This document contains the notes from a silent brainstorming session held by a steering group. It includes 9 categories of ideas with 3-14 individual ideas under each category. The categories include developing funding streams, working with partners on projects, promoting positivity, encouraging collaboration between groups, building an organizational structure, developing an external communication strategy, developing supporting infrastructure for projects, clarifying their vision, and raising awareness. The document provides a high-level overview of the key areas of focus and early ideas generated during the session.

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1. ACCESS RESILIENT AND ETHICAL FUNDING & INCOME STREAMS I = 11 O = 3 ( )
1.1 explore the Social Enterprise status re funding, following on from email
1.2 sort out our bank accounts and the legal side
1.3 we need a fundraiser – we should be aware that conventional funding will dry up (5+1)
1.4 establish an income generating potential eg oil vulnerability audits, renting stuff, etc
1.5 open bank account
1.6 cycle trailer hire is possible, fund raising and awareness raising
1.7 try and not be over dependent on money
1.8 use of ethical banking eg Cooperative Bank
1.9 think about money and where it will come from – then get it …….
Sell consultancy services of days like this – share revenues, make it a win-win for all of us
Become secure and resilient, manage the risk for us / Economically sustainable
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2. WORKING WITH PARTNERS ON JOINT PROJECTS I = 11 O =7( )
2.1 we need to get local businesses involved to make sure more needs can be provided locally
2.2 will any local shops buy and sell locally grown food?
2.3 set up organisation
2.4 don’t try to reinvent the wheel, if someone is already doing it, join them or tell people about it
2.5 Eco-Teams could become involved in Transition Towns
Be seen to be good at collaborating -
Ecoworks /
3. PROMOTE POSITIVITY THROUGH EMPOWERMENT I = 1 O = 17 ( )
3.1 building on fun – at EVERY event have time for socialising
3.2 have positive quotes and ideas / “be the change you want to see” Gandhi / so we can develop our group culture
3.3 make sure that everything we do is “on message”
3.4 make non-car transport options a piece of information we always put on Transition events
3.5 building on fun – provide cake for meetings, and real coffee
3.6 overcome evil with good – nothing illegal
3.7 come up with “green solutions” for anything we do, eg at TN events we always serve organic food, and
Fairtrade tea and coffee, we should be the best example we can be – pens, post-its should be greener
3.8 start a heart and soul group
3.9 build in fun and creativity and relationship building at all meetings and events
3.10 integrate “happiness criteria” into all meetings/ Heart and Soul Group. Power of positive vision and action can
make us happy in difficult times
3.11 invite to speak, develop group culture, eg “How …… World problems can make you happy”
3.12 Values = support respect fun community inclusivity creativity celebration personal resilience ethical inetagrity
therapeutic open honest etc
3.13 define and agree our values and principles eg open honest
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3.14 buy coloured post-its and coloured pens for our meetings, it ads fun, and helps in other ways
3.15 define a glossary of terms phrases acronyms – all speak the same language , reduces assumptions
3.16 get photographs of key people on the website – adds to visibility, and being approachable
3.17 build fun into our meetings and get togethers
3.18 we must live our principles
3.19 do things that are more environmentally friendly in our own lives
3.20 consume less of everything
3.21 encourage all different kinds of people to become involved in TT eg different races religions ages etc
3.22 make it fun by for example having get togethers / parties within come=unities to help raise awareness and help with the
psychological impact – so it is not so serious all the time
3.23 support each other, accept limitations, remember we all have other responsibilities
3.24 incluyde fun and celebration
3.25 think about how Transition techniques could be used in our groups – how touchy feely is appropriate – what
about me language, impressions ?
3.26 recogise that we are all vulnerable
3.27 one job – one team
3.28 have discipline to have freedom
3.29 alternative ways to measure indicators of well-being (not GDP Gross Domestic Product)
3.30 define some shared values and beliefs / guiding principles
3.31 we need to avoid burnout
3.32 if we fragment, those who disagree (positively or not) will align with non-active areas close by. Although this
movement is bottom up, we need to maintain unity and consistency
3.33 we are allowed to have fun ? compulsory
3.34 not get burnt out – recognise our limitations (as the steering group)
3.35 we must learn to love, respect and trust each other
3.36 recognise that “good enough” principles are sometimes more realistic than “excellence”
Embody our values through our behaviours
Heart and Soul and Fun – in our meetings etc
Sunday Times Rich List to “Happy List” which paper?
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4.ENCOURAGE and ENABLE EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ALL STEERING GROUPS I = 5 O =11 ( )
4.1 skill ourselves to run good meetings
4.2 learn more about communication eg NVC
4.3 develop lines of communication and use them
4.4 we need to share knowledge on Transition Process with local groups, so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel
4.5 decide what is for the “village groups” to do / decide, and where the hub fits in (with support)
4.6 develop resources for groups on fund raising etc, offer groups support via a parent bank account
4.7 we must not be too paternalistic to areas, avoid top down, too much like the City Council
4.8A invite the steering group to sub-group meetings and vice versa
4.8B build on existing successes eg Shared Allotments, bike trailers from Centre Parcs (free) – good for high profile
bicycle publicity in the H Street
4.9 communication between the hub and other cities / towns and the network
4.10 offer local groups the resource list – DVD’s, template posters, lists of venues, contacts etc
4.11 steering group needs to clarify roles and tasks, so not overloaded, maybe get more onboard
Hub – local groups, communication, relationships
See also skills / traing – affinity number 19
5. URGENTLY BUILD OUR ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE I = 0 O = 18 ( )
5.1 identify roles and apportion tasks eg emails, 1 person 2 days per week, another 2 days, another 3 days pw
5.2 become legally incorporated, charity, company etc and all area groups separate legal entities
5.3 form a local representatives group with one rep from each area to share across areas / plus one rep from each
working group
5.4 identify skills or resource shortages – who do we need? Are we a balanced group?
5.6 establish the exact amount of time we can each devote, so we do not have unrealistic expectations of ourselves
and of each other
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5.7form city wide support working groups, and focus areas. 1 energy 2 food 3 health 4 economy 5 water and
sanitation 6 heart and soul
5.8 think about how we do discussions, conversation café ideas can help – from TT w/e
5.9 give people responsibility for particular areas eg food transport etc (Paul’s list)
5.10 get the Nottingham Transition “system” clear eg Hub provides (research, info, films, speakers) and Local
Groups provide (eg people, cooperation groups to work on local projects etc)
5.11 be responsible to each other, don’t just leave people in the lurch
5.12 elicit feedback, analyse, then act
5.13 define some specific roles to make sure things happen
5.14 use a living system as an organisation model
5.15 define our structure, put it on the website, and communicate it
5.16 office? Phone? Address? Paid staff?
5.17 how do we avoid becoming bogged down in bureaucracy
5.18 we need to delegate roles
5.19 our steering group should expand , we should recognise someone else could do it better than us
5.20 one person, one job – more responsibility, more accountability
5.21 what job would each of us do?
5.22 get volunteers in post eg an official Chairman, ref
5.23 the 12 steps can all take place in order or in parallel. Would an action plan for each step be useful?
5.24 do we need a list of steering group roles, and who is in each role – for the hub – for the local groups
5.25 Hub vs Local Groups – will there be people in both with too much on?
5.26 get the use of an office, and computer. And phone, 1 day per week etc Would FOE be willing?
5.27 I will download structure / governance details from the primer on the Transition website, and distribute it to
people interested in sorting this
5.28 defined roles so that people have responsibilities thay they are happy with and committed to
5.29 Charity – formal and legal. Leads to constitution and the stifling of ideas, not good for bottom up
5.30 details are important – nuts and bolts of organising – vital. We must walk before we can run
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6. CREATE OUR EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY I = 10 O = 4 ( )
6.1 branding? Do we need recognisable logos, posters, etc (as that is what people are used to)
6.2 logistics – bank account, office space, answering machine, and phone number (for people with no internet)
6.3 use “new media” to get our message across, YOUTUBE, community radio, indymedia etc
6.4 use video conferencing wherever possible to reduce travel miles from speakers – lead by example
6.5 we need a website that keeps people fully updated with what we are doing
6.6 the “FREECONOMY”
6.7 encourage people to write succinct and clear emails
6.8 ensure a free flow of information of practical ideas, so they can cascade throughout the community
6.9 develop a common voice
6.10 communication is the lifeblood of the organisation
6.11 personal contact is important
6.12 we need a LOGO
6.13 sort out the website
6.14 get our page on FACEBOOK
6.15 we need to communicate across cultures ( 6 and 9)
6.16 newsletter – either paper / or electronic / or YOUTUBE
6.17 a role would be to have someone or a group of people that represent us in front of the media and build up links in the media
6.18 create a blog and a facebook account
6.19 think about how we communicate with people who are not on the web
6.20 we must get onto the local media / television, radio et al
6.21 we must transform the content in the local print and broadcast media to reflect our agenda
Publicity PR Media / creative message / public face / identity – “brand”
7. DEVELOP PROJECTS & A SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THEM I = 11 O = 6 ( )
7.1 Community Association does equipment sharing, we could adopt their system, learn from them
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7.2 find a local source of charcoal so we can still have barbecues
7.3 use less energy, develop ways for people to use less energy
7.4 provide information and sources of help for peole to learn to grow their own food
7.5 bikes able to go on public transport
7.6 design Nottingham wide integrated transport
7.7 availability of sufficient clean water
7.8 projects for recycling urban and country wastes ??
7.9 perhaps we should have free at the point of use public transport
7.10 bicycle paths should be extended and away from main roads, a complete network of paths
7.11 bicycles should be available free for all to use
7.12 strengthen technology to prevent use of fuel
7.13 we need to encourage travel by bus, bike, walking, tram, train etc
7.14 increase energy efficiency in the home and conserve energy eg insulation
7.15 buy products and services that are produced locally
7.16 to grow more of our food ourselves organically and with consideration of permaculture
7.17 look into bulk buying of solar panels and other types of technology that are renewable or use less energy
7,18 encourage decentralized energy systems
7.19 we need to foster biomass production and biochar
7.20 we must turn the University Park into a permaculture park
7..21 we must find new cultivation areas at no rent or very low rent
7.22 we must organise the recycling of city urine into city cultivation
7.23 get cycle trailers, like
7.24 guerilla (?) grafting – is this possible?
7.25 working groups to come up with city wide projects in …… area
7,26 build a library of appropriate post-oill literature and get libraries to stock appropriate books (and compile a
list of books)
7.27 have some “community action days” eg getting together to plant some tres or whatever
7.28 organise the rental of bikes and bike trailers etc
7.29 as we collect bew ideas for projects we need a central list of ideas, pls which projects are already “in
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development”, where and by whom?
7.30 City treess should be edible, and we should set up a grafting project
7.31 walled garden, garden – how to take advantage of opportunities
7.32 community compost projects
7.33 having a list of projects to share ideas and encourage them to start
7.34 register projects in a benefits ledger of projects, how many started this month, how many delivered / closed
7.35 develop a FLAGSHIP PROJECT with City Council
7.36 equipment sharing eg homebrew equipment, long ladders etc
7.37 form local neighbourhood health service groups
7.38 work out how much food to feed Nottingham, how much available land there is, is there enough land? What
else can we do to generate food eg nut trees in road, intensive growing in gardens, containers in disused car parks
7.39 skills trading, I do a day of PC re-build, my friend builds me a barbecue etc
7.40 to devise a resources list / people / support to smaller “villages” and “villages” just starting, maybe separate
from this steering group. This Steering Group cannot do the above, and do the city wide overall stuff eg a
Nottingham Energy Descent Plan – all at the same timein one meeting per fortnight etc
Resource bank
Research projects too in this section or just in affinity 10 (which is more strategic)?
8. CLARIFY OUR VISION I - 4 O = 14 ( )
8.1 we need a 3 year plan for strategy – 2012 is in 3 years – only 12 quarters
8.2 run city wide schools competition for a vision and a description of a post oil world
8.3 run city wide competition for artists and graphic designers to draw Nottingham 2020 – post oil
8.4we are not in to Direct Action (combative), positive direct action OK, building solutions, not attracting enemies
8.5 we must stop the world wide trade of unnecessary goods
8.6 we need to curb population growth, at local national and at world levels
8.7 we must stop making money from arms
8.8 we must stop war, costly arms into ploughs (?)
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8.9 do we share a vision ?
8.10 focus on the positive
8.11 learn from our mistakes and successes
8.12 the processes should reflect processes in living systems
8.13 be creative rather than destructive or oppositional
8.14 stress the positive
8.15 develop position statements – so we know what we think
8.16 aim for Excellence
8.17 present a positive vision of the future – offer a real alternative lifestyle
8.18 when I go home this evening – my wife is going to say “so what are YOU going to do?
8.19 our aim is not to have a need for
Get the steering group to draw some rich pictures and articulate their feelings etc
9. RAISING AWARENESS OF FOR ALL I = 7 O = 11 ( )
9.1 need a way of describing what a transition town might look like, feel like, and be like, to live in so that people can imagine it
9.2 invite other people that we know along to transition town meetings to raise awareness
9.3 have people that are trained to asses how environmentally friendly businesses are, and how they can improve, and have a way
of rating it, so that the public are made aware
9.4 links from other websites to the transition town Notts website to raise awareness
9.5 create a website for and maybe for the towns within Notts
9.6 workshops that will help people “out-there” to get them interested and involved
9.7 how do we engage the least interested people? Or do we just get on, and let it grow naturally
9.8 how can we make the most of existing practical projects, and support new ones? (practical activity really helps
awareness raising and gets over any suggestions of a “talking shop”)
9.9 have some really imaginative ways of engaging people to get a high proportion of the community involved –
get a list compiled of who we should aim for
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9.10 we need a timetable of events / activites (including local groups) – and what’s the best place to publicise it
9.11 the principal hindrance to progressing our vision will be the indifference and the apathy of those in denial of
the situation. We have to find ways of bringing those people out of denial
9.12 I want us to promote vigorously an awareness of the problem – oil shortage, CO2 levels, re-cycling. Apart
from friends few seem to be aware. My work colleagues are more interested in their Facebook activities
9.13 we must engender public awareness, ie decorated shirts etc
9.14 it is important to emphasise care of the environment both at school and at university etc
9.15 mini-carnival conscious raising event on the market square
9.16 recognise that no one is indispensable
9.17 we should be sensitive to where others are coming from – listen first
9.18 communicate in a way appropriate to a mass audience – “Sun readers”, Daily Mail readers, ESOL, businesses,
?? primer downloads??
10. INITIATE and ACCESS RESEARCH I = 6 O = 10 ( )
10.1 identify essential resources unavailable within may need to work with other TT’s (or outside areas) to trade
and to exchange
10.2 identify city infrastructure as opposed to area or local infrastructure
10.3 be clear on - max renewables, max food, - at what fuel, electricity, food, oil, PRICE, would you grow your own
10.4 keep the research going, and share the information openly
10.5 visit Bristol and Leicester (other cities?) – what is happening to cities event?
10.6 approach experts to generate practical and affordable solutions for the micro-generation of energy so making
the switch is easy for people to make
10.7 some research at Universities, some at other organisations, some by individuals
10.8 think about land use and land availability
10.9 think about relationships with big corporations
10.10 a way of measuring an improvement in an area / town within Notts. This will involve research to assess the current situation
and we will need consider what we will measure and how
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10.11 researcher needed for current isues and to disemminate the information
10.12 University projects need to be useful eg renewables and not racing cars
Get funding to kick start the research,
make it practical and action focussed
Qualitative and quantitative
11. URGENTLY EVALUATE OUR PROGRESS NOW I = 3 O = 9 ( )
11.1 set achievable deadlines for particular actions – and stick to them
11.2 energy audits for groups, schools, churches, etc (community check)
11.3 do an audit of what resources we have at the moment
11.4 have we made sustainable (happy)? Measures
11.5 what is the reality of as a transition town? What % of goods sold has come from within 20 miles? When we
say we have what % will there be? What is the level to become a reality?
11.6 decide on our measures of success
11.7 milestones and targets, outcomes, in our 3 year plan – what is success?
11.8 general Happiness Index
11.9 Audit ourselves (not just money, actions, communications etc)
11.10 can we decide on some measurable points to get to? Eg x000 people growing some food or x% of
produced from renewables
Audit phase / measurement of the past
Design measures for the future
12. COLLECT IDEAS on OUR ENERGY DESCENT PLAN I = 13 O = 1 ( )
12.1 how do we agree on a Vision? EDAP?
12.2 an Energy Descent Action Plan format should be VISUAL – not a wordy document, and adpatable to feedback
12.3 energy descent programme for 12 months and also for 12 years
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12.4 we must accept other energies than fossil fuels
12.5 what is not local now? Not only food we need. Clothes shelter warmth shelter water sewage disposal,
education, health, even holidays,
Write the energy descent plan
Start to deliver against the energy descent plan
13. COLLECT IDEAS on SOCIAL COHESION during the I = 9 O = 6 ( )
13.1 we must prevent city trees & biomass being cut down as fuel prices rise
13.2 we must have a way of policing / protecting cultivated areas from crop theft
13.3 we must engage with the skills and the cultures of minority groups
13.4 we must have strategies to avoid scapegoating and to promote social cohesion
13.4 think about ways to promote community eg ways for people to meet each other, ways for people to work
together, small scale community events
13.5 promote inter-generational links so that we become friendly with people of different ages
13.6 think about how to get everybody on board, including the less committed, the scoffers, and the dangerous
13.7 we should think how to allocate fossil fuels to those with the real need eg elderly etc and plan alternatives,
not everyone can use bicycles
13.8 supporting poorer areas eg
13.9 involve all ages and all ethnic groups (segment the market)
13.10 staggered groups – need for social cohesion, do you want your aa to be the first to switch off street lights at
night?
13.11 include all groups eg old people, vulnerable people, diabetics etc
Start to address the social cohesion issues – see projects / see values and principles etc
Turn it into action ASAP
14. DEVELOP INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS IN THE HUB (for central steering group) I = 2 O =16 ( )
14.1 how will we communicate if we can’t pay the electricity bill and plug in the computer
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14.2 have a forum for ideas, so email can be used to communicate the nuts and bolts
14.3 don’t assume people know the person that you are talking about
14.4 tell everyone else if you’re going to do it
14.5 organised structured events, shared resources, online shared workspace, do we need a remote server or to
use a password access to the workspace?
14.6 online list of projects and key contacts and progress from all areas – a city wide site
14.7 style ID – skype in number, skype out number, voicemail
14.8 communication is the lifeblood of the organisation
14.9 we shouldn’t assume someone else is doing it
14.10 what do we want from the website
14.11 identify and deal with critical bottlenecks / influencers eg
14.12 regular meetings with minutes and with follow up
14.13 resilience / backup plans or information shared (in the event of electricity / web problems)
1 need to capture requirements re website, Survey local groups, see what they would like
2 collate these into features, then 3 plan what will be built first, phases, dates,
4 ongoing reviews, user testing, fit for purpose, future proof
?? look other
research suitable software
Arrange a specific web meeting with key people
15. DEVELOP A PROACTIVE PLAN of ENGAGEMENT I = 9 O = 8 ( )
15.1 say hello to your next door neighbour
15.2 engage with established groups like the WI Women’s Institute / Scouts etc
15.3 coordinate with existing urban market gardeners
15.4 encourage local shops to be local
15.5 establish a dating agency for gardeners without gardens
15.6 visit Bristol
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15.7 develop a common voice, not individuals with an axe to grind, more clout with decision makers, designated
spokespeople – so they are on message
15.8 ways of preventing the waste of public money on post-oil “white elephants”
15.9 how do we respond to wasteful projects eg shopping centre developments? Do we just ignore it and carry on
with our positive vision?
15.10 engage students and staff from both universities and from colleges
15.11 make a systematic survey of the key local political / governmental people that we need to get on board, and
plan who is going to “cultivate” them, the most interested ones first
15.12 list contacts in all local organic and other food outlets eg Natural Food companies, organic farms etc
15.13 contact the local and national government so that they know what we are doing in
15.14 talk at schools, and clubs etc, about what is about
15.15 improve links to the City
15.16 an important task of the hub is to remove blocks eg talking to Councils, or whoever is able to do this
15.17 liaison with the Government (national/local), established organisations (Scouts, WI), new groupings eg local
shops
Network with organisations / Local Government etc
16. COLLECT IDEAS on PUBLIC HEALTH during the TRANSITION I = 9 O = 5 ( )
16.1 we must have plans for community care of people currently treated in hospitals
16.2 we must include vulnerable people in the transformation, otherwise we will have a public health crisis
16.3 waste and sewage
16.4 living without pills
Not just collect ideas, but then start to address them
17. COLLECT IDEAS re ALLOCATION PROCESS of RESOURCES I = 12 O = 2 ( )
17.1 we need projects which allow pooling of resources like libraries
17.2 we must turn schools and colleges into resource centres of relevant skills and knowledge
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17.3 we need a coherent policy for ? neighbourhood ?/ organic and green wastes
17.4 we must have a way of guiding / advising unemployed people how to cope
17.5 build “Transition Indicators”
17.6 we need a way of concenyrating city financial resources on big projects
17.7 engage with, and build relationships with local businesses
17.8 we will need a city wide exchange and / or currency strategy
17.9 organise to have the equivalent of the for towns in
17.10 work with organisations / businesses / peoplke / to model their finances if oil / electricity etc costs 2x 3x 4x
the present costs
17.11 land at no rent / low rental
Local and national economics / mobilisation of resources / plan
Start to run the process
18. CELEBRATE THE I = 12 O = 0
18.1 bang the drum, and have a big party
Deliver the unleashing event, then hold it
Involve the media
Involve other Transition Towns / Vilages etc / and “mullers” – people thinking it over
19. FACILITATE THE GREAT RE-SKILLING I = 15 O = 0 ( )
19.1 pick the brains of
19.2 plan a skilling up for the power down, maybe a central one initially at central location
19.3 skill ourselves up, get some training from on offer is 2d for core group, 1 day for learning to be a speaker,
Leadership in Transition 2 days – ask them to come to Nottingham? Or I have the dates
19.4 list our skills so we know what we have in our pool, plug any gaps, first within steering group, then in TN
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19.5 train people in making meetings work
19.6 develop inter-personal skills within – conflict resolution, non violent communicastion, and later on ofer them
to the community
19.7 Transition Academy (virtual or bricks and mortar?)
19.8 kick start an Energy Audit Company
19.9 facilitate and organise training – practical and personal / encourage oil vulnerability audits
19.10 deepen knowledge and skills of energy accounting
19.11 offer energy vulnerability audit training to large organisations
19.12 we must train people in how to use work animals
19.13 educate the steering group to make sure that we all know exactly what we are talking about – so we can
then teach others
19.14 reskilling workshops across the City
19.15 basic cookery lessons
19.16 train ourselves in permaculture
19.17 create lots of skills sharing opportunities
19.18 practical skills – science for transition / resource packs for groups
19.19 we need to make lots of training courses available
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