Five Easy Steps for Creating an Effective Advocacy Plan I. Session 1. Set Goal and Objectives What problem do you want to solve? Identify and analyze the issue. What do you want to achieve? Set the goal and Objectives Goal: A vision for the change you want to see; what you hope to achieve in the medium to longer term Objective: A specific outcome that you hope to achieve in the short term, representing progress towards the goal (SMART)
2. Identify Decision Makers / Determine Audience Who has the power to give you what you want? What are their values? What are they already doing on your issue? What is their role in setting that policy? What are their limits to their ability to effect change? Who else must you reach to achieve your objective? Who influences your decision makers? [e.g.: advisers, media pressure, public opinion]
II. Session 3. Develop the Message and the “Ask” Pick an audience: (i) friendly, (ii) opponent, (iii) journalist (neutral) and develop your messages Are your messages consistent with your advocacy objectives? What evidence can you show or refer to on the problem? Are your messages concise and tailored to the decision maker and target audience you want to reach? How will your messages resonate with their values, overcome obstacles to change, and motivate them into action? Do you have a clear ask and recommendations? Is your ask tailored to the correct target audience? Can they actually do something about it? Message: describes the problem, offers compelling or new evidence, and presents why you think your target audience should care. Good messages are short, clear and persuasive. “Ask”: Part of your messages. A clear, tailored request or recommendation for what needs to happen to address the problem. [Very often advocacy can fail because of
failing to tailor the ask to what policymakers can actually do].
III. Session 4. Set Your Timeline and Choose Your Tactics When is the optimal time to deliver your message? When are your decision-makers most likely to listen? Are you aware of the timetables underpinning the day-to-day policymaking processes of the targets you have identified? Is there a window of opportunity coming up? [upcoming policy decision, major summit, election, peace process deadline, anniversary] How will you do it? Do you have the right resources, access and budget? Choose your tactics? Are you planning to: -Meet directly with decision makers to persuade them? -Influence by doing good research and documenting the need for change -Invite decision makers to attend conferences/seminar? -Mobilize public support to press decision makers for change through campaigning (e.g.: online petition, get public to write letters, texts, tweets, call or protest)? -Use the media to develop public awareness?
IV. Session 5. Measure Success How will you measure success? What factors may contribute to your success? What factors may cause you to fail? What are your indicators of progress? What are your indicators of impact? Monitoring: Are you doing the things you said you would in your plan? Do you need to adjust your initial plan for better results? Evaluation: To what extend did you achieve your objectives? Which specific initiatives worked, which did not and why? Did your ways of work help or hinder progress? What do you need to adjust/change moving forward?