Lobbying Communicate the proposal to others. Get to know the positions of key actors and of the decision-maker. Fine-tune the power map. Improve our arguments. Motivate allies and persuade the person with decision-making power and undecided persons. Identify and prioritize actors who will be targeted for lobbying. Set objectives and goals for each targeted person. Analyze the positions, interests, and motivations of key actors in relation to the proposal. Develop arguments to use with each person. Be clear about conclusions that are reached and agreements that are made. Evaluate the meeting. Do follow-up. Prepare adequately for meetings. Set a date and time for lobbying visits. Decide ahead of time what agenda items will be discussed during the visit. Limit our messages and arguments to a small number of key points. Name spokespersons for the group and decide what points they will stress in each lobbying visit. Formalize agreements by putting them in writing. Identify other ways of influencing the person we are lobbying. Follow up with the people who have been visited. Be clear about what is and what is not negotiable. Keep in mind the type of decision-making power or influence exercised by the people who are lobbying. Organizing Form and strengthen the group or coalition that will participate in an advocacy initiative. Decide together on an internal structure for the group or campaign doing advocacy. Motivate the affected population and incorporate it in the advocacy process. Figure out who will be part of the core group that is in charge of the campaign. Define mechanisms for communication and for decision-making. Decide how to manage economic resources that are contributed to the campaign. Meet with groups, organizations, or sectors with similar interests, telling them about the advocacy proposal. Ensure that the core group has enough time and human, material, and technical resources available to function well. Create committees with responsibilities for a particular aspect of the campaign (e.g. fundraising, press work). Find creative ways to communicate our message to groups interested in supporting the proposal. Search for ways that the population affected by the problem can participate and contribute its strengths to the effort.
Put in place mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. Find effective mechanisms to communicate with the affected population. Develop ways for the affected population to participate in the campaign. Education & Awareness Raising Gather and share information. Make people aware of the problem and proposed solution. Identify individuals, groups, and/or sectors (audiences) whose sensitivity we want to raise. Set objectives and goals for education and for raising sensitivity about the problem. Develop issues and general arguments. Determine the methods that will be used to do education and Carry out the activities. Evaluate. Do follow-up. Prioritize the target audience or audiences. Keep in mind the factors of time and resources. Make sure that the people who are planning and implementing this strategy are adequately equipped to do so. Educate and raise sensitivity with a view to generating enough social power to influence the decisionmaking process on the advocacy proposal. Be creative about finding cheap and effective ways to educate and raise sensitivity. Ask for the support of individuals and institutions with similar interests and perspectives. Media & Press Work Place the issue on the public agenda. Build the group’s credibility as a source of information. Shape public opinion that is favorable to the proposal. Place pressure on the decision-maker. Define objectives for the media strategy. Target the audiences that we want to reach. Formulate the message. Analyze and prioritize different media outlets. Carry out activities that will help us gain more media access. Evaluate on an ongoing basis. Bear in mind the characteristics of our target audience when crafting our message for the press. Think about the content, language, source, format, timing, and placement of the message. Be creative and bold to attract the attention of the press and convince them of the importance of the issues. Do intensive follow-up with specific journalists and media outlets. Offer complete and objective information in order to raise our credibility as a news source.
Mobilization Get the attention of the press. Involve the affected population. Generate political will for lobbying and negotiation. Put pressure on the decision-maker. Identify and prioritize those actors that we want to influence. Set objectives with a view to maximizing our power to influence. Assess our capacity to mobilize. Determine what type of mobilization is needed. Set the place, date, and schedule of the mobilization. Develop our messages. Delegate tasks. Announce the activity and invite individuals and/or groups to participate. Do advance work with the press. Communicate the results of the activity. Do follow-up. Plan mobilizations that will increase the level of sympathy for the issue and complement other advocacy strategies. Effectively communicate the motive of the mobilization. Ensure that the mobilization is held at an appropriate time in the decision-making process and on a day and time when there will be maximum participation. Ensure that the mobilization demonstrates social power in support of the campaign and not the lack thereof. Take measures to avoid repression and violent confrontations. Keep the population interested and informed after the mobilization. Advocacy Strategy Action Plan When you finalize all above stages of analysis, there is only one step left to start implementing your advocacy strategy: devising a concrete action plan! You can use the table below for this step: Goal / Objective 1 Activity Target Individual(s) / Institutions Result / Indicator Responsible Person Date / time Resources