This module is your introduction to the leading theory of motivation—self-determination theory, and sets the stage for the practical application methods in the following weeks.

You'll learn why you might not want to screen people out based on their commitment to an issue, and what to do instead.

Coaching is one of our best (and unrecognized) methods to increase members’ leadership capacity. It increases their skills and ability to make the right choice in uncertain situations. Coaching also increases members’ commitment and persistence in the face of setbacks.

You'll discover the results of three studies on member retention and get ideas for things to try in your organization.

Creating a great team doesn't have to be left to chance. In week five, you’ll learn an evidence-based framework for designing high-performing teams and practical methods to launch and support teams.

This week, you'll discover the three building blocks of a learning organization by using a diagnostic tool to examine a team or organization. This week also includes a deep dive into one component: psychological safety.

Whether you join on day 1 of our Nerdy Movement enrollment period or day 25, we’ll get you prepared for a solid start once your cohort officially begins. Keep an eye on your inbox for your onboarding emails, where you can register for the bonus orientation, weekly calls, and study halls; complete your goals survey; join Slack and introduce yourself; schedule your 1:1 at the close of your cohort, and more.

Your boss can be your biggest advocate in your success here. Let’s get them on board from the beginning. Tell your boss that you'll apply what you learn directly to your job and describe which of your organization's goals this course will help you accomplish. Focus on the outcomes of the program, instead of the process.

You know your boss better than we do, but we made a memo for you to edit and share with them.

New organizers have attended the program and given it positive reviews, but this program isn’t intended as an “Organizing 101” training.

Past participants have ranged from less than one year to over 20 years of experience, with an average of seven years or more of organizing experience.

Email [email protected] with a description of your work and experience if you’d like a recommendation for training on organizing fundamentals.

Previous participants have worked for national and global organizations, including 350, 9to5, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, BYP100, Catalyst Project, Catholic Climate Covenant, Climáximo, Common Horizon, Community Change, Compass, Contest Every Race, Democratic Socialists of America, Discerning Deacons, Enhedslisten - The Red/Green Alliance, Fandom Forward, Forests and Citizens Foundation, Fridays For Future Germany, Friends of the Earth, Galvanize USA, Generation Vote, Green New Deal Rising, GreenFaith, Greenpeace Netherlands, GSA Network, Haiyya, IfNotNow, Ignatian Solidarity Network, Indivisible, Jewish Voice for Peace, Just Treatment, Laudato Si' Movement, Leadnow, Liberation in a Generation, March For Our Lives, Medact, Migrants Organise, Movement Voter Project, Movimiento Cosecha, National Black Worker Center, National Network for Arab American Communities, Our Turn, Pax Fauna, People's Action, Positive Women's Network USA, Resource Generation, RuralOrganizing.org, Seed the Vote, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Side with Love, Sierra Club, Standing Together, Sunrise Movement, Swing Left, The Humane League, Tomorrow Movement, Transgender Law Center, Union of Concerned Scientists, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Voters of Tomorrow, We Make The Future, Working Families Party, WSCHÓD, YoungMinds and many more.

There have also been participants who work for local or regional organizations, including 350 Seattle, Alabama Arise, Asian American Resource Workshop, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, Better Wyoming, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha, Chinese Progressive Association, Clean Water Action Minnesota, Dogwood, Down Home North Carolina, Earth Quaker Action Team, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, La Villita Environmental Justice Organization, London Renters Union, Loud For Tomorrow, Midwest Access Coalition, Montana Voices, New Jersey Education Association, NH Youth Movement, Northern Plains Resource Council, Organizing for Education, Pennsylvania United, Rogue Climate, SEIU 509, Southern Crossroads, Southerners on New Ground, StandUp Nashville, TakeAction Minnesota, Trans Action for Housing Justice, Wild Montana, Working Partnerships USA, and Working Washington.

The job titles of previous participants include campaigner, community organizer, distributed organizing director, executive director, field director, national distributed organizer, and organizing director.

Participants have joined from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the United States.

The curriculum pulls together research from a range of disciplines. You will be reading, watching, and listening to the works of Edward Deci, Amy Edmondson, Richard Hackman, Hahrie Han, Ziad Munson, Richard Ryan, Ruth Wageman, and several others.

The overarching theory—self-determination theory—is developed by a global community of researchers and practitioners examining participants in diverse locations, including Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Uganda, Peru, and Russia. The research in weeks two and four primarily looks at people and organizations in the US. The research covered in weeks one, three, five, and six was conducted with participants and organizations from around the world.

Most of the examples in the study group are from US-based organizations and a wide range of organizing traditions. There are also examples from the anti-abortion movement and corporations.

Previous participants from around the world have found that they can apply the lessons taught in Nerdy Movement to their context because the group focuses on the theory and principles of human behavior, not just methods. Learning theory and principles will support you in adapting what you learn to your context

The Nerdy Movement study group is entirely online. You can access the course content anywhere you have a computer or smartphone and internet access. The content is on a website and available via an iPhone or Android app. The community video calls are on Zoom, and the community forum is housed in a Slack workspace.

The content comes in both written + video-based formats. The course videos have closed captions available.

To help people with their real challenges, the conversations on the calls are kept off the record, therefore there are no recordings of the weekly calls. Please do your best to attend each call so you don't detract from your own learning experience or that of the people in your learning circle.

Yes, it is. Nerdy Movement is a significant and challenging commitment. It’s four to five hours of work each week, for six weeks.

The program uses a flipped classroom format. This means you’ll build your knowledge through two to three hours of weekly readings and videos on the course platform, with optional and supplementary audio, written, and video content if you want to go deeper in a specific area. That content is not repeated on the weekly calls. You’ll build your skills in a breakout room on the calls.

It would be misleading to say the study group is easy. It’s not.

If this isn’t a good fit or now is just not the right time, subscribe to our newsletter for recommendations and resources for designing and running people-powered campaigns, as well as info on future cohorts. In fact, you can get on the waitlist for our next cohort right here.

You have lifetime access to the course content (and updates) upon enrollment—including the course materials, templates, and Slack.

Yes. In fact, we find many people benefit from having multiple members of their organization take the training so that it can be more broadly applied.

While the majority of the examples we cite are from the US, our participants come from all over the world.

Participants have joined from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the United States.

The lessons taught in Nerdy Movement can apply to global issues because the program focuses on the theory and principles of human behavior, not just methods of organizing. Learning theory and principles will support you in adapting what you learn to your context.

There’s a lot of nuance here, so your best bet? Email [email protected] with a description of your work and experience, and we’ll mutually discuss if Nerdy Movement is a good fit for you.

Yes, email Randall and Sophia at [email protected] to discuss your options.

We limit registrations from a single organization to four people per cohort to create more opportunities for cross-organization, cross-issue learning and relationship building.

A heads up: We don’t offer group discounts for the simple reason that we don’t want anyone being signed up against their will. They have to want to learn, participate, and do the work in order for this to…work.

If you are registering your organization's staff, please share this page with them so they can decide for themselves if they want to participate.

Yes, and we love doing it.

Our coaching and consulting offers include support on launches of significant new, organization-wide initiatives or campaigns, team coaching, and 1:1 coaching support. Most clients are multi-year engagements, making our capacity limited.

For greater detail and to see if consulting is a fit for you, email Randall and Sophia at [email protected]. We’ll be honest if we feel like we can help.

We like questions. Email Randall and Sophia at [email protected], or join us at a live info session, and we'll do our best to get you answers.