What is Field Building anyway?

Ploughshares’ new approach to our organizational strategy. 

The goal: To transform the nuclear field, making it a modern, skilled workforce  capable of collective action to respond to urgent nuclear threats and emboldened to achieve our mission to eventually eliminate nuclear weapons altogether. 

We are doing this by continuing our role as grant maker and convener and going further to become the  first-ever centralized organization to catalyze the nuclear field at a systemic, global level. We are taking our earned place as the chief support system and serving as the backbone of the nuclear field—facilitating greater collaboration and generating renewed momentum for ending nuclear threats that complements the discrete efforts of our partners. 

Why now? 

Our mission could not be more critical or time sensitive: 

• Nuclear powers are engaged in a new nuclear arms race. 

• The political landscape has become increasingly challenging for progress on nuclear weapons issues, and the confluence of multiple, interlinked global nuclear crises are threatening long-held norms against proliferation and even nuclear weapons use. 
• For decades, the people and institutions working to reduce the risks posed by nuclear weapons have made significant progress with vanishingly little financial support—major funders have been consistently withdrawing from supporting the nuclear field for a decade. Scarcity has led to competition for resources and burnout. (Meanwhile, the forces seeking to expand the role nuclear weapons play in society, national security, and foreign policy are enormously well-funded, well-organized, and well-connected.)
• Based on comprehensive evidence, the nuclear field has a history of toxic cultural dynamics and relies on outdated modi operandi for engaging publics and partners alike.
• The barriers to entry into the nuclear field are high, discouraging creative thinkers from using their talents to tackle nuclear challenges, and nuclear weapons policy has been siloed from adjacent issue areas driving public action, like climate change. 

Why Ploughshares?

As the largest foundation in the United States singularly focused on reducing the dangers of nuclear weapons, we are uniquely positioned to take on this role. For over 40 years, Ploughshares has been a relentless force committed to eliminating nuclear threats. Thanks—in no small part—to your support and partnership, we have the gravitas, expertise, and resolve needed to build a stronger field that benefits from collaboration, diversity, and new perspectives. Together, we are poised for unprecedented success. 

Who benefits? 

All of us who believe nuclear weapons are antithetical to values of global cooperation, human and planetary security, and the rights of future generations. 

And the nuclear field, made up of: 

• Thought leaders
• Activists
• Academics
• Funders
• Impacted communities

The nuclear field has close connections to other fields, such as those focused on conflict resolution, social justice, the environment, and peacebuilding. It is international in scope, though currently much of Ploughshares grantmaking and partnership is US-focused. 

What are some examples of Field Building in action? 

1. Providing our partners functional support beyond funding—things like facilitation support for greater collaboration, skill and career development, and opportunities to tap into their skills in a new, more collaborative way.

2. Aligning Action – A fieldwide initiative to coordinate alignment activities. Originally created in 2022, members of the nuclear field learn about each other’s efforts and explore areas of collaboration via an online platform monitored by Ploughshares and supported administratively by an independent consultant. Aligning Action has over 150 registered users representing nearly 100 organizations who collaborate on a variety of nuclear-related initiatives, such as the campaign to halt and reverse the new nuclear arms race and the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Working Group.

3. Changing the Nuclear Narrative with partner the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). The purpose of this campaign is to reshape the public’s perception of nuclear weapons and popularize the narrative that nuclear weapons do not keep us safe, and it will culminate in a nationwide media ad campaign to socialize our position using print, radio, and digital advertising and partnerships. 

How will we know if we’re  successful? 

Field building work takes time. Results will not be evident overnight, but we’re getting early signs that we’re on the right track. In addition to anecdotal feedback and an overwhelming response to our fellowship program, Ploughshares will rigorously measure quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate the progress and impacts of our efforts. Our work is already underway in earnest (read on to see how) and we will learn and adapt as we go.