From Campaigns to Community Power: Turning election energy into lasting empowerment

An election campaign can bring thousands of people together around a shared purpose. But what happens when the election is over?

How can Community Electorate Groups (like Voices) retain relationships, develop leaders and build the capacity to act together over the long term? And how do those groups then position themselves in advance to be successful at the next election?

International organising scholar Hahrie Han and Australian community organiser Amanda Tattersall will explore the difference between mobilising people for a moment and organising them for lasting power. They will consider how groups can build on the energy of a single campaign to create enduring communities of participation, leadership and action, capable not only of electing representatives, but of strengthening democracy and creating change between elections.

About the speakers

Hahrie Han is an internationally recognised scholar of organising, social movements, civic engagement and democracy, and an award-winning author of five books. Her research examines how ordinary people develop the motivation, skills and relationships needed to act together, and how organisations convert participation into durable civic and political power. Her central distinction between mobilising people for a moment and organising them for the long haul, has become a touchstone for movements and grassroots groups worldwide, and speaks directly to the challenge facing community independents groups: turning a single campaign's energy into a durable base of civic engagement and power. Han is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Professor in the Department of Political Science and the SNF Agora Institute, and Faculty Director of the P3 Research Lab at Johns Hopkins University, where she also served as the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute from 2019-2026. She is a 2025 MacArthur Fellow and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. For more see here. https://www.hahriehan.com/

Amanda Tattersall is a community organiser, writer and researcher who has spent more than two decades making and analysing social change in Australia and internationally. She co-founded GetUp! in 2005, and went on to found and lead the Sydney Alliance for nine years, bringing Saul Alinsky-style broad-based community organising to Australia to build a coalition of unions, faith groups, and community organisations to win change on issues from public transport to affordable housing. Her latest book, "Conscious Tribes: Thinking Differently about Making a Difference" seeks to reimagine how we can make change even in difficult times. For the last 10 years she has hosted the fortnightly ChangeMakers Podcast that shares stories of people trying to change the world and continues to advise movements and organisations on grassroots strategy, giving her a rare combination of practitioner experience and scholarly insight into what it actually takes to build and sustain social change. For more see here.