Advocacy Campaign Planning

1. Advocacy Campaign Planning Sara L.M. Davis, Ph.D. 王翠凤 Asia Catalyst 亚洲促进会 Beijing, China September 2011

2. Most Advocacy is Unplanned People complain about a problem Forget about the issue until there's a major incident All pile onto an issue at once Issue many open letters and angry emails Issue various and contradictory demands Argue and create divisions within allies Become frustrated and tired

3. An Advocacy Campaign Plan is Strategic Evaluate current trends and opportunities Assess own strengths and weaknesses Identify a priority Develop a long-term strategy that combines multiple tactics Gather evidence of the problem Set specific policy goals Create a timeline and assign tasks Monitor and evaluate progress

4. Setting the priority Human rights issues are multiple and interlinked How do you select an advocacy priority? Analyze opportunities: current events in the news, major conferences, changes in government policy or leadership, shifts in public opinion Analyze your group’s strengths and weaknesses: on which issues do you have special insight or access to new information? Which rights abuses are you most passionate about? Be pragmatic: which problems are hopeless right now? Where is there some room for hope? Who are potential allies?

5. Problem: Overwhelming issues Huge policy problem Tiny NGO Weak network

6. Solution: Surround the issue with allies Progressive government officials Policy problem Public opinion (media) Experts and thought leaders Donors, INGOs, UN

7. Creating the Advocacy Plan Set a specific advocacy goal What one policy change would help to end the problem? Analyze targets – the people who have the ability to create that policy change Who or what influences your targets? Analyze undecided people and potential allies What will persuade those people to become advocates for your policy change? Facts, video, photographs, media? Combine multiple tactics into a long-term strategy Report releases, conferences, hearings, concerts, media reports Set deadlines If possible, link the deadlines to key dates Share responsibilities with other members of your coalition Weekly meetings to evaluate progress

8. Networks vs. Coalitions Made up of people who share an identity Claim to represent everyone who shares the same identity Exist (and require funding) forever Must agree about many diverse issues that affect people with the same identity Usually governed by a secretariat and a voting membership Made up of people who share an advocacy goal Represent people of many backgrounds who want to achieve the same goal Exist (and require funding) until the advocacy goal is reached Only need to agree about the goal and the strategy to achieve it Usually governed by a coordinating committee made up of representatives from the member organizations Networks Coalitions

9. Sample campaign: Domestic campaign Context: A country where the government is waging a “war on drugs”. PUD are sentenced to long prison terms for drug use. Many are beaten by police to extort confessions. Strategic opportunity: Government efforts to reform police, public upset about police corruption PUD group advocacy priority: Ask government to sentence PUD to treatment instead of prison Targets: health officials, senior police, lawmakers, judges Tactics: Research, video, performance and art Performance: PUD group lines up empty shoes on street to represent PUD who died Public event on International Day Against Drugs PUD share personal testimony about experience in prison Results: new policy, and first court sentenced PUD to treatment instead of prison Next advocacy goal: improving treatment

10. Sample campaign: International campaign Context: In X Country there is no law prohibiting HIV-related discrimination. Discrimination is widespread. Strategic opportunity: Due to a major incident, there is international press attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in X country, and concern at UN and globally; also, movement within X government to create a better AIDS policy International rights NGO priority: Support domestic NGOs in their demands for a law banning AIDS discrimination Targets: UN, WHO, international donors, senior officials of other governments that frequently meet with X government Tactics: Rights NGO does research report documenting discrimination, gets major press coverage of report Uses press coverage as opportunity to get meetings with UN, government representatives, foreign ministries. International NGO presents them with the report and asks them to press X country to create an anti-discrimination law Results: New AIDS policy discouraging discrimination is passed 3 years later Next advocacy goal: enforcing the policy

11. Common elements to the sample campaigns Chose issue based on strategic opportunities Had clear advocacy goals Analyzed the targets and understood what arguments and approaches will influence them Conducted research Used the research in a variety of tactics to help win new allies Used creative activities to get media attention Surrounded the issue with allies and change the public consensus

12. Good luck! 加油 Meg Davis - mdavis@asiacatalyst.org