Effective Advocacy Strategies: Engaging Leaders, Building Partnerships, Mobilizing Communities

1. Basics of advocacy

2. Basics of Advocacy • What is advocacy? • Why advocacy? • How or advocacy approaches?

3. What is advocacy • Speaking, writing, or acting in support of a cause • Using a variety of organized tactics to achieve a public policy goal • Demanding a change to benefit the lives of many

4. Why Advocacy • Puts the demands of people into systems • Deals with issues and conflicts • Involves people • Creates a space for public discussion • Finds solutions to problems

5. Focus of advocacy • The Legislature ( national & county assemblies) • The Executive • Regulatory Agencies( NEMA, WARMA etc) • The Judiciary

6. Key advocacy approaches • Involving leaders • Building partnership • Mobilizing the community groups • Capacity building • Working with mass media

7. Involving leaders Leaders refer to those who are extremely influential in facilitating changes in national and county issues of concern to ASAL. Law makers : Those who make laws( MPs, Senators, MCA Policy makers : Those who make policies (CS, PS, CEC, chief officers)

8. How to reach leaders Formal settings….Meetings, seminars, conferences, etc. Informal settings...Public gatherings, festivals, sport events, at home, etc. Directly………….. Meetings, letter, media, etc Indirectly…………Through their colleagues, friends, spouse, etc.

9. Building Partnerships Coexistence Communication Partnerships are formed by groups of individuals that join together aiming to accomplish a common purpose. Cooperation Coordination Collaboration

10. Working in partnership Advantages • Enlarges the of support • Provides safety for advocacy efforts • Magnifies existing resources • Increase financial and programmatic resources • Enhances the credibility and influence of advocacy efforts • Help develop new leadership • Assists in individual and organizational networking

11. Working in partnership Disadvantages • Distracts from other work • May require to compromise your position • Views of larger organization may influence the view of others • Individual members may not get credit for their work • If partnership breaks down it may harm all members’ advocacy efforts

12. Building effective partnership Key questions to ask yourself before approaching potential partners • Who should constitute the partnership? • Who should lead the partnership? • How will resources be accounted for? • How big should be the partnership? • Should it be limited to the national level or other levels should be involved as well?

13. Mobilizing community groups Purpose • To draw attention of the leaders to key issues and to encourage them to take action • Provide feed back on community needs and feelings • Help planners to collect data, testimonials and other information in support of a given issue • Disseminate information among public and create public support for a given issue

14. How to organize and mobilizecommunity groups? • Involving community leaders, influential and religious leaders • Identifying key existing community groups • Identifying existing community channels for information dissemination • Organizing the group (identify group members, group leader, terms of reference) • Mobilizing the group through village meetings, group discussions, folk and traditional media, live entertainment etc.