in more ways with the website content : submit us an action, a challenge you are facing and/or answer to an article that took your interest while browsing the acting together and learning together themes. You also have the simple possibility of submitting content via a structured form.
Contributor’s Guide to writing about a project
Take a few minutes to read this part. If you wish to share an action it is important to be aware that your contribution should primarily enable someone else to act.
The aim of “Responding Together” is not only to give visibility to interesting actions, overall it seeks to create paths for learning about “how to act” in order to reduce poverty and precariousness. Thus the significance is that you are sharing your knowledge to stimulate, encourage and provide key insights for others who will be starting or improving upon a process similar to the one that you have undertaken.
Building knowledge for action requires being able to identify the challenge, the paths for gaining legitimacy, creating trust and consensus, identifying the steps, overcoming difficulties, learning from errors and recognising key successes along the process.
How should I write?
Responding Together is aimed at providing access to information that is both rich and informative as well as easy to comprehend.
While writing your action, please refer to the below-mentioned points which will help you describe your project. Suggested questions within the different parts are not intended to limit your expression but rather they are there to highlight the main points of your action and make it more navigable for others.
Do not forget the KEY FACTS section!
Certainly the information is contextual and therefore exceptions will apply. Your contributions will serve as initial posts for wiki pages where other users will be welcome to build upon and add to what has been written.
You can choose in which different categories + topics you would like your action to be mentioned. Choose your main category, then tag the different topics that apply to your action.
For Instance, a Repair Shop can be tagged in the category “Weaving resources” under different topics: “Avoiding Waste” and “Knowledge”. You can choose as many categories that you consider relevant to your project but it is preferable to choose the most accurate categories that apply to your action and then include specific tags (folksonomy) in thetags toolbar.
NOTE: If the topic that you want to write about is already covered, you are invited to include your contribution as a response to that actions, thus building on the already existing knowledge. If the topic about which you want to write is not featured in the list, please let us know and we will gladly add it. Also, since Responding Together is a collaborative project we encourage all contributors to work together as opposed to individually, thereby creating solid and informative pages on the specific topics.
CONTRIBUTE
The Title/Name of the project/action Try to come up with the shortest title you can while also including common words relevant to the content of your post. Specificity is bliss.
The Summary What is the project about? Write 2-3 lines about your action/intervention that will appear in one of the orange boxes that you can see on the page of each topic. Even if English is not your first language, try to write it in English so that it can be more accessible to others. Try to make the description short and catchy in order to trigger the reader's attention.
KEY FACTS
Creation date Host organization Financing People involved in the project Public Partners Private partners Contact Persons Main project link
1. The idea
What is your project about? What were the reasons behind taking action? Max. 35 words.
2. The local context
Briefly present the local context, underlining what you and/or others identified in the area as the main reasons for the development of your project. Perhaps it could be useful to provide some historical background to the project. Max. 150 words.
3. The starting point
How did you begin your action? What were the decisive steps taken, e.g. core group formation?/ resource mobilisation?/common/voluntary support (from whom)? Max. 150 words.
4. How does it work
What are the practical steps not to forget? What makes your action successful? What enables it to be sustainable? Max. 150 words.
5. Governance and Participation
Who is taking part in the project (local citizens, public/private institutions)? Please comment on your relations with the different actors. How is the project managed and how are the activities financed? Who are the partners (if any)? Max. 150 words.
6. Added value of the project and making resources available
Is your project an enabling one for its citizens? How are local resources and human potential valued and utilised? What do you see as the added-value of your work for your community? What resources are being used or reused? These resources can be material (e.g. houses, bikes, etc.) or immaterial (knowledge, care, etc.). Max. 150 words.
7. Challenges/Risks/Inertias
What are the main difficulties you have faced in your project and how have you addressed them? What are the main societal challenges you have faced or are still facing in your project (e.g. concerning the legal framework, institutions, etc.) to ensure the sustainability and/or transferability of your project in other contexts? Max. 150 words.
8. Future perspectives
How would you like your project to evolve in order to better tackle the issues described above? What are the next planned steps for your project (expansion, creation of new projects, etc.)? What are some of the desired improvements and/or changes you would like to make? Max. 150 words.
9. Proposals for change
What changes can be made by citizens, institutions, etc. at local and larger level to overcome the challenges you face in your project? Max. 150 words.
10. Other Valuable Projects
Please add any interesting project that might be worth looking at. They may be projects/actions in your field, partner projects or any other valuable local project in Europe that you have heard of.
TIPS AND TRICKS
Additional advice for the reader and guidance on executing the action.
Tips & Tricks could include information like:
- Additional helpful/technical details
- Related articles
- Alternative paths that can be taken
- Other useful advice that doesn’t fit elsewhere.
SOURCES AND LINKS
It is not mandatory to use any sources or citations (especially when informing about your own action) but it can help readers get more information on the topic. Provide links to websites or networks of interest for readers. Please provide your contact details or website address and let us know whether you wish to interact with other potential users of your information.
''NOTE: If you're not particularly involved in something at the moment, perhaps you might want to share how your neighbours, friends or fellow citizens are dealing with both material (food, energy, population, health) and immaterial resources (networks, knowledge, time, etc.) to address the issue of impoverishment and precariousness. You can do this by interviewing them. As long as you stick to the provided structure, feel free to use any media outlet. It can be anything from video, text, infographics, mindmaps and other illustrations, or all of the above. If you need a hand please ask us or the Responding Together community for help.''
