This draft document is work-in-progress
Short term goals:
1) To bring a minimum of 1500 people of integrity and leadership quality together.
2) To form a loose Coalition of the Willing.
Associational characteristics:
1. A strong desire to attain our goal with total co-operation and trust.
2. Interaction among members to enhance familiarity and friendship, and periodical meetings to assess and evaluate activities and formulate future course of action.
3. Self-driven. No boss; no one to allocate tasks; no office bearers. Creating ‘presidents’ is divisive and will limit organic growth. Formal leadership will come last. A strong leader will be elected just before each national elections which the Freedom Team participates in. To deserve that position, a member would have had to demonstrate key contributions and win support of other members. Members should lead in whichever area they are good at or can spare time for. Lead. Don’t wait. Duties are self-allocated. If people don’t own this effort, it will go nowhere! This includes self-discipline.
| Time- years | Milestone/ Activity | Target date | Funds needed, if any | Comment |
| -3 | Float the Freedom Team of India Google Group | 23 Dec. 2007 (Done) | This particular Freedom Team is merely one of many other similar efforts. Everyone can and should start their own teams: no one knows yet which ‘model’ will succeed. | |
| -2.5 | Create a web-based short and crisp advertisement of this effort | Q2 2008 | Rs.0 | This ad can form the basis of a future newspaper ad. |
| Draft and refine criteria to join, core beliefs, action plan, policy snippets, resource plan, mobilisation plan. | Q2 2008 | Rs.0 | Will need openness to change, and constant improvement. | |
| Issue the inaugural FTI magazine (PDF) | Q2 2008 | Rs.0 | Create a Google group where people can subscribe to the magazine | |
| Members join or create Freedom Families on each functional issue/ geographical area | Q3 2008 | Rs.0 | Freedom Families launched on all key policy areas. Families begin drafting policy snippets and brochures, and building local strategies for relevant geographical areas. See also the plan for reaching out. | |
| Members reach out to others and collaborate with other ongoing efforts (Eg. provide link to website; persuade.) | Q3 2008 | Rs.0 | Members should encourage affiliated and other organizations to consider these documents and to collaborate. No existing organization needs to lose its identity. | |
| Members invite one more member each, to grow membership | Q3 2008 | Rs.0 | No one needs to leave an existing organisation; members can see themselves as part of a coalition. | |
| Preliminary ideas on detailed blueprint. | Q4 2008 | Rs.0 | Based on policy snippets and draft brochures. | |
| -2 | 100 members join | Q4 2008 | Minimum number of full members (not observers) needed to start planning a pre-Convention in India. | |
| Strengthen existing work on the ground. | Ongoing | Individual members’ expense | Members who have an outreach program should continue and increase their activities. | |
| Launch local Supporter Groups. | Q2 2009 | Individual members’ expense | Members can consider ‘adopting’ constituencies; this will remain a local, exploratory, ‘unauthorised’ effort. | |
| Draft detailed agenda for Pre-Convention and organise logistics | Q1 2009 | . | ||
| Approach the top colleges/universities like IITs, IIMs and organise a few talks. | Q2 2009 | Some letters/ contacts | This approach can only use draft documents; it will be exploratory, not authoritative. | |
| -1.5 | 100 (or more) members meet and agree to all the existing draft documents. | Q2 2009 | Rs. 2 lakhs. Members to pay about Rs. 2000 each for the venue and meals. | First Pre-Convention (2-3 days). Members to pay for own travel and accommodation. The purpose of the meeting will be to build personal relationships; not to discuss policies. Draft policies and documents will be agreed unanimously by a show of hands and a signed statement of agreement. |
| Full page ad in one or more newspapers to invite leaders to join. (eg. Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Statesman, The Indian Express, The Hindu. ) | Q3 2009 | Rs. 30 lakhs for 3 papers and Rs.50.000 for copy writing. Research needed to select the right newspapers. | This will depend on the outcome of the Pre-Convention. If people are willing then, this will proceed. Part contributions from 100 members; part contributions from organisations like Lok Satta. | |
| -1.25 | A website launched for the effort along with its own Blog. | Q3 2009 | Rs. 10,000 or so | |
| -1.25 | Launch a Google Ads campaign | Q3 2009 | Rs. 36,000 per annum. | |
| -1 | 500 members join | Q4 2009 | ||
| -.5 | 500 (or more) members physically meet to discuss and approve key draft documents including a Coordinated Plan for Reaching Out: | Q2 2010 | Rs. 10 lakhs. Members to pay about Rs. 2000 each for the venue and meals. | Second Pre-Convention. Members to pay for own travel and accommodation. |
| Writing of brochures completed. | Q4 2010 | Each Freedom Family delivers draft brochure for initial approval. | ||
| Release of printed draft brochures | Q4 2010 | Rs.2 lakhs for printing and distribution | In all languages. Nothing will be final until formally adopted by the First Convention | |
| Detailed draft blueprint for action released. | Q4 2010 | An illustrative draft is found in chapter 6 of ‘Breaking Free of Nehru’ – but that is merely one of many alternatives. The blueprint will combine and add detail to the policy brochures. | ||
| 0 | 1500 leaders join | Q4 2010 | – | Without a minimum of 1500 outstanding leaders, this effort should not go further. |
| 0.5 | 1500 leaders meet and formally endorse all action plans, strategies, and documents. Prepare for action. | Q2/Q3 2010 | Rs. 30 lakhs. Members to pay about Rs. 2000 each for the venue and meals. | First Convention (4-5 days) Members to pay for own travel and accommodation. Annual conventions held in each subsequent year. |
| Formally declare a ‘Go Ahead’ for next steps | Q2 2010 | – | ||
| Mini-secretariat established. | Q3 2010 | Rs.2-3 lakhs needed | – | |
| Machinery for fund collection established: | Rs.2-3 lakhs needed | – | ||
| a) Web portal for receiving funds electronically from people. | – | Raise funds through web portal through credit cards (Rs. 10-20 accepted) – target Rs. 1-2 crores. | ||
| b) Launch of a major ad in newspapers seeking donations | Rs. 30 lakhs needed | Target Rs. 1-2 crores | ||
| c) Individually meet and approach key people in each constituency to join in and to contribute funds. | – | Target Rs. 3-6 crores. | ||
| 1.5 | Rs 10 crores collected. | Q2 2011 | – | Without collecting Rs. 10 crores, next steps will become ineffective/ truncated; hence this milestone MUST be achieved. |
| 1.75 | Full secretariat established. Membership expanded. | Q3 2011 | Rs. 2 crores needed per year. | Full fledged CEO – and supporting staff appointed for a mass-campaign, training, and policy organisation. |
| 1.75 | 1500 (ideally 2500) leaders meet and review. Authorise expenses for major campaign launch | Q3 2011 | Rs. 30 lakhs. Members to pay about Rs. 2000 each for the venue and meals. | Second Convention (4-5 days). |
| 2 | National campaign launched (will run for 2 years). | Q4 2011 | Rs. 2 crore | Major media blitz launched, and mass publicity material. |
| 2 | Fund raising escalated – a range of strategies adopted | Q4 2011 | Rs. 2 crore | Target Rs. 200 crores. |
| 2 | Training program begins | Q4 2011 | Rs. 4 crores | 3 month training of each member in a formal training program to discuss policy and build leadership and funds management skills. |
| 2.5 | Rs 200 crores collected. | Q2 2013 | – | Without collecting Rs. 200 crores, elections should not be contested. |
| 2.75 | 2500 members meet and review actions. | Rs. 50 lakhs. Members to pay about Rs. 2000 each for the venue and meals. | Third Convention held (2-3 days). Members to pay for own travel and accommodation. | |
| 2.75 | 550 candidates primed for parliamentary elections. | – | Constituency level campaigns start – individually organised by each member/ Freedom Family. | |
| 2.8 | Mass publicity organised including in the states. | – | Rs. 10-20 crores | |
| a) Launch ads in local newspapers to reach out to the local constituents. | – | |||
| b) Full page ad before elections in each newspaper in India with a ‘Freedom Team Seal of Approval’ asking people to vote for the listed 550 candidates. | – | Each ad may costs about Rs.15 lakhs | ||
| 3.0 | Contest General Elections
First round of 550 candidates offered to the people. |
Q4 2013 | These 550 candidates need not be from one party. They can be independents or parties under a Coalition for Freedom or some such thing. Ideally, they will find it sensible to form a single party, but that is not necessary to form government. Winning 300 seats is all that is needed. | |
| Elections contested in keeping with election law. | – | Rs. 30 lakhs raised and spent per constituency. | Local Freedom Families to raise at least Rs.10 lakhs each including contribution from candidate of at least Rs. 3 lakhs. Balance from central fund raising.
Rs. 30 lakhs to be made available in each constituency, including Rs. 5 lakhs prior to elections, and Rs. 25 lakhs during elections. – local funds used carefully and accounts lodged publicly, including on the Coalition website. |
|
| 3.5 | Contest state elections
First round of 1000 or so (or more) candidates contest state elections. |
Q4 2013 | Includes the (at least) 950 members who will not contest national elections plus 250 or so who are may have lost national elections = 1200 at least – hopefully there will be at least 1000 more members by then on the Team. | |
| Elections contested in keeping with election law. | – | Similar to the case for parliamentary elections. |
