Build decentralized movements
Decentralized organizations are powerful because they belong to everyone. They’re made of many people, groups, and communities taking action without being gated by permission from a single leader.
But “decentralized” doesn’t mean “chaotic” or “flat at all costs.” Without intention, groups can operate with hidden hierarchy (which goes against justice), weak coordination (causing groups to drift apart or duplicate work), privilege taking over (where people with more time, money, or institutional power dominate); and burnout (because a few people carry everything).
When these challenges are factored into design, we can end up with shared power, shared purpose, clear communication, and structures that help our people act boldly and safely.
This guide reflects what we’ve learned so far, as a small group committed to justice. It uses simple language, practical examples, and justice-centered principles to help groups grow without losing their soul. But this work is ongoing and always evolving.
Guiding Principles
These principles help decentralized movements stay grounded, coordinated, and justice-centered, while still leaving room for local creativity.
Justice at the Center: Power is not equal. Race, gender, disability, class, language, and immigration status affect who gets heard, supported, or included. We name these realities and design structures that prevent harm and promote equity.
Shared Leadership: Power is spread, not stacked. Many people lead in different ways and at different moments. This reduces burnout, removes bottlenecks, and invites more voices into decision-making.
Autonomy with Shared Purpose: Local groups act in ways that fit their community. Alignment comes from shared values, a common vision, and light-touch coordination.
Transparency Builds Trust: Clear information about roles, decisions, and resource flows prevents hidden hierarchies and builds accountability.
Flexibility and Care: Movements survive when people can rest, rotate roles, adapt to new conditions, and repair harm. Sustainable organizing is deliberate, patient, and rooted in care.
Core Structures
Clear, lightweight, justice-centered structures help people act without waiting for permission, prevent hidden hierarchies, and keep the movement connected without becoming bureaucratic. These structures are not rigid formulas, but patterns we’ve repeatedly seen in successful decentralized movements. We offer them as a starting point for evolution.
Coordination Circle: A small, rotating group tends the movement’s “infrastructure,” (shared calendars, communication channels, meeting rhythms, and flow of information). They create conditions for others to lead, act, and collaborate without bottlenecks.
Working Groups: These teams organize around specific functions, like communications, outreach, legal support, data, fundraising, political education, wellness, etc. Working groups help distribute labor, prevent burnout, and let people grow into leadership in concrete ways.
Community Contributors: This wider circle stays connected in ways that work for them. There’s no pressure to take on a role, just clear paths to participate and stay in the loop.
Local or Thematic Hubs: These independent groups anchor in a neighborhood, campus, workplace, or shared issue. They take action that fits their context as long as they align with shared principles. This allows growth without centralization.
Spokes / Cross-Hub Coordination: This mechanism keeps hubs from becoming isolated. Each hub sends a rotating representative (“spoke”) to share updates, coordinate timelines, spot overlap, and raise needs. This keeps information flowing sideways, vs up or down.
Equitable Processes
A decentralized movement needs decision-making that is fair, clear, transparent, and light-weight. Equity and care systems prevent harm, redistribute resources, and embed justice into everyday practice.
Consensus or Consent: Use practices that prevent domination and encourage listening. Consensus means the group moves when everyone agrees. Consent means the group moves when no one has a meaningful objection. Consent is often more realistic for large movements and centers safety (“Is this decision harmful?”) VS preference (“Do I like this?”).
Local Decisions Stay Local: Power should sit closest to people in an area doing the work. Only issues that impact the whole movement get elevated.
Conflict & Accountability: Address tensions and harm proactively. Everyone should know what decisions they can make alone or with their group; how to escalate disagreements or stalled decisions; who facilitates escalated conversations, and how they’re chosen. Also document decisions transparently to prevent hidden hierarchies and treat accountability as repair, not punishment, centering both safety and learning.
Resource & Accessibility Support: Make participation equitable and inclusive by sharing money, supplies, and support with nodes or members who have fewer resources. Implement accessibility measures so that people with access needs can participate, and heck regularly that resources are flowing fairly and adapt as needs change.
Roles, Workload & Burnout Prevention: Prevent burnout and avoid consolidating power by rotating leadership and facilitation roles with set term limits. Track workloads and redistribute responsibilities to prevent overextension and normalize stepping back by embedding “no-meeting periods” or rest weeks. Cross-train to ensure continuity and reduce reliance on a few individuals.
Learning, Reflection & Care Practices: Embed ongoing support by rotating justice or equity roles to monitor power and inclusion across teams. You can also encourage community care practices, like peer support teams or check-ins, to sustain emotional health.
Onboarding
Newcomers need accessible ways to plug in. When learning is open and ongoing, movements grow without becoming dependent on a handful of “insiders.”
Welcome Sessions (Live or Recorded): 20–30 minute introductions offered regularly, cover values, current campaigns, and ways to get involved.
“Choose Your Level of Involvement” Menu: A simple list of low-, medium-, and high-commitment roles so people can match their capacity.
Mentors / Movement Buddies: Pair new folks with experienced members for 1–2 months.
Role Shadowing: Let newcomers sit in on meetings or shadow someone performing a task (facilitating, note-taking, outreach).
Toolkits and “How We Work” Guides: Plain-language documents with screenshots, step-by-step instructions, and social norms (e.g., how decisions are made, meeting agreements).
Learning Cycles / Political Education: Short monthly sessions or reading groups that deepen shared understanding of values, strategy, and history.
Skill-Sharing & Micro-Trainings: Quick sessions on facilitation, media making, safety strategies, conflict navigation, data tools, etc.
Blueprint
Write a 1-page movement agreement: Values, vision, alignment commitments.
Define circles and roles: Coordination, spokes, working groups, contributors.
Build a welcoming onboarding process: 60-minute session + clear document + mentor pairings.
Map decisions clearly: What’s local, what’s shared, what’s escalated.
Set up communication tools that everyone can use: Shared drive/Notion, monthly bulletin, meeting rhythms.
Create care and equity systems: Justice keepers, rest cycles, conflict repair.
Launch working groups with clear charters: Purpose, expectations, communication norms.
Reflect and adjust every 6–12 months: Bring in stories, learning, harms, wins, and redesign as needed.
Resources
Our approach builds on multiple streams of knowledge, including patterns in movements (like Movement for Black Lives, Occupy Sandy, Sunrise Movement); scholarship and mutual aid traditions, and lived practice. We are still refining what structures help people thrive, but check out the resources below to learn more.
