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Original: Simon Willison · 31/01/2026

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Summary

Similarly we all love when the swifts visit (beautiful birds), so somebody started a group to get swift nest boxes made and installed collectively, then applied for subsidy funding, then got everyone Singing the gospel of collective efficacy Lovely piece from Matt Webb about how you can “just do things” to help make your community better for everyone: Similarly we all love when the swifts visit (beautiful birds), so somebody started a group to get swift nest boxes made and installed collective

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Key Insights

“Similarly we all love when the swifts visit (beautiful birds), so somebody started a group to get swift nest boxes made and installed collectively, then applied for subsidy funding, then got everyone to chip in such that people who couldn’t afford it could have their boxes paid for, and now suddenly we’re all writing to MPs and following the legislation to include swift nesting sites in new build houses.” — An example of collective efficacy in action for environmental conservation.
“It’s called collective efficacy, the belief that you can make a difference by acting together.” — Defining the concept of collective efficacy.
“My current favorite ‘you can just do things’ is a bit of a stretch, but apparently you can just build a successful software company for 20 years and then use the proceeds to start a theater in Baltimore (for ‘research’) and give the space away to artists for free.” — Illustrating collective efficacy through personal anecdote related to supporting the arts.

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Full Article

# Singing the gospel of collective efficacy
Author: Simon Willison
Published: 2026-01-31
Source: https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jan/31/collective-efficacy/#atom-everything
<p><strong><a href=“https://interconnected.org/home/2026/01/30/efficacy”>Singing the gospel of collective efficacy</a></strong></p> Lovely piece from Matt Webb about how you can “just do things” to help make your community better for everyone:</p> <blockquote> <p>Similarly we all love when the swifts visit (beautiful birds), so somebody started a group to get swift nest boxes made and installed collectively, then applied for subsidy funding, then got everyone to chip in such that people who couldn’t afford it could have their boxes paid for, and now suddenly we’re all writing to MPs and following the legislation to include swift nesting sites in new build houses. Etc.</p> <p>It’s called <em>collective efficacy</em>, the belief that you can make a difference by acting together.</p> </blockquote> <p>My current favorite “you can just do things” is a bit of a stretch, but apparently you can just build a successful software company for 20 years and then use the proceeds to <a href=“https://bmoreart.com/2024/09/the-voxel-is-a-cutting-edge-theater-experiment.html”>start a theater in Baltimore</a> (for “research”) and give the space away to artists for free. <p>Tags: <a href=“https://simonwillison.net/tags/matt-webb”>matt-webb&lt;/a>, <a href=“https://simonwillison.net/tags/theatre”>theatre&lt;/a>&lt;/p>

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Key Takeaways

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Notable Quotes

Similarly we all love when the swifts visit (beautiful birds), so somebody started a group to get swift nest boxes made and installed collectively, then applied for subsidy funding, then got everyone to chip in such that people who couldn’t afford it could have their boxes paid for, and now suddenly we’re all writing to MPs and following the legislation to include swift nesting sites in new build houses.
Context: An example of collective efficacy in action for environmental conservation.
It’s called collective efficacy, the belief that you can make a difference by acting together.
Context: Defining the concept of collective efficacy.
My current favorite ‘you can just do things’ is a bit of a stretch, but apparently you can just build a successful software company for 20 years and then use the proceeds to start a theater in Baltimore (for ‘research’) and give the space away to artists for free.
Context: Illustrating collective efficacy through personal anecdote related to supporting the arts.
  • [[topics/collective-efficacy]]
  • [[topics/social-impact]]
  • [[topics/community-engagement]]

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Originally published at https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jan/31/collective-efficacy/#atom-everything.