8. Write an ‘Advocacy Plan’

You’ve thought about your campaign, and now you want the people in power (or, at election time, potentially in power) to turn your hopes, wishes and dreams into reality. You won’t be at a complete loss, we’re sure, but if you’re looking for tips to help crystalise and frame your thoughts, here’s twenty template questions to ask yourself / yourselves (copy them into a table so that you have the space to write down your answers):

1 What’s your campaign name? 2 What do you want to see in general? 3 What change(s) are you after specifically? (Three interrelated things, max.) 4 Are there any relevant documents and, if so, where are they? 5 Where do you want the change to happen? (Nationally, locally, specific road?) 6 Is there already a movement for this (i.e. is it in the public consciousness?) 7 Does this touch on any other issue(s)? 8 Are there any risks to manage? 9 Are you being realistic? 10 Are your objectives SMART?17 11 Who has the power to make this happen? (List individuals/organisations, by name if possible) 12 What does your target decision-maker(s) (or, if a politician, their party) think? If you don’t know, can you find out? 13 What’s in it for your decision-maker(s)? 14 What are your messages, and what words are you going to use for them? 15 Who will be affected by the change you want to see? Who are your beneficiaries? Who’s going to think they’ll lose out? 16 Who are your allies and partners? (List the usual suspects, but think of others who might not realise the benefits of your campaign) 17 Who will run the campaign? Who’s in your Campaigns Team? What are their roles? Who’s leading/going to sign off? (Include contact details and any job title). 18 How much is it all going to cost? Who’s controlling the budget? Will you need to fundraise and, if so, who will you approach? 19 What activities are you going to carry out? What’s the timeline? Who’s going to do what and when (meetings/media)? This is your activity plan – keep it alive, and up to date. 20 How are you going to review your plan and gauge success, stage-by-stage? How are you going to review progress? (hold regular meetings and report progress to supporters).

17 For more on SMART objectives, search online.