BECOMING MORE SUSTAINABLE Guide on how to build your organisation stronger and more influential April 2016 0 ” Everybody wants change, but nobody wants to change. This guide is for organisations who wish to improve – and who welcome change. 1 BECOMING MORE SUSTAINABLE A GUIDE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS In partnership with the World Bank April 2016 1st edition www.di.dk/english Editors: Niels Tanderup Kristensen Deputy Director, Confederation of Danish Industry Tel. +45 3377 3539 Mail: nikt@di.dk Karen Panum Thisted Consultant, Confederation of Danish Industry Tel. +45 3377 3726 Mail: kapt@di.dk Design: Johan Rasmussen Business Analyst, Confederation of Danish Industry Tel. +45 3377 3762 Mail: jora@di.dk Rights and Permissions: This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license, you are free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt this work, including for commercial purposes, with attribution as follows: World Bank. Danish Industry 2016. “Becoming more sustainable, a guide for civil society organizations” World Bank, Washington, DC - Danish Industry, Copenhagen. 2 CSOs CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Civil society organisations (CSOs) make a great difference in national and international development. They are increasingly incorporated into regulatory decision making processes, often very formally and direct, as a recognition of the role they play in the democratisation of decision making processes. There is thus a clear shift from government to governance in many countries and this opens a space for CSOs to act as the mediating partner between the individual and the state. Both states and citizens can benefit when CSOs mediate the relationship between them. The impact of state policy is enhanced and made more widespread when instead of interacting with citizens as atomized individuals, state agencies deal with relatively organized citizens' groups. Likewise, citizens are able to derive greater benefits from government programs when their individual efforts are organized and made more cohesive by CSOs. But even though the space for CSOs has widened, they still too often fail to influence policy processes and make changes with the existing governance structures. Many CSOs appear to act on their own and many are highly influenced by their ideological stances, leading to questions about the legitimacy, feasibility, accountability or most importantly, their ability to make compromises and agreements. CSOs must improve their interaction with and effect on public institutions, actors and policies - and do so based on evidence and a more structured and tactical approach. It is not enough to mobilize social capital – it also needs to be activated and to be combined with other kinds of resources, including strategic, financial and human. Policy advocacy and strategic communication can be a viable approach to achieving any organisation's mission and long term sustainability. It is, however, a challenging endeavour that requires methodologies and tools in order not to damage the organisation's reputation, loose focus, and/or distort messages. At the same time, advocacy efforts should be balanced with the daily service portfolio of the CSO. One way of achieving this is to look at CSOs as if they were a business and develop a clear business plan for how to evolve and sustain over time. CSOs need guidance on how to translate their ambitions on policy and services into ground realities. This starts by defining the value proposition of the CSO. Defining their distinct role in society. How should policy plans and strategies be devised accordingly? How can policy advocacy assist in strengthening CSOs’ sustainability? How to communicate more strategically? How to generate new and sustain existing revenue streams? 3 This guide contains tools, methodology and best practice cases to equip CSOs with better understanding of how they may affect the regulatory environment under which they operate - and thereby create sustainable policy changes and reforms. It also addresses how the CSO should see itself as a business in order to develop its organisation to become more sustainable. A CSO is throughout this guide defined broadly as any non-governmental organisation working for development. This includes community-based organisations, community groups, trade unions, business associations, cooperatives, faith-based organisations, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), etc. Besides representing the civil society, all the CSOs have certain characteristics in common:  They are primarily non-profit organisations  They are primarily financed by a mix of donors, voluntary grants, public subsidies and member fees  They are democratically governed Although effective policy advocacy is a result of both efficient tools and good organisational governance structure with clear division of tasks between the board and the management and among the staff, this guide focuses mainly on the tools and touches only briefly upon the latter. We hope our tools and advice will help you succeed in creating a better framework for your organisation and fellow CSOs and for society at large - and thereby create sustainable value for your members and beneficiaries. Good luck! 4 CONTENT 6 SETTING THE SCENE 9 Understand your organisation as a business 11 The business model canvas 14 How to innovate revenue streams 20 THE 5-STEP MODEL TO EFFECTIVE POLICY ADVOCACY 22 SETTING GOALS 23 What is policy advocacy and what is it not 26 Identify what you can change 27 Advocacy guiding questions 30 Define your desired output/outcome 32 Are you doing proactive or reactive Policy Advocacy? 35 Key challenges to change 36 UNDERSTANDING & MONITORING THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 39 Understanding the issues and its roots 39 Understanding your room for influence 40 Influencing international stakeholders 42 RESEARCH 44 Primary and secondary data 45 Your sources of external information 46 Collecting input from members/beneficiaries 54 POLICY POSITION 55 Analysing your data 56 Policy position paper 58 Prepare your one-pager 60 STAKEHOLDER MAPPING 61 Find your stakeholders for each issue 65 Alliance building 69 STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION THROUGH POLICY ADVOCACY 70 Identify your audience 70 Define your approach 73 Communicating and implementing the advocacy strategy 79 Risk management 80 Internal communication: ensure internal capacity and support 85 MEASURING YOUR RESULTS AND GOING FORWARD 89 CHOOSING THE MOST EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE 93 APPENDIX 94 OVERVIEW OF THE 5-STEP MODEL 95 TEN PIECES OF GOOD ADVICE 96 DISCLAIMER 96 GLOSSARY OF TERMS 98 ADVOCACY INDICATORS 99 PERSONAL NOTES 5 6 CSOs are formed for a number of reasons, but a central motivating factor is a belief that the state or the government is failing. This embraces economic, social, cultural, environmental issues among others. CSOs have a long history. They have, however, in the past 20-30 years increased in numbers and supporters and their role in society have become much more prominent. Today CSOs are imperative to development all around the world and a lot has been achieved due to CSOs’ tireless work and endless effort. But there are some drawbacks too. Especially on the representativeness of CSOs which is impeded by weak or bureaucratic internal governance structures and/or screwed geographical distribution of members. CSOs are therefore far from reaching their potential as influential actors. Many get caught in a vicious circle of donor financing that all of a sudden will cease to exist or that limits their ability to act independently. Others are blinded by their goals and forget the importance of building alliances and compromises to reach their goals. In general, there seems to be a tendency that CSOs need to realize that if they really want to change status quo, they need to build an efficient and effective organisation that is in line with their members, that is built on a sound business model including sustainable revenue streams and clear policy objectives. In short, they need to move from a vicious to a virtuous circle. To deliver value to the world’s most poor and vulnerable, CSOs need to make sure they are not amongst this group themselves It is a long road to get to know your beneficiaries and members, to find you space in the market and position yourself. This guide has a special focus on policy advocacy as this is the core value of most CSOs – this is how you can get your voice heard. First, however, we will focus on the basic methodology for how you develop as an organization. This covers theory as well as practices of systematic changes in an organisation. Both in terms of structural change, but also in terms of attitudes, beliefs, and values of the organisation. This guide is action oriented. It builds on hands-on experience with over 150 years of experience in organizational development and change management. The objective is to enable organisations to adopt and evolve better in a fast changing external environment of new policies, movements, markets, regulations, and technologies. 7 Figure 1. The Four Phases of Organizational Development Many organisations start as informal clubs between influential private persons or between people with same ideological stance (phase 1). As the organisation gains support, it develops into an informal secretariat (phase 2). The subsequent development is important and difficult, as this is when the groundwork for a professional organisation has to be made. The professionalization means a formal secretariat, formalization of internal and external procedures, structuring of activities and so forth. Organisations can be stuck at phase 3 for a long time. The last phase in an organisation’s development is being a knowledge provider (phase 4). Here the organisation is able to conduct effective policy advocacy, disseminate its knowledge to others, form partnerships and alliances and overall it is invited to the table and able to make its voice heard. 8 9 Many civil society organisations are too focused on operations and execution, too busy with their daily tasks, that they do not realize that they need to be commercially viable to survive. And like businesses, many CSOs fail to realize how their organisation function, who the prime target group is, what the most important activities are and so forth. Most importantly, they fail to understand what their costs are and what their revenue streams are. Ultimately, aid dependency and lack of sustainable revenue streams lead to CSOs having to shut down. This means they fail to deliver the value they set out to. This section aims to equip CSOs with tools and exercises to understand themselves as businesses that need viable and sustainable revenue streams. Only then can they achieve long-lasting impact. Therefore, CSOs – like businesses - need to understand how their organisation functions: what their ‘business model’ is. A business model clearly articulates how an organisation creates, delivers and captures value Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2009, 14 A business model is a snap shot of a business explaining how it delivers value to its customers through activities, relationships, costs, revenues and more. It does not tell how the business got to this point or what will happen in the future, but it explains what the business is doing right now. It is therefore to complement a business model with a business plan – a detailed, lengthier document that sets out the goals and a plan for how to get there. 10 The Business Model Canvas There has been numerous attempts to develop a useable business model, but not before the Business Model Canvas (BMC) was presented by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur in 2010, did the world have a proper and usable model. The BMC was result of more than 20 years of research and was co-created with around 470 practitioners from around the world. Due to its simplicity and accuracy it has become the most widely used tool and framework for practitioners wanting to understand their businesses or organisations better. Have a look at www.businessmodelgeneration.com for more information. 11 The BMC consists of nine blocks: 12 By filling in the BMC you will become aware of your organisation’s core “business” and be better able to see where you need to focus your efforts. Fill it in in this order: Customer Segments → Value Proposition → Channels → Customer Relationships → Revenue streams → Key resources → Key Activities → Key partnerships → Cost structure. Be aware, that as a CSO you might have a double structure in the sense that you have two customer segments to cater for: your donors and your beneficiaries. Your donors finance your organisation and you have to deliver value to them – but you likewise have to deliver value to the beneficiary group you wish to help. You might therefore also have two sets of value propositions etc. Following is an example of a social enterprise, that is selling coffee at a shop for –‘regular consumers’ whilst providing employment for long-term unemployed people (social purpose). Source: Using the Business Model Canvas for Social Enterprise Design, Ingrid Burkett Knode, 2013. 13 How to innovate your revenue streams Are your revenue streams sustainable? Donor financing and grants is a part of most CSOs revenue streams, but they easily become a sleeping pillow and pretext for inaction. You need to challenge yourself to innovate more sustainable revenue streams in order for your organisation to keep delivering value. Examples of revenue streams are:  Donor financing: Soft loans, grants  Sale of products made by beneficiaries (for instance crafts),  Sale of products or services non-related to beneficiary group, but related to core cause  Renting of property  Micro loans to beneficiaries  Crowd-funding  Online advertising  Freemium/cross-subsidizing model: division of consumer groups so that one group pays or subsidizes for the other Get inspired by and learn from some of the following cases. Becoming self-reliant through sale of craft works. 1 Bangladesh CORR—The Jute Works started in 1972 in Bangladesh after the war of Independence to offer a way of providing income to the larger number of widows in the aftermath of war. It capitalized on the local crop, jute, and the skills of village women in making pot holders (thika) from the jute fibre. CORR—The Jute Works saw export market opportunity in this skill, by buying the thika from the women to sell overseas as decorative plant pot holders. It arranged the women in groups and gave them training in new products and techniques, bought their output, and sold it overseas through alternative marketing organisations and a mail order catalogue. The sales of the craft work were divided: part of the income went back as a dividend to the producers (and this was used by the women’s groups for a variety of useful activities like improved water supplies, or tree planting): part went to pay for the administrative costs of CORR—The Jute Works, and part was put into a reserve fund. From time to time, depending on the size of the reserves, CORR—The Jute Works would fund development activities for the women’s groups beyond the craft operations—like latrine building. The business model of CORR—The Jute works made it self-sustainable within three years of operation and it has not taken foreign funding since its third year of operations (1975). The most difficult aspect of its operation is keeping up with the buying patterns of the people in the countries to which they export, and feeding these ideas back to the manufacturers. The organisation will only be able to continue if it remains entrepreneurial and keep adjusting its production to market needs and demands. Source: Handbook on Resource Mobilization 14 2 Revenue generation through rental offices. Zambia The Red Cross in Zambia raises 87% of its income from the rental of offices and flats. The original Red Cross building has been owned by the Red Cross since the 1960s. They have also, in the past, received ownership of six flats which they have rented out. In 1991 Finnish Red Cross agreed to a loan for the building of a second building. Finnish Red Cross agreed, and when the building was finished in 1992/3 the office space was rented out. Rental from the office space brings in a substantial and steady income stream as it is usually paid for a year in advance. The rent from flats is on a monthly basis. All of the administrative and most of the continuing project support comes from rental income together with smaller amounts of other domestic fundraising. For special projects of relief work, the Zambia Red Cross applies for funding from outside sources, typically their sister agencies (e.g. British or Finnish Red Cross, or their umbrella agencies International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). The Zambia Red Cross themselves say: “We do not have the headache of chasing funds. We are able to operate in a more secure financial environment which has allowed us to follow through with programmes and be innovative. You still have problems with flats being unoccupied or dealing with the demands of tenants, but it is generally a good experience”. Source: Handbook on Resource Mobilization 3 Managing revenue streams during growth. USA Architecture for Humanity (AFH) was founded in 1999 in San Francisco as a charitable organization focusing on disaster-rebuilding and finding architectural solutions to humanitarian issues. It filed for bankruptcy in 2015 due to financial problems. Over its lifetime, AFH built more than 2,000 structures and served more than 2 million people in over 40 countries. Its projects include building a football field in Rwanda, community centres in Africa, a school in Philippines as well as rebuilding areas damaged by natural disasters in Japan and USA. AFH established a network of about 60 local chapters in different countries. The local chapters were independent entities, but relied upon the US headquarters for financing, branding, web support, etc. However, the organisation grew too quickly and it began to experience financial challenges. It could not raise enough funds for sustainable operations and eventually had to file for bankruptcy. According to experts, AFH faced the usual problem for non-profit organizations: as the novelty of their approach diminishes, it gets more difficult to keep attracting funding. Furthermore, attracting funds for development projects in countries far away is often a challenge in the US and therefore AFH had difficulties raising funds. Continues next page 15 A former board member confirmed these findings: “The board tried very hard to figure out how to right the organization, and we were out there looking for angels, but the money wasn’t there to support it. It’s not that the mission and need wasn’t clear, or that the staff wasn’t dedicated.” This overall indicates a mismatch between revenue streams and activities/target group. Had the organisation innovated its revenue streams earlier, it might have survived. Nevertheless, despite the bankruptcy of AFH, its local chapters decided to form the Architecture for Humanity Chapter Network and continue their operations. The new network plans to achieve organizational autonomy and rebrand itself. Sources: www. architexturez.net/pst/az-cf-167696-1421476862; www.architexturez.net/pst/az-cf-167704-1421649791; www. nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/01/12/network-as-the-form-reconfiguring- architecture-for-humanity/ An example of a bad income-generating decision. 4 Bangladesh PROSHIKA, a large Bangladeshi NGO, was helped by CIDA to buy a bus company that it intended to run as an income generating enterprise. No-one in PROSHIKA had ever managed a bus company before, and the inter-city bus business in Bangladesh is not only very competitive, it is also quite lawless as businesses try and capture passengers from each other. PROSHIKA soon got overwhelmed by problems of maintenance, ticket collection, cash flow problems, and, in the end, found that it was taking much too much of the senior management’s time—time that should have been spent on the economic and social development work that PROSHIKA was set up to do. Added to this the bus business itself was not making much money —certainly not enough to justify the management time that was being spent on it. Sensibly PROSHIKA divested itself of its bus company and stuck to what it was good at. It is now generating income for itself from a service fee on its large credit program, by running an internet service provider, and by renting out a spare floor in its own office block. Source: Handbook on Resource Mobilization 16 5 Continuous revenue stream development. Indonesia Yayasan Bina Swadaya in Indonesia is an organisation specialising in improving the lives of small farmers and fishermen through savings, credit, and the formation of co-operatives. Its early work was to encourage rural poor farmers to save their money and to take out credit to expand their small self-employment possibilities. The Yayasan (which means “Association”) charged a service fee for the credit which went some way towards paying for the costs of the credit scheme. The Yayasan found that many of its customers wanted to raise chickens, but that obtaining day old chicks was a real problem. It therefore went into the business of hatching and producing day old chicks and selling them, making a small profit, to its customers. It found that other people apart from its target group also wanted this service and so it also started to sell day old chicks in the market place. It started a small extension newspaper for its target group on improving farming practices, and found that this newspaper filled a need for a “farmers’ magazine”. It also geared up its production for the market place. It then found that its skill and experience of running its original savings and credit operation was at a premium for other development agencies, and that other organisations wanted to know how this could be done. The Yayasan started a consultancy service, offering its senior employees on short term hire to other development agencies. Through its work with foreign development agencies The Yayasan realised that there was a market for the kind of knowledge about Indonesia life that was part of its essential way of working, and so it offered alternative tourism services to the supporters of foreign development agencies. Everything that the organisation did to make money was a spin-off from its original mission, based on skills developed in the course of activities connected to that mission. Source: Handbook on Resource Mobilization 6 Alternative revenue streams. Zimbabwe 6 Jairos Jiri Association was founded in 1950 in Zimbabwe and is one of the largest NGOs focused on people with disabilities in Africa. Every year, it serves more than 6,500 clients through outreach and integration initiatives. Activities of the Jairos Jiri Association can be separated into 3 areas: Programming, Enterprises and Service Delivery. Programming activities include advocacy and lobbying, scholarships, community-based rehabilitation and mobility support programs. Service delivery includes the provision of education in special schools for people with disabilities, elderly care centres, rehabilitation centres as well as accommodation and care hostels for young blind children. As part of an effort to reduce its dependency on donors, the association started establishing craft shops in 1960s. In the craft shops, disabled people are trained to produce traditional crafts (pottery, weaving products, baskets, animal portraits, etc.) which are then sold. Continues next page 17 Revenue from the sale of these crafts accounts for a large share of the total funding needs of the association: in the 1990s, more than 40% of total costs were covered by this income. The association also operates commercial farms and furniture factories. Despite the success of its commercial operations, Jairos Jiri Association has not reached complete self-sufficiency and part of its funding still comes from donors – however, it has managed to spread its risk and is significantly more sustainable had it only relied on donor financing. Sources: http://www.jairosjiriassoc.com; www.zbc.co.zw/news-categories/local- news/41715-jairos-jiri-strives-for-self-sufficiency; R. Holloway (2000): “Towards Financial Self-Reliance: A Handbook of Approaches to Resource Mobilisation for Citizen’s Organisations in the South” 18 7 Cross-subsidizing to provide free services for the poor. Bolivia Even though the poorest members of society can rarely afford to pay for services provided by CSOs, the poor in general can at least cover some of the costs of service provision, especially when the services are extremely relevant and the poor can have some control over service delivery. This is the idea behind cross-subsidizing: the poorest receive free or low cost services, which are subsidized from the income received from charging the wealthier clients. This approach is used by PROSALUD which is a non-profit civil association formed in the 1980s in Bolivia. It provides high quality, low cost health services. The initiative started when the public health sector almost collapsed due to a crisis in 1980s. PROSALUD was established as a public-private partnership and the government provided some health facilities and funding for new construction. The association now . operates in six out of nine Bolivian states and has 23 primary healthcare and 5 secondary healthcare clinics. Initially, PROSALUD received substantial support from USAID. Later on, the association shifted its attention to cross-subsidizing: in 2009, almost 90% of its operating costs were covered by income from services. Six of its centers charge less than 3 USD for a general practitioner appointment (the average in the private sector is 28 USD), fourteen centers charge between 2.9 and 4.3 USD, and seven centers charge between 4.3 and 5.7 USD. Overall, PROSALUD uses three ways of cross-subsidizing:  clients who can afford to pay subsidize the ones who cannot  fees for curative services subsidize free preventative services  health centers that have a financial surplus subsidize the ones with a deficit This strategy has allowed PROSALUD to achieve remarkable results: it serves 5% of the country’s population every year and 21% of all appointments were provided for free in 2010. Sources: http://healthmarketinnovations.org/program/prosalud; R. Holloway (2000): “Towards Financial Self-Reliance: A Handbook of Approaches to Resource Mobilisation for Citizen’s Organisations in the South”; W. Newbrander, C. J. Cuellar, B. K. Timmons (2000): “The PROSALUD Model for Expanding Access to Health Services” 19 20 The 5-step model is an important tool that gives you a quick overview of relevant activities and helps you form a solid policy advocacy strategy. Following the five steps, you gain a roadmap for policy advocacy. It is not a bullet-proof model, but it highlights some of the generic steps that you need to undertake. Please note: advocacy is not a linear process, particularly when advocating for an enabling environment. These steps may not always occur in exactly the same order. You - or your allies - may have to react and adapt to a changing external environment, particularly when advocating in difficult situations or in a hostile political context. 21 22 What is policy advocacy and what is it not? In simple terms, advocacy is the act of influencing or supporting an issue POLICY ADVOCACY or a person. The overall aim of policy advocacy of a civil society IS THE ACT OF organisation is a more enabling environment for an effective civil society INFLUENCING POLICY MAKERS TO based on minimum standards agreed through multi-stakeholder dialogue, IMPLEMENT, wherever possible. The methodology and tools are to a large extent the REMOVE OR same, no matter if you come from an urban community-based human CHANGE POLICIES rights organisation or a business organisation. The overall aim of policy advocacy is to establish alliances, seek influence, pose evidence-based recommendations and ultimately make a change to the better for society at large or your constituency/members. Advocacy is a way to make long-lasting change. All CSOs are affected by public policies and it is therefore important that they make their voice heard so that policies can be improved. Policy advocacy can target existing, new or proposed policies. Policies can be broadly defined to include:  Laws  Regulations  Decrees Circulars  Political party platform  Institutional platforms Successful policy advocacy is based on sound and current analyses. By SUCCESSFUL actively engaging in evidence-based policy advocacy, an organisation can POLICY ADVOCACY IS BASED ON gain a reputation as a valuable and trustworthy actor in the policy-making SOUND AND arena. Trust is key, but more important is the ability to show results. You CURRENT cannot grow as organisation if you stand in the corner and shout to the ANALYSES world about all the injustices your constituency meet. You must be able to seek compromises, build alliances and have the courage to negotiate agreements on a win-win basis. Effective advocacy makes crucial, policy- relevant information widely available to several key audiences that influence public policy. 23 As a CSO, you should proactively pursue specific policies and regulations as well as more broad areas of particular interest to your beneficiaries or members, thereby creating value for them. Altogether, there is good reason to aspire to effective and efficient policy advocacy as it can turn out to be a virtuous cycle: sound policy advocacy raises the profile of your organisation among policymakers and enhances your reputation amongst your peers as a useful partner. This increases contributions and/or support from existing members or donors and attracts new funding or members. With more funding, any organisation can devote more resources to advocacy and thereby enhance advocacy strategies and tactics. At the same time, more support from members, beneficiaries and/or donors can be translated into more influence. There is another reason why the number of members or beneficiaries is an advantage beside mere legitimacy. Sound evidence-based positions are attractive to external stakeholders because they will contain information which cannot be found elsewhere. The source of the information is the opinion of members/beneficiaries. An organisation will of course draw upon many different sources to support its policy position, but it is the access to members/beneficiaries which provides unique information. This is the key selling point of the organisation and what makes it interesting for external stakeholders. Primary external target groups of policy advocacy include: Lawmakers who need sound information because they make policy decisions that affect the business community and environment for CSOs. Sound policies foster an enabling political, social and economic environment, advance reforms and benefit society as a whole. Civil servants who, when provided with solid information about the effects of specific policies and regulations, are able to do a better job drafting, implementing and enforcing them. The media who benefit greatly from well documented commentary and criticism. Journalists gather a great deal of their information from official government sources, but they are better able to analyse this information and balance their reporting once they have listened to the alternative voices of CSOs, BOs, think tanks, and other organisations representing different interests in society. Evidence-based policy advocacy can enhance transparency and make the media demand accountability from the government. 24 What policy advocacy is not Policy advocacy is often misconceived as a concept. As an example, an education and information campaign to help eradicate violence against women is in itself not policy advocacy - although it might be an effective approach for influencing behaviour at the inter-personal and household level. Rather, policy advocacy is efforts geared towards creating an overall change in the overall policy environment surrounding that subject and/or some of the core causes. Hence, even non-members and non-beneficiaries benefit from an improved environment. Viewed through this lens, policy advocacy is a ”public good” in that it can benefit all possible stakeholders without being depleted. In addition, it is often not possible to isolate the positive effects to those who have invested efforts in advocacy or those who have been "free riding". This means that there is a range of activities that should not be included under the umbrella of policy advocacy.  Policy advocacy is not about obtaining preferential treatment for one beneficiary group or sector at the expense of others. As an example, CSOs should therefore refrain from daily problem-solving services related to conducting routine transactions or settling disputes between individuals and the government. Such matters should be resolved through the services of lawyers, collection agencies, consultants, etc.  Policy advocacy is not about solving problems concerning day-to-day activities. If, however, daily obstacles are a plague to the entire community, public policy advocacy campaigns aimed at the real causes of the problem, as opposed to the symptoms, could be envisaged. An enabling environment for CSOs will never be given to us on a silver plate. CSOs have to defend their rights and work hard to achieve it 25 The following table will help CSOs in determining what policy is and is not. Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness 'Advocacy Toolkit' 2011: adapted from 'Advocacy Matters: helping children change their world' Save the Children, 2007. Identify what you can change It takes a long time and a great deal of patience to change the policy environment and the enabling environment for CSOs. There are many factors that hinder you from being effective, such as human rights violations by the government, harassment of your staff or company, or lack of transparency in governmental institutions and decisions. It is therefore important that your energy and resources are spent well on issues that you estimate that you have a fair chance to change. Therefore, you need to identify the critical barriers in your own environment for being effective. 26 1) Fill in Column 1 in the environment assessment scheme. It is suggested to discuss for each barrier whether it is generally respected or applied. 2) Describe all standards that are not being respected or applied by your government or local authorities in Column 2. 3) Fill in Column 3 whilst discussing which barriers constitute the greatest and most immediate barriers to your work and, ultimately, to your development effectiveness. If you operate in a highly challenging environment where no minimum standards are respected or applied, try to identify the most critical and immediate issues that you wish to change. Think about which barriers might affect or alleviate other barriers. High: a barrier that has critical importance for CSOs hindering their status and independence, seriously affects their operations, funding as well as potentially endangering staff. Medium: a barrier that has a damaging impact on some aspects of CSO development effectiveness, but that can be overcome in the medium or longer term. Low: a barrier that only marginally affects the ability of a CSO to implement the Istanbul Principles and achieve greater development effectiveness. 4) Focus on those barriers that you have identified as "high importance" and go through the "Advocacy Guiding Questions" below. These should help you find out which barriers are most likely to be effectively addressed through advocacy. Based on this, fill in Column 4 using the following rating: High: change is very likely to be achieved through sustained advocacy in the short to medium term. Medium: change might be achieved through advocacy, but over a longer period. Low: change will not be achieved through advocacy, but will require longer-term society chances. Advocacy guiding questions Before initiating a policy advocacy campaign or efforts, consider the following:  Can you achieve positive change on this issue through advocacy or would change be best achieved through another approach?  How long would it take for you to achieve meaningful change though advocacy (a 1-3 year advocacy initiative)? This is especially important when the advocacy campaign is funded by donor funding which usually has a short time horizon.  What strategic opportunities are there to address this issue in the short and medium term?  How does a particular issue affect other barriers to enabling conditions? Is it strategic? 27  What is your legitimacy in addressing this issue?  What is your assessment of the sensitivity and risks associated with working on this issue?  Can you forge strategic alliances with others who will support you?  What is your capacity to undertake a successful advocacy initiative on this issue? 28 Enabling environment assessment 29 Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, Advocacy Toolkit, 2011. Based on the minimum standards of effective civil society as outlined in the International Framework for CSO Development Effectiveness (given global legitimacy in the Busan Partnership Paragraph 22). Define your desired output and outcome at the very start OUTPUT DESCRIBES SPECIFICALLY Once you have identified what you can change, it is useful to follow these WHAT YOU DO, steps: WHEREAS OUTCOME RELATES 1) Make a problem statement: a short description of a problem in TO WHAT DIFFERENCE YOUR your context. EFFORT MAKES. OUTPUT IS OFTEN MORE MEASURABLE THAN OUTCOME. For instance: "Weak CSO regulatory framework in country x" "Despite CSOs being widely recognised as development actors in their own right by Government X, this has not been adequately translated into policy and legislation. Existing policies and legislation on CSOs are inadequate to promote CSO development effectiveness." 2) Define your output: describe what you wish to do, e.g. x amount of meetings, x amount of new partners or alliances, x amount of reports describing your point of view, etc. 30 3) Define your desired outcome: Desired outcome can be described in following ways: Although decision-makers may support civil society and approve of our advocacy publicly, in reality they put barriers on our way, they delay political processes and they discredit CSOs. 31 4) Consider: Where will you be able to compromise and what may be a second-to-best-result?  Prioritise your objectives – you cannot achieve all at once!  How many staff members do you estimate will have to spend time on this, and how much time?  How will the expected result affect your members or beneficiaries?  Succeeding first with smaller objectives will give you and your colleagues more enthusiasm, experience and credibility to conquer objectives that are more ambitious. Are you doing proactive or reactive policy advocacy? BASICALLY, YOU MAY DISTINGUISH BETWEEN The purpose of research PROACTIVE AND REACTIVE POLICY BOs represent their member companies and CSOs speak the case of their ADVOCACY. THIS beneficiaries. The better we know our companies/beneficiaries, the better DETERMINES we can do our jobs. Therefore, we need to do research on their opinions, WHICH RESEARCH needs and priorities to make sure our evidence is credible. There are several YOU WILL CONDUCT AND WHAT ways to do this. ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN YOU You may distinguish between two purposes of doing research related to WILL LEAD policy advocacy: REACTIVE: Research on how a newly adopted piece of legislation affects companies or beneficiaries Vs. PROACTIVE: Research in order to determine a strategic direction for your organisation, for instance, how you wish to put a topic on the political agenda or how you want to influence an upcoming proposal for new legislation It is easy to rely on emotional arguments, but always remember to back up all your arguments by objective, bullet-proof statistics. This will earn you respect and make the government listen. 32 REACTIVE When the government adopts a new piece of legislation which affects your members/beneficiaries you are expected to react. You need to demonstrate how damaging the proposed piece of legislation is to your members/beneficiaries and you may therefore need to conduct a cost/benefit analysis and/or make an impact assessment. Here it is of the utmost importance that you remember to use an evidence-based strategy, rather than propose arguments based on feelings and impressions. The lesson learnt here is, however, that if you have to react on a piece of legislation that is already adopted, your success of changing it is much more limited than if you are proactive. Case: Sugar and fat taxation In 2011, the Danish government introduced a proposal on higher taxes on chocolate and confectionery which also included marmalades, pickled vegetables (such as red cabbage, gherkins, cucumbers, etc.), ketchup, etc. and milk products containing sugar, like yogurt and chocolate milk. The proposal would impose a lack of transparency for the consumer as well as a loss to the industry and massive administrative expenses. It would also impose a tax on some processed materials, e.g. chewing gum that contains sugar as well as other goods such as fish, eggs, bread, vegetables, nuts and drinking milk containing natural fat. Based on this, the Danish business organisation, Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), undertook several activities to prevent the proposal from being adopted. After one year of focused policy advocacy, the sugar and fat tax was eventually dropped and thus never implemented. DI and the industry were successful in advocating that the costs were too high and that competitiveness would suffer, which would result in fewer jobs, limited cross-border trade giving less exports and more bureaucracy resulting in higher production costs. Source: The Confederation of Danish Industry PROACTIVE When you act proactively, you act ahead of the curve. You start influencing government officials and stakeholders when they are in the initial phase of thinking about drafting a new proposal for a piece of legislation. Naturally, the input you provide to the government officials and stakeholders has to reflect your strategic direction as an organisation and what your members or beneficiaries want. This both goes for an overall strategic level and for specific areas. Even though you may think you know what they feel, you 33 could be wrong. You need to ask them, and you need to ask them in a structured way, which gives you the chance of clearly promoting the results to your advantage. This means high requirements for your ability to collect input from your members/beneficiaries and to convert the input into a basket or catalogue of strategic objectives that you can pursue and report on to your members/donors/beneficiaries every year. Case: DI 2020 plan In 2001, Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) started the process of adopting a new strategy called “DI 2020 Plan”. It was launched with the input from members during surveys, from a consultancy firm undertaking a stakeholder perception analysis of DI, and finally during discussions and involvement from staff at DI and the board members. The result was a new mission and vision, a new strategy and a set of key performance indicators that described 25 areas of intervention – including indicators – that altogether indicate the strategic direction of DI towards 2020 and its policy priorities towards the government. The 2020 Plan is an example of evidence-based policy advocacy since the strategic priorities of the members came to decide the strategic priorities of DI. Key points were, for example, corporate taxation and simplified rules and regulations for SMEs. Regarding taxation, DI produced several analyses and studies indicating the effect on the economy and the corporate competitiveness that a lower tax would impose. Regarding the simplified rules, DI joined forces with the Ministry of Business and Growth to develop a homepage where companies could report rules and regulations that were barriers to their company, and the ministry would report back and document when they made changes, etc. Source: The Confederation of Danish Industry Advocacy campaigns or strategies that attempt to fix everything run the risk of changing nothing in the process. 34 Key challenges to efficient policy advocacy For most organisations, effective policy advocacy remains a daunting task. You might recognise the following characteristics and issues that are often the essence of the challenges:  Gathering the sometimes disparate views of members/beneficiaries into one single voice or message. This message should articulate the costs and benefits of particular policies. This, in turn, requires a certain amount of analytical work to lend credibility to the advocated issue.  The sensitivity of opposing the government’s stand on specific issues.  Raising sensitive or controversial topics that expose politicians or decision-makers.  Lack of sufficiently well-developed analytical capacities and organisational maturity for engaging in the national policy- formulation process with confidence and conviction.  Too narrow membership base/beneficiary group to enjoy sufficient legitimacy or indeed be representative of the business/CSO community to do policy advocacy.  Lack of financial or human resources to effectively engage on an adequate scale. Well developed, research-based policy options that take into consideration the multitude of factors that the government must consider are more likely to be successful. 35 36 As the first step of the 5-step model you need to carefully understand and monitor the political system and identify the issue your beneficiaries/members have an interest in being changed. You need to understand your room for influence and thus the issue’s life cycle. To change the world, we must understand it. Monitoring the political system is a key task if you want to act proactively. The Danish Labour organisation (LO) develop a continuous three-year plan YOU MOST OFTEN that describes all the information available on upcoming proposals that HAVE A BETTER they know of. All units in LO share the document and are responsible for CHANCE OF updating it. Management uses the document as a prioritisation tool based INFLUENCING POLICIES BEFORE on which policy issues become strategies. The mapping of upcoming THEY ARE proposals is combined with close contact to members through committees ENACTED THAN or elected boards. LO also regularly collect the opinion of their members AFTERWARDS through business panels, meetings, etc. This ensures that it constantly acts according to its members’ needs. CSOs often have surprisingly limited understanding of policy processes. As a result, they fail to engage in an effective manner and, as a result, use evidence in an ineffective way. Generally, the policy-making process has the following four different and overlapping phases: Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness 37 Each of the four phases is shaped by different power dynamics and involves different players. In democratic or semi-democratic circumstances, you should be able to monitor and influence the decision-makers at the different stages. However, in less democratic countries, policies and laws may be decided before they get adopted by the legislature (i.e. parliament) or there might not be a legislature at all. Either way, it is recommendable to make certain staff members responsible for understanding the political system and gradually also monitoring what is going on concerning relevant certain issues. This entails constantly being on top of what policy-makers and the public and non-governmental organisations in accord with or in opposition to your organisation are talking about and doing. This will minimise the possibility of policy surprises and will give the staff dedicated to policy advocacy adequate time to shape discussions and policies before they are officially debated or enacted. 38 Understanding the issue and its roots It is pivotal to understand what your actual issue is and what its roots are THE PROBLEM in order for you to address the issue with the right means and to be able to TREE HELPS YOU TO VISUALISE AND reach your goals. ANALYSE THE LINKS BETWEEN Use the problem tree THE MAIN Using this tree will enable you to understand your issue more in depth and PROBLEM, THE to design a better strategy. At the same time, it will help you visualize the RESULTING CONSEQUENCES links between the main problem, the consequences of the problem and the AND THE ROOT root causes. Lastly, it will enable you to analyse the root causes of the CONSEQUENCE. problem in order to decide where to focus your work and change things. When using the Problem Tree method, keep asking why:  The children are not going to school - why?  Their parents do not want to send the children to school - why?  The teachers haven't been paid their salaries by the government - why?  And so forth. Source: DUF, the Problem Tree and Development of Solutions Understand your room for influence A COMMON REASON FOR As shown in the figure below, most room for influencing an issue in a policy NOT REACHING A process would be at the early stage. If you can set the political agenda, you GOAL IS THAT THE ISSUE WAS have half a victory, as the one who decides the agenda will set the direction. NOT CLEARLY At the same time, it is also easier to “kill” a piece of legislation in the early DEFINED IN THE process. Fewer people are involved, the opponents have made less research BEGINNING. and have weaker arguments, and fewer government resources will be lost if it is stopped. Once policies are enacted, proponents will often fiercely defend them. All assessments of issues and policies and the back-drop against which they are proposed or developed involve thorough collection of information. A prominent reason for failure in advocacy is lack of patience. Advocacy takes time and too often organisations give up before they achieve success because they lack the patience that advocacy requires. Government generally moves very slowly. A large part of advocacy is relationship building and understanding how government works - and this takes time. 39 Influencing international stakeholders When facing a hostile government, in a situation of conflict, or when raising very sensitive issues such as systemic human rights violations, it may be beneficial to engage international powerful stakeholders who may then influence politicians in your own country. Taking your issue to the UN, attending donor conferences, and tapping into foreign media opportunities or humanitarian coordination processes may all be valid entry points for conveying your message and influencing decision-makers in your country. Failure to engage in a strategic advocacy planning process can lead to a lack of accountability, confused messages, missed opportunities and a lack of direction. In advocacy, good planning builds success. 40 CASE: EFL succeeds in influencing WTO negotiations on environmental policy regulations Environment Foundation Limited (EFL) is a Sri Lankan CSO focused on environmental policy. The majority of its employees are lawyers. Three different policy advocacy tools are used by EFL: Participation: other CSOs are invited to working groups and committees that work on particular policies Representation: when policymakers do not invite civil society representatives to workgroups, volunteer groups are formed instead to influence the policy making Litigation: when policy changes are made through the judiciary process, EFL uses litigation (often as a last resort measure) to affect the policy decisions negotiations on the implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement in 2000s. The main issue that concerned EFL was a section of the agreement about patenting of indigenous plants and microorganisms. An example of a successful use of policy advocacy by EFL comes from EFL collected evidence about the impact of the agreement’s provisions on the flora in Sri Lanka and presented it to the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Trade. All of the ministries were involved in the TRIPs negotiations on an international level. Among these, the Ministry of Environment demonstrated the most interest in EFL’s findings, and it used the information in the TRIPs negotiations. The results of EFL’s policy advocacy efforts exceeded their expectations: Sri Lanka was the first country to propose deleting the section in question from the TRIPs agreement. Sources: Centre for Poverty Analysis (2005): “Civil Society Organisations, Evidence and Policy Influence: Sri Lanka National Consultations, Final Report” and J. Court, E. Mendizabal, D. Osborne, J. Young (2006): “Policy Engagement: How Civil Society Can Be More Effective”, Overseas Development Institute. 41 42 Once you have identified your issue and determined your desired output THE RESULTS OF and outcome, you need to collect information and data about it to better YOUR RESEARCH SHOULD FORM understand the issue at hand and/or prove its impact on YOUR beneficiaries/members. Most importantly, you need to assess the opinion AMMUNITION IN and needs of your beneficiaries or members. Involving them from the very THE DIALOGUE beginning makes you more likely to succeed and gives you a better WITH PUBLIC reputation amongst them. OFFICIALS It can be tempting to skip this step in the advocacy process and go directly to the policy-position formulation. However, it is critical that you thoroughly understand the issue/policy at hand, its potential impact on beneficiaries/member companies and the environment in which it is set. The process of undertaking research for proactive and reactive advocacy helps you to:  Think through the full impact of the policy proposal or issue at hand  Determine whether the benefits justify the costs  Determine whether some members/beneficiaries are likely to be disproportionately affected (positively or negatively)  Set your priorities according to beneficiaries' needs/members’ wishes, and not according to your gut feeling Your analyses should be rooted in facts and evidence and be as objective as possible. The reputation of your organisation is on the line and it takes years to build a reputation for honesty and balanced views, while it may only take one unsubstantiated analysis to ruin it. In many countries, accessing useful and reliable data can be challenging. The primary challenge becomes one of making best use of what is available. 43 Primary and secondary data Data can be viewed as the raw material that is used in the subsequent COLLECTING analytical work. The analysis included in your policy advocacy efforts can INFORMATION IS only be as good as the data and information it is based on. LIKE COOKING A GOOD MEAL. When you start collecting information, it is important to evaluate what FRESH QUALITY information is readily available and where gaps exist. It is most cost- INGREDIENTS effective to scan existing sources (secondary data) before you collect your MAKE A BETTER primary data, which is more resource demanding. MEAL, JUST LIKE CURRENT AND RELIABLE DATA Primary data: Information collected by yourself MAKE A BETTER ANALYSIS Primary data is to get your beneficiaries'/members’ opinion. This information CANNOT be found anywhere else.  Pros: Promoting the opinions of your beneficiaries/members can result in strong credibility. Moreover, you are able to collect information about the particular subject you wish to investigate. The information can only be collected by you, giving a unique selling point in the debate.  Cons: Primary information collection can be expensive and time consuming. It also requires a certain skill level and experience for the results to be useful, as all data should be processed and transformed into analysis before it becomes useful. Secondary data: Published and readily available information from other sources Of the different sources of secondary data available, you should pay particular attention to what statistical information you can obtain from different service providers and other stakeholders. It is usually possible to download data directly from websites of national statistical bureaus, ministries and other national and international organisations such as the EU, the World Bank, the United Nations, etc.  Pros: Secondary data is objective information, public to all, and often comparable (international)  Cons: The quality can often be hard to assess and the available data may not match your particular need exactly. Any consultant could sit down and do the same analysis, so the organisation is not providing unique information. 44 You should aim at accessing the same data/information as the government and other organisations engaging in the policy dialogue. Your sources of external information  Attending seminars: Seminars may be organised by the government, by other organisations such as research institutes, or other NGOs. In addition to information on a particular subject, seminars provide networking opportunities and are often worth attending to find out who else is interested in the same issues. This can be useful for extending the network and identifying potential coalition partners as well as opponents.  Talking with members/beneficiaries: Talking regularly with your members/beneficiaries to find out more about how they relate to an issue, or what they know about an issue.  Internet sites: For more in-depth information about a specific topic, internet sites can be very useful.  Talking with journalists: Journalists generally make their knowledge public through the media, in articles or via television or radio. However, they seldom put out everything they know about an issue or topic. It is often worthwhile having face-to-face meetings with journalists to tap into their (passive) knowledge.  Talking with government officials: Close personal contacts in the public administration and/or government can be valuable sources of information. Officials often handle policy proposals long before they reach the politicians’ desk, and therefore the greatest opportunity to shape the outcome of a case frequently lies with the officials. Officials are often grateful for input as they need detailed input and your assistance to shed light on how a given approach will work or be received by the private sector or civil society.  Talking with other BOs or CSOs: Other organisations (like- minded or not) are probably interested in the same issues and will also be looking for information. They might be willing to share their knowledge so that it can be used in your activities and analyses. 45 Collecting input from members/beneficiaries Regardless of whether you do proactive or reactive policy advocacy, collecting input from members/beneficiaries is key. It can be done in a qualitative or quantitative way. The quantitative method, however, tends to have much more weight when discussing with government officials. Before you do any communication with your members/beneficiaries, remember to review existing information to ensure that your investigation complements and not duplicates existing information. You may collect input from your members/beneficiaries in the following ways:  Member panels/meetings/general assembly  Roundtables  Conferences  Surveys and interviews  Site visits  Community centres Remember your members’/beneficiaries' opinion is indisputable. It is your best argument. A member panel is a group of members that are active in a certain sector, geography, issue, theme, etc. who have accepted to be part of a panel and fill out several surveys every year. The panels are thus used as testing ground for new and expected legislation. Roundtables are a smaller group of stakeholders that have a specific challenge in a specific area. It can be companies, public sector representatives, civil society representatives - or a mix of all three. Either way, roundtables aim to gather stakeholders to address a certain issue and new developments. Conferences are used when a topic has a wider interest and perhaps also wider implications for several stakeholders. A conference can also be relevant as a first step in highlighting and gathering a list of issues to be dealt with in smaller forums afterwards. Survey is a much wider term than a questionnaire. A survey is a process for gathering data that could involve a wide variety of data collection methods, including a questionnaire. A questionnaire is an instrument for collecting data, and almost always involves asking a given subject to respond to a set of oral or written questions. Site visits to beneficiaries is a good way for CSOs to collect input on especially sensitive topics. Meeting beneficiaries in their homes or other 'safe environment' fosters trust and enables beneficiaries to express their opinions. 46 Community centres of your own or of fellow CSOs are a good point to collect input from beneficiaries. It is less time and resource consuming than visits and may yield the same results if you manage to establish trust with the interviewee. You may have to combine different methods at different stages of the assessment in order to build on their complementarities and address their weaknesses. Below is an overview of strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative methods. For your surveys, the following steps can be used: A. DESIGN THE SURVEY Before designing a survey, always ask yourself what it is precisely that you want to know and why and how you are going to use the results. Once you have the answers, you can start designing your survey, using the list of do’s and don’ts below. If you do not do your surveys well, there are the following RISKS:  Members/beneficiaries feel molested or harassed and are dissatisfied with you  Members may sign out of your organisation (if you are a BO) or 47 beneficiaries will no longer support you or use your services (if you are a CSO)  You may have a low response rate The Do’s & Don’ts when DESIGNING a survey. 48 There are no easy ways to get responses to your survey! But there are a number of ways to avoid complete failure. B. DISTRIBUTE THE SURVEY You can choose between the following survey techniques when distributing your survey: 49 The Do’s and don’ts when DISTRIBUTING a survey 50 Assessing impact on members/beneficiaries Assessing impact on members/beneficiaries can be a combination of questionnaires to members/beneficiaries and your own calculations on the cost for members/beneficiaries (e.g. increase in health burden, number of jobs affected, number of extra hours required, etc.) As k y ours el f the f ol l owing ques tion s when y ou as s ess th e i mpa ct on y our members /beneficiaries : Is the issue correctly defined? AN IMPACT The issue should be precisely described so as to avoid misunderstandings and ASSESSMENT IS AN minimise possibilities for misinterpretations. The statement should define the ANALYSIS OF THE nature and the magnitude of the issue. If possible, a basic risk assessment LIKELY COSTS AND addressing the probability of an event occurring and how serious the effect is likely BENEFITS to be if it does occur should form part of the presentation of an issue. An ASSOCIATED WITH explanation of why the issue is brought up now must be included in the THE INTRODUCTION presentation of the issue or proposal. OF A NEW POLICY OR OTHER Is government action or inaction justified? EFFECTIVE Is there a case for government intervention, or could the issue that the regulation CHANGES IN THE REGULATORY or policy is intended to address be left to the market? It is not always clear that ENVIRONMENT government intervention is part of the solution. Do the expected benefits of the proposed change justify the true costs, including those likely to be incurred by members/beneficiaries? It must be determined what the costs and benefits are likely to be, including details on who will bear the costs and who will reap the benefits. Costs should include the ones directly associated with the policy or regulation, as well as costs that can be linked indirectly to the policy. If possible, a cost/benefit analysis should be undertaken using realistic costs and benefits (also the indirect ones). Direct costs and benefits are often obvious, and can be quantified more or less EXPERIENCE easily. The major challenge lies in identifying the indirect costs and benefits. This SHOWS THAT may require a little more work and creative thinking, but there can be important QUALITATIVE value added in this step of the analysis. By exposing all the links in the impact chain ARGUMENTS TEND and summing up the balance, a bottom line can be established. A sound impact TO CARRY LESS assessment may be what is needed to turn the tide for or against a proposed WEIGHT THAN regulation. This step of the analysis can also help identify any unintended impact QUANTITATIVE ARGUMENTS WITH of a given proposal. THE PUBLIC AND AMONG POLICY In many cases, regulation will entail benefits to some while imposing costs on MAKERS others. These differences need to be made clear. Sometimes your members/beneficiaries will be impacted differently. How to quantify the un-quantifiable If at all possible, impacts should be quantified. This is the only way to compare different costs and benefits and identify trade-offs. This does not mean that qualitative arguments are less important than the quantitative. Once impacts have been quantified, they should be converted to a monetary 51 value (see below). Some costs and benefits will easily lend themselves to this type of conversion, for instance, expenditures and savings on equipment, labour, other production costs, costs of licenses, costs of expert advice, taxes and subsidies. At other times, the impact assessment will require putting a monetary value on impacts that have no obvious market price. This is the case for several environmental, human and social impacts. In some cases, the observed market price may not be reliable in that it may not reflect the true economic costs. This is the case when exchange and interest rates are fixed or controlled, or if prices are distorted, if, for example, a small number of enterprises hold a dominant position in the market. Techniques to be used to calculate the monetary value of benefits and costs that do not have a market value or where the market value is distorted: Time savings can be given a monetary value by multiplying the time saved by the average wages/earnings of the beneficiaries. Improvements in health can be given a value by studying the savings in costs of treating the illness, or by estimating the improvements in beneficiaries’ productivity. Training and education can be valued by looking at the difference in wage rates of better and less educated workers. Environmental matters can be valued through use of willingness to pay” surveys to see how much people are willing to pay for improvements or how much compensation they need to accept an increased level of pollution. 52 Check list: Four Essential Components of an Impact Assessment Remember your organisational learning Once information on an issue has been collected (and possibly processed), it is important to store it in a structured and accessible way in the organisation so that others can benefit from it. This will add to the collective memory of the organisation. To be useful, the information needs to be updated and maintained on a timely basis. For quantitative data, the maintenance schedule typically follows the publication frequency of relevant statistics. 53 A POLICY POSITION IS YOUR ORGANISATION’S OPINION ABOUT A CERTAIN TOPIC. IT SERVES TO INFLUENCE DECISION-MAKERS, BUT IT ALSO SERVES TO STREAMLINE YOUR COMMUNICATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC, SO THAT YOUR SECRETARIAT, BOARD AS WELL AS THE MEMBERS /BENEFICIARIES AND DONORS KNOW WHAT THE OFFICIAL OPINION IS. 54 You have now collected your data and done your research, which means you are ready to do your analysis and develop policy positions based on this. It is therefore imperative that you have done your groundwork well. Your policy positions should always include realistic solutions. If you only point to problems, you will be regarded as a ”complainer” and eventually decision-makers will stop listening to you. This is a common pitfall for CSOs. Put yourself in their shoes: If somebody is standing in the corner, shouting out about the problems, and another hands you a list of well-founded suggested solutions, who would you listen to? Analysing your data When you have collected your data, you need Excel-skilled employee(s) – IT IS preferably economist(s), political or natural scientist(s) or other skilled RECOMMENDABLE TO SELECT NO professionals – to transform the data into understandable results. MORE THAN FIVE Remember that decision-makers are rarely specialists and therefore need SUGGESTIONS PER simple, understandable forms, tables, figures, etc. POLICY POSITION PAPER First, consider the product you wish to develop based on your results:  Reports (e.g. branch or thematic reports)  Statistics breaking the numbers into charts  Articles outlining the results  To whom o Internal/external o Managers/CEO/all  By whom o Internal/external o Central/decentral  What is the purpose of each product? Secondly, consider how you analyse your data in the master Excel:  Overview of data  Representability  Number of respondents overall  Who has responded?  If possible, divide respondents in sub-groups 55 o Geography o Demography o Size (if being a company)  Use cross-tabulations which allow you to compare relationships between variables Thirdly, identify the most important results and narrow your focus. Which are the main conclusions to support your argument? How to prioritise between results? You will never be able to present all your conclusions and all your arguments – you will have to choose. It is recommendable to select no more than five suggestions per policy position paper. More than that can create confusion and weaken your argument. The more narrow the focus, the more weight of your argument. Lastly, consider the way in which data is presented:  Numbers  Percentage  Include ”don’t know” or ”not applicable” in the results  Use commonly understood and accepted standards  Always tell the number of respondents  Present in PowerPoint or Word (raw data accumulation and calculation should only be included in the master Excel) A policy position is only as good as the data and the analyses it relies on. Policy position paper The target group for position papers includes policy makers and members of organisations that are active in the area, or are affected by a particular issue or policy. Position papers should be as short as possible – no more than 4-5 pages. POSITION PAPERS Statistics and data used to develop the paper can be submitted as an annex, SHOULD BE AS as long as it is not necessary to read the annex in order to understand the SHORT AS POSSIBLE main paper. Some organisations employ a number of highly specialised policy officers and therefore position papers contain a high degree of expert knowledge. Whenever possible, all technical references should be removed from the position paper. If it is necessary to include references to technical concepts, they should be introduced in a few simple terms. 56 Position papers are written by experts but not for experts. Position papers are typically structured according to the "template for preparing position papers". The summary section should be short and concise in its presentation of the content of the position paper. This is followed by a background section. Why are you taking up this issue? It could be because the organisation wants to put something on the agenda; it could also be because the organisation has been asked by others to present its views on certain issues. This is followed by a review of the problem – often the most complex section. What is it that the reader should develop an opinion about? What is the position of the organisation’s sub - committees? Does it require coordination with other organisations? The assessment section should list all relevant facts including costs and benefits to members. Any arguments against the recommendation should also be included. Finally, the recommendations reflect the position of the organisation, and what needs to be done to reach the desired outcome. Template for preparing position papers: 57 Prepare your one-pager You need to make sure that everyone can understand your policy position USE YOUR ONE- PAGER AS AN – even your grandmother. Remember that politicians and other INTERNAL stakeholders often do not have the technical knowledge you possess. AWARENESS- Once you have finalised your policy position paper, you therefore need to RAISING TOOL create a one-pager in which you briefly and clearly cover the following: In many cases it can be recommended to use figures (like Word’s SmartArt) to illustrate the points above. A one-pager should be no more than ½-1 page. You can disseminate your one-pager internally in your organisation to make sure your colleagues can easily understand your organisation’s position on various areas. Do the grandmother test You must be able to tell your message in such a way that even your grandmother will understand you! Delivering a one-minute message In line with the idea behind the one-pager, it is very useful for you and your colleagues to be able to convey your message in three or four sentences. These are useful for TV or radio interviews where contributions are 58 generally edited down to a maximum of 30 seconds, or for when you would meet key-decision makers briefly. Your message can be written down for you and your colleagues to learn by heart. It can be structured like this:  Statement: The central idea of the message  Evidence: Supports the statement with a few accessible facts and  figures Example: Adds a human face to the message Action  desired: What you want your audience to do Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness 59 60 As you are getting your policy position paper ready, you need to undertake stakeholder mapping to identify those that will argue your case and those that will oppose you. Stakeholder analysis will help you determine the interests and influence of different groups in relation to your new proposed policy or in relation to an aspect of the regulatory environment that you as an organisation would like to change. All too often, CSOs want to act on their own, while others remain in a mode of 'opposition' to government and resist rather than engage in the policy processes. Find key stakeholders for each issue YOU SHOULD ALWAYS Identification of key stakeholders often varies according to how the CONSIDER WHO discourse has developed for the issue at hand. It is therefore important to THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS understand the issue in this light. Whereas some issues can be IN YOUR characterized by key actors as having a relatively open and mature ENVIRONMENT discussion, elaboration on other issues may involve a high degree of conflict ARE FOR EACH or sensitivity. ISSUE Key stakeholders are:  Stakeholders that will be affected by the proposal  Stakeholders that are able to affect the proposal’s chances of succe ss When you want to assess the state of the issue in relation to the stakeholders, ask the following questions:  Is the policy area a priority for the government?  Have news regarding the policy area recently been featured in the media?  Which stakeholders have expressed an opinion about the issue?  What similar policies have been approved or rejected in recent years?  Is the topic of interest to the general public?  Do channels exist for members to participate in these decisions?  Has there been prior interaction between CSOs/BOs and relevant ministries on the issue? If so, what was the outcome? 61 Finding answers to these types of questions enables you to assess whether the issue is ripe for dialogue, what stance the government might take and where to look for key stakeholders. You will always stand stronger with an ally, even if you have to compromise on your original viewpoint. When more actors individually approach the government, it can cherry pick between proposals and choose the best suited for its purposes. Therefore, standing united increases the chances of success. CASE: Working together to propose legislation against domestic violence against women in Mozambique Women’s rights organisations in Mozambique were recently involved in a policy dialogue with the government on the problem of domestic violence against women as there was no legislation which could protect women from the issue. Forum Mulher (Women Forum), an umbrella organization for women’s associations in Mozambique, led a network of CSOs which informed women in communities about their rights, collected information about cases of domestic violence and started a policy campaign for the creation of legislation which would criminalize domestic violence. How to Advocate for a More Enabling Environment for Source: C. de Toma: “Advocacy Toolkit: Guidance on The network of CSOs created strong messages based on the evidence of Civil Society in Your Context”, Open Forum for CSO violence against women that it collected. One of the messages, for example, was “Nothing Justifies Domestic Violence against Women”. The messages received substantial attention and led to the creation of alliances with key stakeholders: Minister for Women and Social Affairs, influential lawyers and female members of parliament. The CSOs then formulated a proposal for a law and sent it to the government. The action was successful – the parliament adopted the proposed legislation. A representative of Forum Mulher said that forming a network of CSOs Development Effectiveness in order to implement the policy advocacy campaign allowed the organizations to achieve synergies, while the different stakeholders involved in the campaign (lawyers, women representatives, etc.) also made a positive contribution. After the legislation against domestic violence was passed by the parliament, the focus of the network shifted towards making sure that the policy is implemented and towards further dissemination of information about violence against women. 62 Stakeholder mapping Though policy makers will make the final decisions on policy, other actors can greatly influence their choices and it is important for you to know who they are. The more information about the stakeholders that you gather, the easier it will be for you to design an efficient advocacy strategy. Use the following table for your stakeholder mapping for your advocacy campaign. This is a useful tool for classifying actors according to their roles, degrees of influence, possible support or opposition to your proposal, and the degree to which they are influenced by your proposal. It will help you gauge the strength of any opposition and see if there are ways of mitigating it. 63 Stakeholder Mapping in Relation to Your Proposal. 64 Alliance building Your advocacy efforts are most often more likely to succeed if you make TIME alliances and coalitions with actors that share the same opinion as you on MANAGEMENT IS the given issue. Governments are more willing to listen to a group of actors IMPORTANT. with higher representativeness and donors are often more willing to REMEMBER TO SET support consortia. SHORT TIME LIMITS FOR TASKS SUCH AS BRAIN- STORMINGS AND Coalitions often have a more formalised structure. They involve MAPPINGS. joint work between a disparate group of CSOs around a single major event, a set of related issues or a broad campaign. Coalitions usually involve long-term relationships and agreement on a platform among the members. Alliances generally involve shorter-term relationships among members, and are focused on a specific objective. Being limited on time and goal, alliances tend to be less demanding on members. Networks tend to be loose flexible associations of people or groups coming together around a common concern or interest or periodic joint initiatives. They foster the sharing of information and ideas. Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness However, working together is not always a walk in the park. It is important that you think carefully about your alliance partners and your cooperation with them. Most importantly, remember that you do not have to agree on everything to form an alliance or a coalition - be realistic of what you wish to achieve with your partner and align expectations with your partners. Therefore, it is recommendable to develop a "Memorandum of Understanding" with your new partners. You may use the template below, or tailor it to your needs: 65 Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness 66 CASE: Flexible governance was key for the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (CSC) was founded in 1998 by six NGOs: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Save the Children Alliance, Jesuit Refugee Service, Quaker United Nations Office – Geneva, and International Federation Terre des Hommes. The aim of the coalition was to advocate for barring military recruitment of people younger than 18 years old. After its founding, the coalition was joined by other international and regional NGOs as well as partners and national coalitions in more than 40 countries. Overall, the coalition included more than 500 organizations. Its governance was based on the relational organizational form and it was characterized by a number of different structures, depending on the national specifics. The structure can be described as a hybrid of a federation, a coalition and a joint venture. CSC’s founding organizations controlled it through a steering committee, and local and regional coalitions within CSC were also established. The international secretariat coordinated the different coalitions, but national coalitions did not fully elect either the board or the steering committee. Sometimes, national NGOs became members on the global level instead of joining a regional or local coalition, and they then had a voting right in the secretariat. But sometimes the founding partners had the decisive role. During other times, CSC functioned more like a multi-divisional organization with little board intervention. Overall, the organization was very fluid and flexible which allowed it to adapt to changing circumstances, while the steering committee and dedication to a single goal united all the partners. CSC became an independent human rights organization in 2011, but it kept a close relationship with its founding organizations and members of national and regional coalitions. Source: H. K. Anheier, N. Themudo (2002): “Organizational forms of global civil society: implications of going global” and www.child - soldiers.org 67 Forming coalitions is a useful way to increase the number of organisations and individuals that support your organisation’s stance on an issue or set of issues. Coalitions enhance the visibility and credibility of your advocacy efforts. Building coalitions is especially important when your association is small in membership and when a broad base of support is needed to ensure adoption of a specific policy, legislative or regulatory change. Besides mapping potential alliance/coalition partners, it is equally important to know who the potential enemies are, and to think about their possible threat level. A successful advocacy strategy entails communicating effectively with many different audiences in order to:  Win the support of those who are undecided  Earn the support of some individuals and groups who were initially opposed  Strengthen the commitment of the original supporters Case: When DI builds alliances DI builds alliances all the time. Policy advocacy very often requires alliances to make a difference. Alliances can relate to different stakeholders having the same interest in influencing a specific issue, such as the sugar and fat tax, but it can also be an alliance of enterprises or organisations having an interest in speaking with one voice. An example of an international alliance is the Arab-EU Business Facilitation Network that organises 15 leading business organisations from the MENA and the EU region. The alliance meets regularly to discuss common challenges and opportunities and develops common advocacy position papers and advocacy strategies. Source: The Confederation of Danish Industry 68 69 Now you have done all your groundwork: you have an understanding of the TARGET political system, you have monitored your issue, you have conducted good AUDIENCE IS THE research, you have identified stakeholders, potential allies and opponents. PERSON OR Now you need to design your advocacy strategy and make sure you succeed GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO CAN with your work. BRING ABOUT THE CHANGE YOU Identify your audience HOPE TO ACHIEVE Start by analysing your audience: find out what they know, their concerns, values and priorities and what kind of language they use. PUBLIC DECISION- The primary audience consists of individuals with direct authority to MAKERS ARE make policy changes (e.g. ministers, members of Parliament, etc.). OFTEN THE Informing or persuading the primary audience about a policy issue is the PRIMARY TARGET OR AUDIENCE OF centrepiece of any advocacy strategy. AN ADVOCACY STRATEGY Secondary audiences are people who can influence the decisions of the primary audience. Secondary audiences may include interest groups, business leaders, local organisations, specific groups among the public, or in some cases even external players such as the World Bank, the WTO or major trading partners. Define your approach REGARDLESS OF THE APPROACH Insider or outsider approach YOU CHOOSE, REMEMBER TO Start by deciding whether you wish to use an insider or outsider approach. INCORPORATE MECHANISMS AND MILESTONES TO  Insider approach: persuasion of decision-makers behind closed DOCUMENT YOUR doors. This is done through quiet diplomacy and building a trusting LEARNINGS AND relationship with decision-makers. It has the risk of decision makers OUTCOAME SO attempting to convert you into their field of interest or simply delaying YOU CAN MEASURE YOUR change. SUCCESS  Outsider approach: raising awareness of a cause among many people and engaging citizens or organisations through public campaigning in order to make citizens act themselves or pressure authorities to take action to the cause. It often involves petitions, social media campaigns, marches, and letters to decision-makers. It has the risk of alienating the decision makers you are trying to influence. A MESSAGE TELLS THE TARGET Define and tailor your message AUDIENCE WHAT THEY ARE BEING Sometimes there will be limited time to get the message across, other ASKED TO DO, times the same core message must be repeated almost indefinitely before WHY IT IS WORTH a breakthrough is reached. DOING AND THE POSITIVE IMPACT Your advocacy material needs to be targeted to the audience that the OF SUCH ACTION strategy is trying to influence, and must be delivered in a timely manner. In some cases, the best way to proceed may be a straightforward account of 70 an issue; in other situations, there may be a need for a more in-depth treatment of the issue in order to be persuasive. Speak with one voice! It is extremely important to be sure of the content of the message before it is disseminated. Regardless of who is communicating with the government (the chairman of the board, the head of the advocacy committee or a member of staff) – it is imperative that all convey the same message. Presenting an inconsistent message is a common failure in advocacy campaigns, and it can be very damaging to the credibility of your organisation. Therefore:  Coordinate internally so that everyone from your organisation says the same. Conflicting views will reduce your credibility, make you look unprofessional and reduce your chance of succeeding with your policy advocacy.  Assign policy areas of responsibility to members of staff (or of your board) so that only some colleagues are allowed to make statements and talk to the press about certain topics.  Remember that it is better to say, ”I will get back to you” to a journalist than providing a wrong answer. This will strengthen your credibility. Act peacefully Always remember that violence does not produce sustainable solutions. Peaceful constructive dialogue will earn you trust and respect from both your supporters and your opponents. Keep it simple and tight! Whether the message is short and concise or more lengthy, it should – in addition to being simple:  Appeal to an audience’s self-interests (why they should want to move in the same direction)  Be convincing as to why the issue is important and why it needs to be supported  Be concise and use powerful language - for instance, "Women's rights are human rights"  Indicate what steps need to be taken or what the solution is, including possible adoption, change or abolition of a policy, law, circular, decree, or other legislation - for instance "The government needs to show its commitment to civil society as an important development actor by providing new policy and appropriate funding regulations for CSOs".  Include answers to anticipated questions  State how many people/and or groups support it  Communicate the impact in correct facts and numbers, in a tangible way: 71 CASE: Being creative: Woodland Trust’s successful communication campaign  For BOs: How many enterprises and jobs are (potentially) affected by the issue  For Woodland CSOs: Trust How is the many largest peopleconservation woodland are (potentially) affected charity by the in the United In 2013, Kingdom.issue it decided to change its usual approach of and what is the effect on the national economy (loss in policy income,try campaigning and a new tactic, increase aimed in crime directly etc.)at Her Majesty’s Treasury rates, (economic and finance ministry of the UK).  Consider being creative to demonstrate your point: for instance: "More is spent on buying chocolate in our country every year than we Acting based on a recommendation from the eCampaigning Forum, contribute Woodland to fighting Trust chose to create " poverty three different stories for the initiative: a  Use real life stories and quotes: public, political and professional human theThis story. element has helped makes to reach a problem appropriate or issue real audiences: and before it is this easier to approach, comprehend a lot the actual of time and effort importance went into creating ato human single, lives, ‘one sizethe nature, delivers for etc. all’ message for the campaign and this involved compromising on many issues. Having three different stories allowed Woodland Trust to work more productively and achieve a great level of Decide format, oneach clarity for source and timing of the messages. Consider if you As a result ofwant to use celebrities the campaign, Woodland to convey your message, Trust produced for a special instance, banknote: you or ifone want side toincluded of it link up with experts a message or others to the when encouraged public which communicating.peopleAlso to think your of the send format: notes to theshould your Treasury. Theoutput a report,a a be included other side flyer, high portrait level of Danny conference, Alexander, or Secretaryelse? something Chief of theRemember Treasury, and that timing a note is essential to remind him of thefor importance of protecting woods. In just two weeks, the public success – keep monitoring the political system and be ready to strike when sent more than the 5,500 time is banknotes to the Treasury. ripe. Be patient The political – remember message that starting to soon too the Treasury was might affect your that if every household in the UK could access quality green space, the credibility. government would save more than £2.1 billion in healthcare costs. This was a very relevant message as the Treasury was in the process of planning budget cuts. Decide on what your target group should know, feel and Example of a banknote designed for the campaign do Make sure you clarify to yourself what you want your target group to know, According to the organization’s representative, the campaign was very feel and do. successful: Woodland Trust got an opportunity to participate in a meeting In some with a countries, Special Adviser governments at the are hostile Treasury, towards CSOs while Danny who engage in Alexander recorded a message to campaign supporters from one of advocacy. In these cases, constructive dialogue rather than confrontation the country’s woods is recommended in which you refrain from using campaigning language which tends to include military metaphors (target, tactics, etc.), but rather use Source : International NGO Training and Research Centre: “Advocacy softer language with alternative metaphors. Training Course, MENA Network”. 72 Communicating and implementing the advocacy strategy Once the appropriate key message has been selected, the final step is to choose the different activities that will help convey it. It will often be necessary to invest in a variety of activities and cultivate a large number of contacts in order to cover a range of potential opportunities for influencing the target audience. Your organisation must keep a flexible activity schedule to ensure that it is able to seize opportunities – even if this means changes to the original plan. Common advocacy activities typically include written and verbal approaches. Written approaches  Media releases  Issue briefs/newsletters  Social media Verbal approaches  Policy workshops, seminars and conferences  One-on-one meetings (direct lobbying)  Communication with the press  Media releases: A media release can be an extremely effective tool in reaching and influencing a broad audience. Many reporters gather information for upcoming stories from press releases. The media release tells the reporter the who, what, when, where and why of a news story. Reporters receive many press releases in a given week so in order to get your release noticed, it should quickly grab the reporter’s or editor’s attention and the rest should convince them of the issue’s news value. Guidelines on how to write effective press releases Press releases are the most common way to get your message out to journalists, but journalists are busy people and you need to compete to get their attention. Therefore, you should structure your press releases according to these guidelines: HEY!  Words, statements or pictures that catch the eye  Short and clear messages that are understandable  Your message is to be the one that stands out among a lot of other messages  This process takes about half a second! 73 YOU!  You must explain why this is important to me? Why should I continue reading this?  You have to be very clear on who your target group is  To convince people about this you have another half a second! SEE!  Now you can start telling what it is really about  You can explain other aspects of the problem  ...and what consequences this problem will have Once you have gotten people’s attention – through the HEY and YO phase – you are more free to get down to the basics of your story! SO…  If your audience is still around at this stage you can tell them what you intend to do – what kind of action you will take or recommend  Or you can get them to read more elsewhere, ask for materials, or support your BO/CSO, for instance, through becoming a member  And if you get this far your communication has been successful While writing, remember the following Clarity. The name of your organisation and logo should be at the top of the release. The release date must also be at the top along with the name and phone number of the contact person because reporters may need additional information. The media release must have a clear title (bolded and large font) that briefly describes the content of the release. The title should be similar to a newspaper headline. Reporters will not read the material if the content is not obvious. If the release is for immediate issue, indicate this on the top of the page. Brevity. As a rule, press releases should not be more than one page and they should be double-spaced (use single spaces if it helps keep the release to one page). It is important to prioritise and only include the most essential information. It can be difficult to determine what key information to include. A good rule is: What is it you are trying to say? Who are you? Why is this important? Answer each question as briefly as possible using only the most essential information. The purpose of the release is to provide salient information and encourage reporters to contact you for additional details. Quotes. Whenever possible, add a short and relevant quote in the first or second paragraph from a leading figure in the organisation, or an organisation member involved in the issue. Quotes put a human face on the story. Distribution. If possible, address the release to specific journalists by name. For an event, send the announcement again the week of the event as a reminder. Do not be afraid to call journalists and bring their attention to your release once it is 74 sent. Make sure you send your releases to both print and broadcast resources. Over time, you will be able to establish relationships with the journalists who regularly cover your issues and they will come to rely on you as a source of information. Social media Social media can provide a quick and direct access to a specific audience SOCIAL MEDIA and be a very effective way to get your message out. However, be aware of CAN PROVIDE A pitfalls when using social media. Your organisation does not automatically QUICK AND DIRECT ACCESS have a profile on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or other social media and it TO A SPECIFIC may be difficult to separate your personal views from your organisation's. AUDIENCE AND Always be sharp, knowledgeable and interesting whether you use your own BE A VERY or a corporate account to affect your case. Changing a political agenda can EFFECTIVE WAY often lead to discussions that do not add anything new, but instead become TO GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT hateful and unconstructive. If this happens, always remain objective. Examples of social media besides Youtube, Facebook and Twitter:  Blogging: www.wordpress.com  Photo-sharing: www.flickr.com  Podcasting: www.blogtalkradio.com  Mapping: www.maps.google.com  Social bookmarking: www.delicious.com  Livestreaming: www.friendfeed.com  Wikis: www.wikipedia.org Policy workshops, seminars and conferences The policy workshop is a format that allows an organisation to reach POLICY multiple stakeholders simultaneously. It typically focuses on a specific SEMINARS/WORK issue of relevance to the members/beneficiaries and uses expert speakers SHOPS ARE AN OPPORTUNITY TO to outline the problems and opportunities. The experts will make COMMUNICATE presentations reflecting their views on the topic followed by a discussion THE VIEWS OF among the experts and attendees. THE ORGANISATION. If well prepared, a policy workshop attracts attention from the media, THEY CAN BE especially if the keynote speakers are interesting or well-known. USED AS A PUBLIC Three elements are essential for a workshop to reach full impact: (i) RELATIONS EVENT, TO thorough preparation; (ii) clear delivery; and (iii) quick follow-up. DIALOGUE WITH Presenters must be aware of the time limits for their presentation, and MEMBERS AND TO copies of all presentations must be collected in advance. This is important NETWORK WITH in order to maintain a hands-on management approach to the event. After STAKEHOLDERS the event, it is important to follow up with participants. Soon after the event, the organisation should send out a workshop summary to each participant with a cover letter acknowledging their attendance. The summary can be used as an opportunity to remind participants of key issues addressed, positions taken and conclusions reached. 75 It should never be assumed that participants will retain much of the substance. It is up to the organisation to do the reminding. This is a window of opportunity for giving the right spin on conclusions. One-on-one meetings (direct lobbying) Although there is no definite list of activities for wooing stakeholders, it is important that the organisation adheres to good practice and is transparent about its approach. Normally, it does not take more than an invitation to lunch or for a coffee to maintain a good working relationship. What is important is that your organisation makes it a priority to maintain these relationships in order to continue the dialogue. Lobbying is an art, not a science. Communication with the press 10 recommendations 76 Giving interviews You might be asked to do interviews in relation to your advocacy campaigns. Before the interview, to prepare it is useful to use "sticky notes" based on your key arguments in your policy position paper. These can also be used by your colleagues in order for all to communicate accurate and consistent answers. 1. Brainstorm with a colleague a list of common questions around your issue. Remember that you will most likely be questioned about any controversies related to your issue. 2. Draft ultra-short (max. two paragraphs) answers for each question. Word the answers carefully. Ideally, you should be able to give these answers out without the need to explain them further. 3. Try your answers on an external person, a friend or family member, to see if it is understood. Regularly update the sticky answers according to your current advocacy campaigns and activities. During the interview make sure that you:  Speak from the heart  Stay calm - remember that you know more about the issue than the journalist does  Keep your answers brief using a simple language and don't use acronyms or jargons  Be creative, paint a picture like "imagine what it must be like to…"  Never answer a question in haste, if you need more time to think, ask for the journalist to repeat the question  Do not make things up. If you do not know, just say so.  Do not get side-tracked and always take the journalist back to your key messages. You can use several phrases known as "bridging" - e.g.  "I think what you're saying is important, but the main issue is that…" or "we really need to focus on…"  Do not let the journalist set the agenda and the message After the interview, remember to thank the journalist for his/her time. Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness 77 Identifying your best entry point and making a roadmap The following tool is useful when planning your advocacy efforts: Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness. Combine this table with a classical plan of when to do what, with clear allocation of tasks and responsibilities, and milestones. This should also include information on how you anticipate change to take place - your "Theory of Change". This is particularly important if you are seeking donor funding: in this case you need to demonstrate how and when you will achieve the change you set out to do. And you have to report on it regularly. Communication through public campaigning You might consider using public campaigning as a tool in your advocacy campaign. This is especially advisable if:  You estimate that decision-makers will be affected by public opinion (most do as the public is the voters)  Your issue can be simplified sufficiently for the general public to easily engage and support it  Attracting media attention is beneficial for your campaign (if you are making an "insider approach" it is not advisable) 78  You deem it will strengthen your legitimacy with public support  You believe your members or beneficiaries will want to be engaged actively (especially in high profile cases, the public appreciates CSOs taking action and arranging events for them to express their discontent) Common public campaigning methods include petition (for instance, sending letter campaigns or collecting signatures) or non-violent demonstrations (marches, sit-ins, etc.). Amnesty International and Avaaz are particularly known for their petition campaigns while demonstrations are organised in most countries of the world on a regular basis. You will need a short and catchy slogan that appeals to the public and clearly states your message. This should be convertible into Instagram Hashtags to reach a wide audience. You might consider engaging social media savvy people to help you spread awareness though blogs or online discussion forums. You may want to consider using celebrities in your cause. Remember that there are certain risks involved with public campaigning - as well as any part of your policy advocacy campaign. This is explained in the following section. Risk management Policy advocacy efforts by CSOs often touch upon highly sensitive subjects such as human rights violations, corruption, environmental damage or fraud. Efforts can put staff at risk and it is therefore important to carefully consider risks. You may use the following table and guidelines to make your risks and mitigation strategies clear: 1. Identify major risks 2. For each risk, discuss impact on your organisation (in terms of reputation, status, funding, operations), the staff and volunteers and the external people you work with, by using the following scale: Low: a noticeable impact that has little effect on the organisation, the people or your advocacy Medium: some damaging effects in the short term, but with little repercussions in the longer term High: a catastrophic impact threatening the future existence of your organisation, endangering people's lives or that could lead to potential reversal of the issue you are trying to change (i.e. criminalising CSOs that speak out) 3. Discuss for each risk how likely it is that the risks or the negative situation will happen, by using the following scale: Low: surprising if it happened Medium: could potentially happen within the next months or years High: likely to take place within the next months or years 79 4. For each risk, discuss how you may mitigate the impact. Also discuss what you could do if your advocacy does not work as planned, what you need to have in place, and who will have the authority to take action. Remember that risks change constantly - hence regularly revisit your risk management table. Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness Examples of risks include:  Your issue is so sensitive you risk your and your employees' lives, or risk harassment, sanctions and alike  You are donor-funded and seen as advocate of foreign interests  You approach key decision-makers with insufficient information which makes them not want to meet you  Simplifying your message too much which can lead to falling public support  Your campaign is hijacked by groups with other intentions and more extreme views than yours  You have not properly assessed your beneficiaries'/members' interest in your cause and therefore do not get their support  In case of "outsider approach" you end up alienating the decision- makers you are supposed to influence  In case of demonstrations, decision-makers react hard and do not want to meet or take up constructive dialogue Internal communication: Ensure internal capacity and support As part of your advocacy strategy, you need to make sure your organisation has the required capacity and that your board and leaders support your cause. Mostly, advocacy campaigns require many departments to work together - so it is essential that you have the backing from your leaders. Try to adapt your advocacy strategy to the answers to the following questions:  Is there a clear link between the objectives of your advocacy and the overall strategy and work of your organisation? 80  Is there a shared understanding of the advocacy objectives, priorities and strategy in the board and the management? Among members/beneficiaries?  Do you have the backing of the board?  Do you know the needs and interest of your members/beneficiaries? Do you have the backing from them?  Is there acceptance of the fact that advocacy work may entail challenges, external critique as well as failures?  Do you celebrate your successes and involve your members and/or target group in celebrating?  Are you good at creating and maintaining external network connections and mobilizing resources and support for your issue? Source: DUF, How To Do An Advocacy Strategy Remember to share your knowledge with your colleagues in order to make sure that everybody in your organisation is aware of the policy position. Internal knowledge sharing could be scheduled as informal breakfast or lunch meetings, seminars or through intranet or regular newsletters. 81 CASE: Greenpeace’s failed advocacy campaign in Peru Greenpeace is a global organization that campaigns for conservation of the environment. It is active in more than 55 countries and has achieved many victories over corporations and governments. Nevertheless, not all of its campaigns are successful, and some of them result in negative consequences. The worst public relations failure so far was the organization’s campaign near the Nazca Lines in Peru in December 2014. The Nazca Lines were made around 2000 years ago and are large figures made by formations of stones that depict animals and plants. They are on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1994. Greenpeace activists held a campaign near the Nazca Lines during the UN climate talks in Lima in December 2014 to send a message to the delegates. The activists entered the protected area and laid big cloth letters saying ““Time for Change! The Future is Renewable.” By not wearing special shoes, the activists left footprints and damaged the site. Peru’s Deputy Culture Minister called the action “a true slap in the face at everything Peruvians consider sacred”. The government sought criminal charges against the activists. Most importantly, the failed campaign made significant damage to the reputation of Greenpeace. People in Peru were outraged, and internationally, many of the organization’s supporters cancelled their memberships and donors withdrew grants. The campaign’s failure was a result of a lack of oversight. Internal processes of Greenpeace were not followed and the activists made the decision to perform the campaign even though their colleagues in Greenpeace advised them against doing so. Sources: greenpeace.org, theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/10/peru- legal-action-greenpeace-stunt-nazca-lines, theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/10/peru-press-charges- greenpeace-nazca-lines-stunt; bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01- 20/greenpeace-names-activists-behind-its-epic-fail-in-peru 82 Negotiation THE DIALOGUE WITH OFFICIALS Negotiation is the process of searching for an agreement that satisfies two OR POLICY or more parties. The aim of negotiation is to explore the situation to find a MAKERS MAY AT solution that is acceptable to both parties. TIMES REQUIRE SOME ELEMENT PREPARING FOR A SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION OF NEGOTIATION Depending on the scale of the disagreement, a level of preparation may be appropriate for conducting a successful negotiation. Remember negotiation means giving way. If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, you will get nothing If a major disagreement needs to be resolved, it will be worthwhile to prepare thoroughly. Think through the following points before starting the negotiation.  Goals: What do you want to get out of the negotiation? What do you expect the other person to want?  Trades: What do you and the other person have that you can trade? What do you each have that the other might want? What would you each be prepared to give away?  BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement): If an agreement cannot be reached with the other person, what alternatives are there? This is the BATNA, i.e. the reservation price or point of reference. How much does it matter if you do not reach an agreement? Does failure to reach an agreement cut you out of future opportunities? What alternatives might the other person have? What are the consequences for you of winning or losing this negotiation? What are the consequences for the other person? These questions will help define the BATNA.  Expected outcome: What outcome will people be expecting from this negotiation? Has the outcome been reached in the past, and what precedents have been set?  Power: Who has what power in the relationship? Who controls resources? Who stands to lose the most if an agreement is not reached? Does the other party have the power/ability/mandate to deliver?  Possible solutions: Based on all of the considerations, what possible compromises might there be? ZOPA – Zone of Possible Agreement In an ideal situation, you will find that the other person wants what you are prepared to trade, and that you are prepared to give what the other person 83 wants. The ZOPA is defined as the overlap between your BATNA and the other party’s BATNA. If an agreement cannot be reached within the ZOPA, one party will have to give way. The ceding party will try to negotiate some form of compensation for doing so. The scale of this compensation will often depend on many of the factors discussed above. Ultimately, both sides should feel comfortable with the final solution if the agreement is to be considered win-win. Win- lose negotiations should only be considered if there is no need to have an ongoing relationship with the other party. Equally, one can expect that if a losing party needs to fulfil some part of the deal in which you have “won” over them, they may be quite uncooperative about it. The most difficult thing in any negotiation is making sure that you strip it of emotion and deal with the facts 84 85 Measuring the effect of your policy advocacy efforts – and essentially your success as an organisation – is imperative to your sustainability as an organisation. If you do not demonstrate your value, your members/beneficiaries will lose faith in you and stop their support, politicians will forget you exist, and donors will not find your efforts worth financing. Moreover, your own organisational learning processes will not improve if you do not learn from your work. However, it is no easy task measuring and evaluating results! The three critical questions when measuring your results are:  Are we doing what we said we would? (Internal validity)  Are we making any difference? (Impact assessment)  Are these the right things to do? (Strategic relevance) Be aware that it can take a long time before you achieve the change you aim for. Consider how the small changes you create can lead to the larger goal you are aiming for - therefore, remember to celebrate the small changes you achieve! Main issues encountered when doing monitoring and evaluation REMEMBER THAT are: YOUR EFFORTS MIGHT ALSO LEAD  The cost of gathering data: you may consider hiring an external TO UNEXPECTED agency to do this or, if you are seeking more cost-friendly methods, EFFECTS - SO- CALLED POSITIVE consider students or interns. SPILL-OVERS.  The lack of objective data: you can try to collect this yourself or MAKE SURE TO hire an external bureau to do this. Either way, always try to REPORT ON objectively estimate the 'baseline' and keep measuring progress by THOSE AS WELL. monitoring closely throughout your entire campaign.  The difficulty in identifying causality: It might be difficult to prove it was your demonstration or your letter to the Minister that lead him/her to change the law, that is, proving that x lead to y. Therefore, always demonstrate what your contribution was. Do not overestimate your own efforts - it might affect your legitimacy and reputation if you try to take the honour for something that people do not believe is your achievement. Use your common sense and gut feeling. But if you are in doubt whether an action or effort is relevant for the change created, it is better to report it.  The difficulty in proving attribution of impact: as with the point above, demonstrate your contribution and use your common sense. Try to get outsiders and decision-makers to acknowledge the change you have caused - record it and use it for demonstrating your success. And when you work in alliances and networks, make sure to clearly define roles and responsibilities - and take the honour for achievements together. Measuring your results differs depending on the purpose of your campaign. The following are examples for inspiration: 86 If your policy advocacy serves to raise awareness amongst the public, you may consider measuring the level of awareness prior and after your campaign. A simple questionnaire or opinion poll is useful. If your policy advocacy serves to affect politicians , you might consider the following means:  Did you fulfil your goal: have procedures/attitudes/content/behaviour changed?  Did you manage to change the law or the piece of regulation you set out to do?  Did you manage to change the debate/discourse/rhetoric around the issue?  Did you get new allies on the way which may serve you in the future?  Demonstrate how your beneficiaries have noted any - use storytellers, personal quotes or make alliances to external experts who may support your case from an objective point of view. You need to keep demonstrating the results of your advocacy campaigns. Otherwise your members or beneficiaries will forget why you are important to them If you wish to simply measure your influence in the public debate you may consider:  Quotes in the media: count how many newspapers, radio and TV shows use your evidence. But be aware that media presence is not an end in itself – it depends on the solutions you bring to the debate.  Number of leads: how many stakeholders have contacted you as a consequence of your campaign to hear your opinion or to engage you in further debate about the topic? Once you have evaluated your efforts, it is important to facilitate a structure which includes your points of learning and takes them further. Knowledge sharing is a science in itself, but do try to prioritise it. Always try to advertise your results to:  Your members/beneficiaries (e.g. through newsletters, conferences, events, workshops, etc.)  The public (e.g. through social media) 87  Your colleagues (e.g. through intranet, informal meetings, etc.)  Your donors and other stakeholders, incl. potential donors (e.g. through newsletters, meetings, and social media) Templates for M&E There are countless ways of doing your monitoring and evaluation. One could look like this: 88 89 Finding an efficient and effective governance structure is imperative to your success as an organisation - both in terms of service provision to your members/beneficiaries and in terms of your success with your policy advocacy. Recognizing that contexts differ significantly across the world and that BOs differ from CSOs, we have included the most important learnings from DI's governance structure, which might serve as inspiration. Who does what in the policy process? 1 Organisations differ and countries’ political systems differ. Consequently, each organisation has a unique way of organising itself in its policy advocacy process. Through years of experience, DI has learned that the following division of tasks works most effectively. 90 Clear roles and responsibilities 2 Internal division of tasks as well as clear roles and responsibilities is imperative for an effective organisation. Through more than 100 years, DI has developed a structure in which the Board sets the overall strategic direction and gives clear mandate to the Secretariat to undertake day-to- day activities. The Secretariat reports to the Board on a regular basis. The structure is depicted below. CASE: Red Cross’s approach to volunteer management Volunteering plays an important role in the activities of many CSOs and Red Cross is no exception. In 2007, it was estimated that more than 11 million volunteers were members of Red Cross societies. In 1999, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies adopted the Volunteering Policy, which describes the rights and responsibilities of volunteers. The need for improving the management of volunteers was highlighted by the chief executive of British Red Cross in 2001, who said:Continues page nexttake “We cannot it for granted that volunteers will join us simply because we are the Red Cross, nor can we expect them to stay just because we want them to. We have to show them leadership and inspiration … plus the very best of modern management and developmental techniques”. Many Red Cross societies view volunteer recruitment and retention as the most important issues. One of the ways of attracting and retaining volunteers is by providing attractive training and personal development opportunities. Another widely-used approach is to improve the organizational culture by encouraging volunteers to take more responsibility and participate more actively in decision- making. Many Red Cross societies also widely use recognition and award policies: issuing certificates, providing uniforms, delegating volunteers to participate in international events, etc. Ensuring health and safety of volunteers is equally as important, hence many societies provide insurance policies. Overall, volunteer management is one of the key focus areas of Red Cross societies, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has issued a number of toolkits and good practice guides about the topic. Sources: International Federation of91 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2007): “Taking Volunteers Seriously: Progress Report 1999-2007” Membership structure and power 3 Internal conflict and power struggles impede an organisation's ability to speak with one voice and thereby are critical to the success of the organisation. While these types of disputes can never be avoided, there are many ways to reduce them. As an example, the structure of DI entails centralisation of power, which is necessary to ensure streamlining of the organisation and ensure effective exercising of its mandate to represent the voice of the members/beneficiaries. CASE: Benefits and shortcomings of an informal structure Jubilee 2000 was formed in 1996 as an alliance of UK NGOs focused on advocating for cancellation of debt of poor countries. The partnership grew quickly, expanded internationally and gained influence: for example, it organized the formation of a human chain of 50,000 people for the G7 meeting in Birmingham in 1998. Governance of the partnership was based on an informal structure which allowed it to be flexible, grow rapidly and promote the creation of similar networks abroad. Management of the movement from the headquarters was very limited, with low central coordination and oversight. As a result of the informal structure, the movement grew to mobilize about 24 million people across the globe. However, such an informal organization with almost no governance structure could not be sustained over time. Conflicts started to arise between Northern and Southern groups of the network: the Southern members claimed that their Northern colleagues did not completely understand the issues of global inequality. Tensions also arose between radical and more moderate members of the movement. As a result of internal conflicts, Jubilee 2000 lost most of its legitimacy in the eyes of the public. The movement split into a number of organizations across the world, and the UK chapter formed a new charity organization called Jubilee Debt Campaign. Overall, while the informal governance structure helped Jubilee 2000 to achieve remarkable growth, a more centralized approach to management should have been used in order to make the organization sustainable. Sources: H. K. Anheier, N. Themudo (2002): “Organizational forms of global civil society: implications of going global” 92 model view of 5 step 93 Overview of 5 step model 94 TEN PIECES OF GOOD ADVICE 1. Keep your facts straight: Always make sure to have evidence and facts in place. External partners must always be able to trust what you say is true. Otherwise you lose credibility. 2. Knowledge sharing is key: Seek knowledge and find inspiration from colleagues and external experts. If you want to develop a strategy, do not hesitate to use extra time to find information and gather knowledge about the subject through your network, colleagues or external inputs. Sharing your own knowledge will open new doors. 3. Make a strategy and be ready to change it along the way: It is always necessary to make a strategy. Formal plans and memos can wait, but brainstorming and mind maps will get you started. You will probably have to change your plans along the way, but an initial strategy will ensure the way forward. Gut feeling is also important, but it helps to have a well- planned strategy. 4. Keep track of your own house: Regardless of your organisation’s size, always coordinate internally and ensure you have a clear mandate before you try to change a policy. 5. Understand the political system and policy processes: “If you learn the rules of the game, you become a better player”. 6. Use your network: Your network is crucial for your ability to make the right influence. It takes time to build a strong network and a trustworthy relationship. A strong network makes it easier to build solid alliances. 7. Behave yourself: Policy advocacy is about finding trust in your network. Always show respect for your opponent and behave properly. 8. Keep on going: The world is not moving just because you host a meeting or formulate a strategy. It is important to repeat the message and be persistent. Sometimes it takes years to succeed. 9. Timing is everything: The political landscape is changing all the time, and external events can suddenly change the agenda and create opportunities for new results. Always monitor the political debate closely and act when opportunities arise. 10. Show the way: Policy advocacy is also about compromise. Sometimes you need to find the right solution, meet your opponent and show you are willing to take responsibility of changing the process. 95 DISCLAIMER Information provided in the publication is mostly based on the experience of the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) in the field of policy advocacy. When a large part of presented information is based on external information, the relevant sources are provided in the text. Sources for case study examples are also provided next to the case studies. Quotes presented in the publication come from experts from the business world, from staff from DI, people from the CSO world, etc. Sources for the quotes and for the report as a whole include: Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General, Staff at the Confederation of Danish Industry, DUF, CSO activists, Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, ODI and Rapid. GLOSSARY OF TERMS Activities: These are what you actually do in your advocacy, e.g. writing a paper, organising a meeting, etc. Advocacy: A deliberate process designed to influence the policies and actions of those in power in order to achieve an enabling environment for an effective civil society based on minimum standards agreed through multi-stakeholder dialogue, wherever possible. Advocacy change objective: This should define concretely what will be accomplished, with whom, how objectively and in what period of time. The objective should focus on a specific action that an institution can take (or outcome) within a timeframe of 1 to 3 years. Advocacy goal: This illustrates your long-term vision of change. It describes the overall change you want to achieve as a result of your advocacy work. Your goal can be expressed in general terms. Aid Effectiveness: Aid effectiveness relates to measures that improve the quality of the aid relationship, primarily focusing on the terms and conditions of the resource transfer itself. The Paris Declaration defined five principles that should guide official donors and developing country governments to improve the effectiveness of this resource transfer. Alliances: These generally involve shorter-term relationships among members and are focused on a specific objective. Being limited on time and goal, alliances tend to be less demanding on members. Allies: Prominent individuals or organisations that support your case in different ways and degrees. These can be potential partners for your advocacy initiative. Attribution: What part your policy advocacy plays in the change (outcome/impact). It is difficult to measure as you cannot always prove that it was your advocacy that led to a certain change, but you have to be as precise as possible and use your common sense. Coalitions: These often have a more formalised structure. They involve joint work between a disparate group of CSOs around a single major event, a set of related issues or a broad campaign. Coalitions usually involve long-term relationships and agreement on a platform among the members. Confederation of Danish Industry (DI): DI is the largest and most influential business and employer’s association in Denmark. It is also among the leading organisations in its field in Europe and worldwide. DI works to create the best possible conditions for its members, and the overall efforts are centred on policy advocacy, business services, networking, and labour market affairs. Development Cooperation: Development cooperation is sometimes used inter-changeably with “aid” or “development assistance”, but includes more than ODA resource transfers. BetterAid uses “development cooperation” to include a range of international relationships between governments or people for the purposes of achieving the Internationally-Agreed Development Goals (IADGs) in developing 96 countries. It can include civil society cooperation and growing cooperation between developing countries (South-South Cooperation) for the purposes of development. Development Effectiveness: Development effectiveness promotes sustainable change, within a democratic framework, that addresses the causes as well as the symptoms of poverty, in equality and marginalization, through the diversity and complementarity of instruments, policies and actors. Development effectiveness in relation to aid is understood as policies and practices by development actors that deepen the impact of aid and development cooperation on the capacities of poor and marginalized people to realize their rights and achieve the IADGs. Conditions for realizing development effectiveness goals must include measureable commitments to improve the effectiveness of aid. Enabling environment: The political and policy context created by governments, official donors and other development actors that affects the ways CSOs might carry out their work. Enabling standards: These are a set of interrelated good practices by donors and governments – in the legal, regulatory, fiscal, informational, political and cultural areas – that support the capacity of CSO development actors to engage in development processes in a sustained and effective manner. Impact: The actual real change that your policy advocacy leads to. Impact indicators: These are needed to assess what progress is being made towards reaching your objectives and milestones and what impact your advocacy work has had on influencing your key audiences. Impact indicators measure the ‘outcomes’ and/or longer-term impacts of your advocacy. For example, increase in number of politicians who speak up about your issue or percentage increase in allocations to CSOs. Input: The resources you put into a policy advocacy campaign (internal and external resources such as time and expertise, and financing) Indicators: These are objective ways of measuring that progress is being achieved. These must relate to the aims and objectives of your advocacy initiative. Influentials: Individuals who may not have any power themselves but have some influence over your targets. Remember, influentials can use this influence for or against your case. Lobbying: One-to-one conversations and/or meetings where people get access to and seek to persuade those in power. Networks: These tend to be loose flexible associations of people or groups coming together around a common concern or interest or periodic joint initiatives. They foster the sharing of information and ideas. Opponents: Influential people, organisations and institutions who oppose your advocacy for different reasons and to different degrees. Outcomes: These are the immediate and observable changes in relation to your advocacy objectives, brought about as a direct result of your activities. For instance, a legislation change. Outputs: These are the direct results of your contribution, the tangible products delivered on completion of your activities, e.g. materials developed, meetings occurred, etc. Policy: A policy is a plan, course of action, or set of regulations adopted by the government, business or an institution, designed to influence and determine decisions or procedures. Policy analysis: Policy analysis examines plans and regulations set by governments, businesses or other institutions, including CSOs, and how policies (or lack of policies or implementation) affect specific groups of the population. Political context: This includes aspects such as the distribution of power, the range of organisations involved and their interests, and the formal and informal rules that govern the interactions among different players. Political context shapes the ways in which policy processes work. Process indicators: Indicate what progress has been made in implementing your activities and measure outputs generated as part of your advocacy work. For instance, number of meetings held, attendance levels, circulation figures for key reports, etc. Stakeholders: All those who can affect or who will be affected by the change you are seeking. Targets: Individual decision-makers with the power to respond to your advocacy demands and to move the political process towards addressing your issue. 97 ADVOCACY INDICATORS You may find inspiration from following indicators. Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness DIMENSION OF WORK INDICATORS OF PROGRESS INDICATORS OF CHANGE AND - GOOD AND BAD LONGER TERM IMPACT Policy change • Increased dialogue on an issue • Changed policy e.g. Legislative • Raised profile of issue • Change in legislation change • Changed opinion (whose?) • Policy/legislation change • Change in law • Changed rhetoric (in public/private) implemented • Change in corporate • Change in written publications • High quality personnel in charge of Behaviour • Changes in key personnel implementing policy • Offers of funding by corporations • (and in the very long term) positive • Undermining activities from target change in people’s lives as a result of the or allies. policy/legislation change Developing Capacity • Change in individual members’ • Increased effectiveness of civil society for Advocacy skills, capacity, knowledge and work by Working with… effectiveness? • Civil groups active in influencing NGOs • Change in individual civil groups’ decision-makers in ways that will benefit Movements/networks capacity, organisational skills, poor people. Trade Unions effectiveness? • More responsive policy- main structures Community Based • Greater synergy of aims/activities in set up. Organisatios networks/movements, or • Increased participation of civil society Popular alliances/networks break down groups in influencing decisions Organisations • Change in collaboration, trust or • Change in accountability Partner organisations unity of civil society groups and transparency of public Local journalists • Greater freedom of expression institutions Academic • Greater acceptance/recognition of • Change in accountability of civil society organisations civil groups groups Human Rights • Existence of fora for civil groups to • Companies respond to stakeholder Lawyers input into a wider range of decisions consultation groups. And so on. • Increased legitimacy of civil society groups • Increased number of civil society groups • People’s monitoring committees on service delivery • Stakeholder consultation groups by companies. Supporting people • Greater awareness of individual • Improved access to basic rights such as to advocate rights and the power systems that health, housing, water, and food. • e.g. citizens’ withhold rights. • Action on the ground reflects real needs groups to advocate • Change in citizens’ skills, capacity of people. for themselves. and knowledge to mobilise and advocate on their own behalves. • Recognition of rights by decision-makers. • Willingness to listen to children’s’ views. 98 PERSONAL NOTES 99