Plan Your Power A Toolkit for Women’s Rights Advocacy Planning Acknowledgements
This toolkit was written for the This toolkit builds on Womankind This resource was developed with International Women’s Development Worldwide’s Women’s Rights Advocacy the support of the Government of Agency (IWDA) and Womankind Toolkit (2011) and we acknowledge the the Netherlands. Worldwide by Sharon Smee and authors and contributors to this Jessica Woodroffe. Beverley Duckworth previous project. We also acknowledge and Dr Tracy McDiarmid also provided the contributions of coalitions and valuable review and contributions. alliances to feminist advocacy planning Many thanks to partner organisations approaches over the past decade. of IWDA and Womankind Worldwide Throughout this toolkit we refer to who contributed their ideas and useful resources produced by other learning from decades of women’s organisations and networks. In addition rights advocacy. to the specific resources mentioned, the work of other coalitions and alliances also prompted ideas which supported tool development.
All links correct at time of publication International Women’s Womankind Worldwide Development Agency (IWDA) Womankind Worldwide is a global IWDA exists to advance and protect women’s rights organisation working the rights of women and girls, in all in solidarity and equal partnership their diversities. Our Women’s Action with other women’s rights for Voice and Empowerment (WAVE) organisations and movements to program, funded by the Government create a force for change. of the Netherlands, brings together and supports individual women, Womankind would like to thank all its organisations, and movements in Asia partner organisations, past and and the Pacific region to increase the present, who have used our 2011 representation of women in diverse Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit and leadership positions. shared feedback. Your experiences of the 2011 toolkit have helped to inform IWDA would like to thank our partners the new approaches, analysis and and the following staff for their valuable tools included here. Particular thanks contributions to this toolkit: Alice Ridge, goes to Martha Tukahirwa, Strategic Holly Fingland, Jo Crawford, Lisa Vettori Initiative for Women in the Horn of and Nicole Kleppe. Africa (SIHA), Renu Sijapati, Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), and Jyotsna We would also like to acknowledge Maskay, LOOM Nepal who reviewed and pay respect to the traditional and provided input in the custodians of the land our office is development of this toolkit. located on, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nations. We acknowledge the Womankind staff who have input into the development of the toolkit: Bridie Taylor, Dinah Musindarwezo, Laura Brown, Maria Vlahakis and Roosje Saalbrink.
Finally we would like to thank women’s rights advocates across the world for their steadfast activism. Contents
Part 1: Planning 2
Section 1: How to use this toolkit 4
Section 2: Why women’s rights advocacy is different 8
Section 3: Defining your advocacy aim 20
Section 4: Planning your advocacy 26
Section 5: Monitoring, evaluation and learning 60
Glossary 72
Part 2: Exercises 74
1: Getting started 76
2: Why women’s rights advocacy is different 80
3: Defining your advocacy aim 86
4: Planning your advocacy campaign 90
5: Monitoring, evaluation and learning 128
Part 3: Templates 136 PART 1. Planning PART 1 PART
Planning Section 1: How to use this toolkit 4
Section 2: Why women’s rights advocacy is different 8 ToolkitWomen’s Advocacy Rights
2.1 Why do women’s rights advocacy? 9 2.2 Before you begin: resources, risks and living your values 12 2.3 Understanding and using power analysis 15
Section 3: Defining your advocacy aim 20
Section 4: Planning your advocacy 26
4.1 Power analysis and context 28 4.2 Defining your objectives 30 4.3 Power mapping – targets and allies 38 4.4 Agree on strategic approaches 42 4.5 Risk identification and mitigation 51 4.6 Choosing your advocacy activities 52 4.7 Developing core messages 55
Section 5: Monitoring, evaluation and learning 60
5.1 MEL for advocacy planning 64 5.2 MEL for implementation 66 5.3 Understanding impact and learning 67
Glossary 72
3 SECTION 1: How to use this toolkit
This section explains how to use this toolkit and provides a step by step guide to each stage of the advocacy planning cycle.
4 PART 1 PART
Planning
This toolkit is based on a women’s Part 1 of the toolkit explains each stage There are many cross-references rights approach to advocacy which of the advocacy planning process, within the toolkit – numbered sections recognises the need for longer term suggesting additional resources and can be found in Part 1; exercises are in structural change if women’s rights indicating which of the exercises in Part 2 and templates are in Part 3. The are to be fulfilled. Part 2 will support each step (see Figure 1). numbering in Part 2 corresponds to There is also a glossary of terms at the Part 1 so that it is clear which exercises · It is intended to support the advocacy end of Part 1. relate to each section in Part 1. planning of women’s rights organisations, and coalitions, alliances The exercises in Part 2 are designed to This toolkit builds on Womankind and networks who want to advocate form a complete planning process when Worldwide’s Women’s Rights Advocacy for change. used in conjunction with the information Toolkit (2011) and you will find references · It is also intended for broader in Part 1, with some optional exercises to this earlier toolkit for further reading advocacy organisations who want to depending on time. This could be done and additional tools within each section. prioritise women’s rights and gender in a two or three day workshop either for This toolkit incorporates new approaches, equality in their advocacy work, and your organisation or with your coalition, analysis and tools which have been to do so in ways that strengthen the alliance or network partners. Part 3 developed through advocacy planning work of women’s rights organisations provides templates for the tables used practice and learning by the International and movements. in the exercises in Part 2. Women’s Development Agency (IWDA), Womankind Worldwide and partner However, the exercises in Part 2 can also organisations and the contributions work as standalone exercises and you of other coalitions and alliances over can pick and choose what works for you the past nine years. and integrate them into your existing planning process.
5 SECTION 1
Figure 1: Step by Step Guide
Planning your advocacy your Planning 4: Section advocacy your Planning 4: Section Why women’s rights advocacy is different is advocacy rights women’s Why 2: Section How to use this toolkit this use to How 2.1 Why do women’s 4.1 Power analysis and context 4.5 Risk identification and mitigation rights advocacy? Build your understanding of Understand how to use a the power context within Throughout your planning,
women’s rights approach to which you are operating, identify the risks that could advocacy rather than just including your own power occur as part of your advocating on women’s and the oppressive and advocacy work, and ways rights. transformative power of that you will avoid them or others. reduce their impact. These 2.2 Before you begin: could be risks to the success resources, risks and living 4.2 Defining your objectives of the advocacy work, or your values Identify your objectives – the risks to yourselves and your allies. Be realistic about what changes that need to happen to achieve your aim resources you have, what 4.6 Choosing your including who will make the risks you face, and how to advocacy activities live your values. change, what they will do, how they will do this, and by Consider what activities your 2.3 Understanding and using when. organisation, alliance, power analysis network or coalition will do in 4.3 Power mapping – order to achieve your Women’s rights advocacy your targets and allies outcomes and hence your relies on strong power objectives and aim. analysis. Choose an Map out who has the power appropriate exercise to build to achieve your objectives, your understanding of who can influence them, who 4.7 Developing core messages power. your allies are and who will Define your core messages oppose you. Defining your advocacy aim advocacy your Defining 3: Section - explaining who you want to 3.0 Defining your advocacy aim 4.4 Agree on strategic do what, by when, and why. This is the long term change approaches you are seeking to achieve,
ideally involving a shift in Agree on the outcomes or power creating a positive stepping stones (those are change in the lives of a the smaller actions by others group of people. that need to take place so that your objectives can be achieved) and your strategy for achieving these.
6 PART 1 PART
Planning Monitoring, evaluation and learning 5: Section 5.1 MEL for advocacy planning Using the Icons Monitor, evaluate and learn from your advocacy planning There are a number of icons throughout this toolkit to help you navigate
process - to what extent has your planning helped you to through the planning process. be effective advocates and build transformative power? Indicates there are suggested At each planning step there is a exercises to support this step in transformative power check to the planning process. You can encourage you to think about find these tools inPart 2: how you will build transformative 5.2 MEL for implementation Exercises. power through your advocacy. Monitor action against your planned activities and Signposts resources which Advocacy can bring risks. This evaluate what change has provide additional information icon encourages you to assess occurred from each activity and further reading. risks at each stage of the to help you reach your planning cycle and to consider advocacy outcomes and If you are a broader advocacy mitigation strategies. objectives. Do you need to organisation, rather than a make adjustments? women’s rights organisation, Section 5 specifically focusses this icon includes additional on monitoring, evaluation and 5.3 Understanding impact and learning tools and suggestions to learning (MEL). However, it is support working in ways that important to consider and plan Reflect on the impact of your strengthen the work of women’s for MEL at each step in the advocacy strategy and rights organisations and process. This icon acts as a outcomes and use your movements. reminder to integrate MEL learning at each stage of the advocacy cycle to change throughout your planning. and adapt your plans.
Section 5 on monitoring, evaluation and learning includes some tools to support evaluating and reflecting on your planning process. Before you begin planning, read Section 5.1.1 which will support you to gather information and reflect along the way.
7 SECTION 2: Why women’s rights advocacy is different
This section explains what we mean by women’s rights advocacy and encourages you to think about what is possible given your context, resources and existing relationships.
It also introduces the different forms and locations of power and the importance of understanding the power context, and your role in this, for your advocacy planning.
8 PART 1 PART
Planning 2.1 Why do women’s rights advocacy?
Advocacy is a set of organised activities discriminations based on multiple layers Advocacy planning from a women’s designed to influence the policies and of identity, such as race, class, sexuality, rights perspective actions of others to achieve change. disability, age, gender identity and other forms of inequality, that shape each Women’s rights advocacy isn’t just In a context of new global challenges, woman’s individual experiences. advocacy about women’s rights, it also closing civil society space in some requires a different way of planning and countries and increasing backlash A women’s rights approach to advocacy, implementing your advocacy. Methods against women’s human rights and based on power analysis, recognises the and processes are political. feminist agendas seen through attacks need for longer term structural change to on women human rights defenders and challenge and transform the barriers of In order to do women’s rights advocacy, women’s rights organisations, advocacy unequal power relations and structures, staff will need to understand and be able for gender equality and women’s rights rather than just climbing over them. to articulate gender power dynamics and is critical. intersectionality. If your organisation, or Movements and alliances create more partners you are working with, have not Global obligations in relation to women’s sustainable social transformation and worked on women’s rights before, you human rights are clearly set out in women’s collective action has secured might want to use the JASS We Rise international frameworks such as the some of the most important advances in toolkit https://werise-toolkit.org/en/toolkit Convention on the Elimination of women’s rights. Movement strengthening and find exercises that support your Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is therefore an important element of needs. You should do this before you and the Beijing Platform for Action. Newly women’s rights advocacy. begin your advocacy planning. Section adopted international development 2.3 explores power in more depth. frameworks, such as the Sustainable And women’s rights advocacy must have Development Goals (SDGs), also at its heart the expressed priorities of recognise the importance of gender women themselves, particularly those equality and provide increased facing intersecting discriminations. momentum for change. For these reasons, women’s rights What’s different about women’s rights advocacy requires a different approach advocacy is that we know that to be to advocacy planning. This toolkit successful, it must be done in a way that therefore adapts mainstream advocacy recognises unequal power relations and planning processes to incorporate a structures that perpetuate inequality and deeper understanding of gendered, oppress women and girls1. It must also and other intersecting, power relations. recognise that women face intersecting
1 Note any reference to ‘women’ in this toolkit also refers to girls as appropriate.
9 SECTION 2
Why women’s rights advocacy is different is Why advocacy women’s rights What makes women’s rights advocacy planning different? What do we mean by women’s 9 Understanding the various forms and locations rights organisations and movements?2 of gendered power – and how gender and other discriminations intersect. Women’s rights organisations are 9 Tackling the underlying structural causes women-led organisations working to advance women’s rights and gender of inequality. equality. This can include both formally 9 Knowing that methods are political – what registered organisations as well as language or strategies we use will themselves unregistered and grassroots groups. create or hinder change. Women’s movements are broad social movements led by women and their 9 Knowing that backlash is likely, and that progress organisations that campaign for will never be linear. women’s rights and gender equality 9 Recognising that building transformative power at national, regional and international levels. They include women rights must be part of advocacy if change is to be organisations and other actors, sustainable. including activists, academics, 9 Working in alliance with others to maximise journalists, lawyers and trade unionists. transformative power. Key characteristics of women’s 9 Supporting women’s rights movements as part movements include gendered political of advocacy objectives. goals and strategies, a change agenda built from gendered analysis, women’s 9 Putting first thepriorities of women - recognising leadership at all levels and women that they face intersecting discriminations. most affected by marginalisation 9 Prioritising inclusive, participatory methods for ideally are the key constituency of the movement. women to connect experiences, learning and knowledge with action.
2 Definitions from Womankind Worldwide (2019),Stronger Together: The power of feminist programmes to strengthen women’s movements in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe and, Srilatha Batliwala, Movements & Why They Matter, Presentation, IWDA WAVE workshop 2019.
10 PART 1 PART
Planning
As you plan your advocacy, think about Part of living your women’s rights values the process as well as the purpose and when working together is to create a The concept of outcomes. To ensure your advocacy is space which is conducive to mutual intersectionality helps us to both credible and relevant, you will need learning, sharing and a safe, respectful both understand and respond to to assess whether you have included the environment for participants and which complex and multifaceted identities. right people and voices in your planning, responds to the different needs of It shows us how gender inequality particularly when agreeing your aim. This participants (such as disability-related and patriarchy intersect with other should include meaningful consultation needs including physical access, systems of oppression (such as with the women and communities that interpreters, signers and helpers). If you race, socioeconomic class, ableism, the planned advocacy intends to impact are a facilitating the planning process, it sexual identity and other factors) – to ensure women’s knowledge, needs is also crucial to acknowledge your own and how these intersections then and interests are at the core of your power as a facilitator and the impact this contribute to unique experiences advocacy planning. may have. of discrimination (GADN, 2017). You may find these resources Exercise 2.1 is a Facilitator Meaningful engagement useful: Checklist to support creating with women and women’s a safe space. GADN (2017), Intersectionality rights organisations requires Reflections from the Gender & moving beyond extractive or Development Network: tokenistic consultations towards https://static1.squarespace.com/ meaningful dialogue. The Beyond static/536c4ee8e4 Consultations Tool is a self- b0b60bc6ca7c74/t/5a130e9d53450 assessment tool designed to a0abd9c0f8f/1511198367912/ support a range of actors, including Intersection power holders and duty bearers who ality+GADN+thinkpiece+November carry out consultation exercises and +2017.pdf INGOs and civil society organisations wanting to improve AWID, Intersectionality: a tool for their approach to engaging with gender and economic justice: women and women’s groups locally. https://www.awid.org/sites/default/ files/atoms/files/intersectionality_a_ https://www.beyondconsultations. tool_for_gender_and_economic_ org/images/Beyond_Consultations_ justice.pdf Tool.pdf Video: Kimberlé Crenshaw, What is Intersectionality?: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc
11 SECTION 2
2.2 Before you begin: resources, risks and living your values
Why women’s rights advocacy is different is Why advocacy women’s rights We know that long term transformative social change takes time. When planning Resourcing your advocacy, it is important to keep sight of the longer-term structural change you are trying to achieve. However, it is also important to be realistic about what Effective advocacy requires money, you can achieve in the short and medium term depending on your context, people and skills, access to knowledge resources and existing relationships. and information, and relationships. It is important to know your strengths as an Figure 2: Timeframes for your advocacy planning organisation and to build on these and to identify where there may be gaps. Assessing these gaps and deciding Short term (Less than 2 years) whether you can fill them is important If you are new to advocating on a particular area or aiming to establish your credibility – not only for the success of your with specific targets, a short term campaign may be a good starting point. This could advocacy but also for the collective care focus on a policy or legal change which you think is easily achieveable in a short time of your staff and partners. Trying to do frame with some existing interest/support from targets or influencers. too much with too few resources can lead to stress, staff burn-out and the break-down of relationships with coalition partners. It can also result in reduced impact. Medium Term (3-5 years) Most advocacy objectives, as the stepping stones to your long term aim, will be Women’s rights organising is significantly focussed on achieving change over a 3 to 5 year period. This typically aligns with the under-funded. Fundraising for advocacy length of an organisational strategic plan and provides the flexibility to adapt plans and activities is difficult. Few donors will fund strategies to changes in context. an advocacy-based organisation or project. Where funding is available, it is usually highly competitive because there are so few opportunities available.
Long Term (10 years +)
We know that changing the attitudes, beliefs, norms and practices that underpin AWID has developed this gender inequality is a slow process and requires long term, coordinated action and database for women’s rights long-term funding. organisations to find potentially aligned funders that support their priorities, populations or locations: https://www.awid.org/fund-me
12 PART 1 PART
Planning
Advocating in coalition, alliance or in Identifying, Assessing Exercise 4.5 also provides support networks with others can be a means and Mitigating Risk with identifying risks associated to amplify your impact and to share with any action you will take and resources and knowledge. For example, At each stage of the advocacy cycle strategies on how to mitigate partnering with a research institution it is important to identify and assess these risks. You can find a can provide research expertise, risks. Advocacy can bring specific risks printable risks assessment and partnering with a like-minded depending on the issue, the context mitigation template in Part 3. organisation with a strong social media and your existing workload. presence can expand your campaign How do you live your values reach, or working with another women’s Advocacy on women’s rights brings risks through advocacy? rights organisation can help strengthen particularly in a context where women’s the women’s movement in your country rights organisations are facing growing If you want to avoid reinforcing the or region. Submitting joint funding backlash. The space for civil society is very power inequalities you are trying applications may also increase the also increasingly being restricted in some to challenge, then it is important to likelihood of obtaining funding. countries with governments using policy consider how the process for planning, and legal frameworks to constrain the implementing and learning from your Fundraising for MEL can be voices of civil society organisations and advocacy aligns with values which challenging. Think about how human rights defenders. Working through promote equality and justice. you will incorporate MEL into coalitions, alliances and networks at your project budgets, timeframes national, regional and international levels Reflecting on these values and and funding applications. can provide some protection against this considering how you will carry out your and in some cases help claim back rights, advocacy work in a way which promotes Exercise 2.2.1 may assist you and framing your advocacy using these values is an important first step. to ensure that your planning is regional and international human rights realistic, based on what resources frameworks can also be a useful tool. Exercise 2.2.2 can help you to and strengths you have and any do this and there are also some limitations such as human or At each stage of the planning cycle, there examples of women’s rights values financial resourcing. are prompts to assist with thinking about included overleaf (Figure 3). potential risks and mitigation strategies.
13 SECTION 2
Why women’s rights advocacy is different is Why advocacy women’s rights Figure 3: Women’s rights advocacy values It may be helpful to consider your organisational values as well as the values articulated Promote Respect the Empower women in international human rights and strengthen diversity of women’s to advocate for frameworks such as the women’s rights and experience and themselves Conventional on the Elimination of gender equality listen to women and all Forms of Discrimination against their organisations Women (CEDAW) or regional women’s rights statements including the African Feminist Charter: http://awdf.org/wp-content/ Make power Be transparent, Collaborate and uploads/AFF-Feminist-Charter- relations visible, open and partner with women Digital-%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93- including reflecting accountable and women’s rights English.pdf or the Charter of on personal power organisations and Feminist Principles for Pacific networks Feminists: http://www.fwrm.org.fj/ images/PFF/PFF-Charter-Final- 2Dec2016.pdf Acknowledge Prioritise inclusive, Provide If you are doing joint advocacy planning women’s participatory opportunities to with other organisations, it is a good idea contributions in methods to connect develop self and to take the time to articulate the values achieving change knowledge with collective care which will inform your joint advocacy action strategies strategies and ways of working together. You may even decide to formalise this in a memorandum of understanding. Engage in ongoing Identifying your advocacy values processes of self Exercise 2.2.2 is designed to will also help to guide your approach and collective remind participants of their shared to communicating for advocacy reflection and act on women’s rights values and identify (see Section 4.7) ones that may be particularly learning relevant to advocacy planning.
14 PART 1 PART
Planning 2.3 Understanding and using power analysis
Women’s rights advocacy recognises A deeper understanding of gendered Exercise 2.3 is designed to ensure the different forms of power that exist, power relations reveals that power is that all participants have a similar and the different spaces in which power exercised on three levels. Formal or understanding of power and how it is exercised. Challenging the oppressive visible power includes legal processes operates before moving further in power that people with resources or and government actions and is often the the planning process. formal authority have – and exercise over focus of advocacy work. But informal or others – is central to most advocacy. hidden power is just as important – such Women’s rights advocates also recognise as behind the scenes corporate influence the importance of transformative power on government decision making. For based in people’s capacity and agency women’s rights advocacy, invisible power to drive social change together through is particularly important. This describes collective action. the web of values, beliefs, attitudes and social norms that entrench and legitimise With women’s rights advocacy we discrimination (for example, violence) and recognise that ‘wins’ are not sustainable inequality. Invisible power is often if they only persuade those with institutional in nature. oppressive power to change their behaviour at that point in time, leaving Table 1 explores these expressions of space for future reversals. Sustainable power in more detail and considers what advocacy requires a shift or disruption this means for your advocacy planning. in power so that it is more balanced in If you are new to power analysis or to the longer term. Building transformative women’s rights advocacy, there are power, often through alliances and several useful tools listed at the end of movement building, is a way to shift this section that provide a practical the power balance. introduction to power analysis in more detail. Also see the gender at work framework (Box 1) which will help you think about different locations of power.
15 SECTION 2
Why women’s rights advocacy is different is Why advocacy women’s rights Table 1: Power analysis and your advocacy planning
Forms of Power Expressions of Power3 What does this mean for advocacy planning?
Oppressive Power over: Much advocacy work focuses on changes within existing This is the easiest form of power to recognise. It is often structures of oppressive power – persuading those with Power exercised by people and structures such as political and oppressive power to change a particular action – rather religious leaders, parents, and corporations. It is about than challenging the power itself. domination and control – directly or indirectly controlling Redistributing control over resources and changing the actions and choices of others. It is usually based on formal lines of authority by opening decision making formal authority or control of resources processes will provide more fundamental challenges Power over can be visible (such as policy makers to oppressive power. enforcing laws which contravene human rights), hidden It is important to expose hidden power (such as (such as corporates shaping consultation processes) corporate lobbying) or challenge invisible power (such and invisible (such as the media reinforcing gender as discriminatory social norms) as part of advocacy. stereotypes). These forms of power occur in both public and private spaces. There can also be oppressive power operating within women’s alliances, networks, coalitions and movements. It is important to acknowledge and address these power dynamics as part of your planning processes.
Power under: We need to reflect on our own use and abuse of power, Most oppressive power is ‘power over’, however there as part of our advocacy planning and implementation. is a very complex expression of power, which recognises Abuse of power is not just something that has to be the cycle of violence and power which can emerge when changed in the wider community, it also needs to be people who have experienced abuse, discrimination, recognised and addressed within ourselves and our oppression and trauma gain power themselves. organisations.
16 PART 1 PART
Planning Forms of Power Expressions of Power3 What does this mean for advocacy planning?
Transformative Power with: Movements are essential to the transformation of This is about collective power. It is the power of enabling gender power relations in a sustainable way and their Power and working in solidarity with others to challenge injustice. strengthening needs to be an integral part of planning. Most of the major changes in favour of gender equality This may mean working with others to strengthen the and women’s rights over the past decades have occurred work of local women’s rights organisations and networks as a result of collective power. such as mainstream INGOs, CSOs and informal groups with a focus on specific issues and regional and global networks. Using a famous person to champion your issue, may get the change you want in the short term – but is it building the movement’s transformative power or just that of the individual person? It can also involve working to ensure a safe environment for women human rights defenders and women’s rights organisations to challenge oppressive power and to take part in collective action without facing violence or threats to their security.
Power to: In your advocacy planning, consider how you can This refers to the potential of every individual to speak empower individuals to act collectively in support up or take action. It is sometimes referred to as – ‘agency’ of your advocacy objectives. and builds on power with and power within. It is about Collective safe spaces for planning and reflection are recognising individual strengths and the power of valuable tools. It is also important to respect and learn individual action for mobilising people towards a from the diversity of women’s experience and transformative agenda. acknowledge how an individual’s experience of power is unique and informed by their intersectional identities.
Power within: As women’s rights advocates, we need to harness our This refers to power located within us – our individual or power within and consider how we support others to collective sense of self-worth, value and dignity. It is the connect with their own inner power. Creating personal individual capacity for resilience and a source of strength and collective spaces for planning and reflection, and resistance in the face of challenges. practising self-care as a component of advocacy, feminist organisational strengthening, and sharing Power within can include power within yourself, your knowledge and access to information can all contribute organisation, the community you are working in and within to increasing power within. the women’s movement.
3 Draws on Srilatha Batliwala (2019), All About Power: Understanding Social Power and Power Structures, CREA, https://reconference.creaworld. org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/All-About-Power-Srilatha-Batliwala.pdf and, JASS, We Rise Toolkit, https://werise-toolkit.org/en/toolkit.
17 SECTION 2
Box 1: Gender at Work Framework
Why women’s rights advocacy is different is Why advocacy women’s rights This framework provides a useful tool to think about the different locations Individual in which power is exercised. In order to achieve long-term structural change for women’s rights, change needs to occur in all four quadrants (see diagram below) – individual’s consciousness; access to resources and opportunities; formal laws and Consciousness Resources policies; and informal cultural norms Capabilities and exclusionary practices. This requires building transformative power
to disrupt oppressive power in the Formal different quadrants. Oppressive power operates in all four quadrants in different ways. Informal Oppressive power on the left side of the diagram, in the informal spaces, Informal Norms tends to be hidden or invisible power. Formal Rules & Exclusionary On the right, in the quadrants relating & Policies to formal rules and policies, oppressive Practices power will usually be more visible. Similarly, different forms of transformative power are needed to affect change in the four quadrants. Power with (collective power) is particularly important for affecting Systemic change in the bottom two clusters relating to systemic change. The top two quadrants, relating to the individual, require a focus on power within (both individuals and Image: Gender at Work Framework. Adapted from Rao, A., Sandler, J., Kelleher, D. & Miller, C. (2016), organisations) and power to (individual Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organisations. Routledge, Oxon agency to demand change).
18 PART 1 PART
Planning
As part of your MEL it is important See also Section 2, Pages 13 to monitor and reflect upon how to 20 of the Womankind your advocacy planning is building Worldwide Advocacy Toolkit. transformative power. There are You can find background questions in Section 5.1 (see also information on power on pp 42-45 Exercise 5.1.1) to support you to of the JASS toolkit: https:// assess how you are including justassociates.org/sites/ diverse voices and meaningfully justassociates.org/files/07chap3_ engaging with women and power_final.pdf women’s rights organisations as part of the planning process. Srilatha Batliwala (2019), All About Power: Understanding Social Power and Power Structures, CREA, https:// reconference.creaworld.org/wp- content/uploads/2019/05/All-About- Power-Srilatha-Batliwala.pdf Oxfam (2018), The Oxfam Guide to Feminist Influencing, https://www. oxfam.org/en/research/oxfams- guide-feminist-influencing contains a section around developing a feminist MEL.
19 SECTION 3: Defining your advocacy aim
This section is about defining the structural change you are trying to achieve in the long term – the aim of your advocacy.
20 PART 1 PART
Planning
You probably already have a good idea Steps to define your advocacy aim: of the issue you want to work on and know a great deal about what needs to change. However, you need to turn this Identify your problem area into a specific aim. It can be useful to start with making sure you agree the problem that you want to solve and then identifying the solution – this will be your aim. Write your problem statement and develop your aim Your aim should be a structural change which challenges discriminatory social norms and unequal power relations and structures and results in a lasting Sense check and prioritise change to the balance of power.
21 SECTION 3 aim advocacy your Defining
STEP 1: Identifying your problem area Researching the problem area
If you are not yet sure what problem you want to focus on or feel you don’t You may discover that further research This is an example of a Womankind know enough about the issue, you will is needed before you can identify your Worldwide research project that used need to spend time identifying and problem area. Feminist Participatory an FPAR approach: researching the problem area before Action Research (FPAR) is a research Æ Digging Deep: The impact of you start your planning (see below for methodology designed to generate Uganda’s land rush on women’s some useful resources to help with this). knowledge to inform action for social rights: https://www.womankind.org. change. It recognises the expertise of As a starting point, talk with your partners, uk/docs/default-source/resources/ participants and involves participatory staff and other key stakeholders and reports/digging-deep-the-impact- inclusive methods to enable women in reflect on past evaluations of your work. of-uganda’s-land-rush-on- local communities to lead and shape This can provide valuable information women’s-rights.pdf?sfvrsn=0 research agendas and identify as to where your power lies and where ‘problems’ and ‘solutions’ themselves. For more on research to inform you can be effective. If you or other advocacy see: organisations have recently conducted a You can read more about FPAR here: research project, the research findings Æ JASS https://justassociates.org/en/ Æ APWLD, p.90: http://apwld.org/ and recommendations could identify an resources/new-weave-power- wp-content/uploads/2017/09 issue area where change is needed and people-politics-action-guide- /2017-BOOM-RIW-FPAR-Regional- where you are well-placed to add value. advocacy-and-citizen-participation, Report.pdf. Chapter 5. It is much better to choose the problem This is an example of an IWDA program area before you start a joint advocacy Æ ACFID, SDGs Toolkit on Systems evaluation which utilised an FPAR Thinking and Collaborative planning session as you will need time approach: to carry out research in advance of the Approaches: https://acfid.asn.au/ session. Æ WAVE Mid-Term Reflection:https:// learning/sdg-toolkit iwda.org.au/assets/files/WAVE_Mid- Term_Reflection_Executive_ Summary.pdf
22 PART 1 PART
Planning
STEP 2: STEP 3: Write your problem statement Sense check and prioritise Check your aim reflects and develop your aim statement women’s stated needs and Exercise 3.2 will be useful to help strategic priorities, rather than Once you have identified your problem you prioritise if you have more just using women as examples. area, you need to write your problem than one potential aim. If you have Meaningfully engage and consult statement. This is a short description already identified an aim, use this with women and women’s rights of the problem in your specific context. exercise to sense check and organisations including listening refine your aim. to the voices of women who face The aim statement is then the positive intersecting discriminations, to alternative to your problem statement – Transformative understand the problem and the the long-term structural change you power check long term change which is needed are working towards. You can find some as well as any unintended impacts example problem and aim statements 9 Would achieving this aim support which may result from advocacy included overleaf (Table 2). women to increase their own on this issue. power? Section 2 of this briefing provides Exercise 3.1 assists with 9 How does this aim support the useful information on developing identifying what you are trying to strengthening of women’s a campaign aim with a gender achieve with your advocacy in the movements? lens – Gender and Development long term (and with developing Network, Ten steps towards your problem and aim statements). integrating gender equality into campaigns: https://static1. When drafting your aim statement, it is squarespace.com/static/536c4ee8e important to think about timeframes for 4b0b60bc6ca7c74/t/5464d445e4b0 your advocacy. Your aim will be the long 96d333366da5/1421669190985/ term change you are seeking, this could GADN+Ten+steps+towards+integr be in ten years, or a slightly shorter time ating+gender+equality+into+campa frame (see Section 2.2, Figure 2). igns.pdf
23 SECTION 3 aim advocacy your Defining
Table 2: Example problem and aim statements
Problem Area Problem Statement Aim
Women’s under-representation at all levels There are only two women in national There is an increase in the representation of government in the Solomon Islands parliament in the Solomon Islands and and meaningful participation of women women are under-represented at provincial and girls in leadership and decision making and local levels. Politics continues to be seen positions at all levels in the Solomon Islands. as a male space and women candidates are judged more harshly than their male counterparts. Money politics also acts as a barrier to women’s participation.
The high incidence of sexual violence Sexual violence is a significant problem Communities and leaders in Cambodia act in Cambodia in Cambodia affecting women in all to prevent and respond to sexual violence communities, yet it remains a hidden issue including punishing perpetrators and and perpetrators act with impunity. empowering survivors of violence.
Women are displaced from their land without Women do not have a legal right to their land Women’s legal right to their land is consultation or compensation in Uganda and there are no legal mechanisms in place recognised and enforced in Uganda. for compensation if they are displaced.
Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LBTQ) LBTQ women are excluded from social, There is an improvement in LBTQ women’s women lack access to human rights in cultural, religious, economic and political life access to their human rights in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, and face multiple and intersecting forms of stigma, discrimination and violence. LBTQ women face persistent and deliberately targeted attacks by state and non-state actors. There is low societal awareness of LBTQ women’s rights, and the media perpetuates negative attitudes towards them.
24 PART 1 PART
Planning
Identifying, assessing Think about information you can and mitigating risk collect to assess whether in developing your aim you have Æ Will advocating on this issue put included diverse and marginalised staff or women in the communities voices and meaningfully engaged you work in at risk? with women and women’s rights Æ Are there any risks for your organisations (see Section 5.1 organisation such as potential and Exercise 5.1.1 for ideas). funding cuts or risks to your reputation? Æ Is this aim realistic with the resources you have and the time available?
Exercise 4.5 can assist with identifying and mitigating risks.
25 SECTION 4: Planning your advocacy
This section takes you through the steps to plan your advocacy from analysing your context, identifying your objectives, targets and allies to developing your strategies, activities and core messages.
26 PART 1 PART
Planning
The sub-sections below correspond to the following planning steps.
Advocacy planning steps
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.6 4.7 Power Defining Power Agreeing Choosing Developing analysis your mapping - strategic your core and context objectives your targets approaches advocacy messages and allies activities
4.5 Risk identification and mitigation
How long you need to spend on this In Part 2: Exercises you will find exercises section will depend on how long you to support each of the steps and an have for your planning and how Advocacy Planning Table. This table is much work and thinking you have designed to be completed at each stage already done. of the planning process, a template for the table is available in Part 3.
27 SECTION 4
4.1 Power analysis and context
Planning your advocacy your Planning Power analysis is critical to If you discover you have evidence Transformative understanding the context in which gaps that you need to fill in order to power check your advocacy will take place. In order understand your context, consider to challenge unequal power relations how you can find out what you need 9 How does your own power impact on and structures, we need to identify to know. You may need to undertake the context in which your advocacy and understand the existing forms further research (see ‘Researching is taking place? and expressions of power, so that we the problem area,’ in Section 3, Step 9 How are you creating space for the can tackle the root causes not just 1), interview power holders or women perspectives, skills and experiences the ‘symptoms’ of gender inequality. and their communities most affected of women, in all their diversities, to be by the problem, or take some time included in your analysis? Any of the exercises you completed to discuss the issue with women 9 What relationships and knowledge do in Section 2.3, together with Exercise and women’s rights organisations you already have on this issue within 4.1, can assist with understanding in the community. your own or partner organisations? this power context. If you have time How can you share and build on this? constraints, be careful not to spend Many of the traditional tools used too much time on context mapping for context power analysis focus Consider power in social, economic, or you may run out of time for the on oppressive forms of power, political and cultural spheres and the strategic decision making later. particularly power under, such as relevant processes you might be trying to In a workshop setting, workshop formal decision-making power influence. Understanding these processes participants may be able to do some and access to resources. While is important so that you can think about pre-reading to inform this stage this analysis is important, it is the most strategic points for engagement. of the process. equally important to think about For example, if you are trying to influence transformative power – including a decision-making process, such as the Exercise 4.1, force field power your power as individuals, staff passage of new legislation through context, is an exercise to assist and as members of a coalition, parliament or a community development with analysing the different network or alliance (see Section 2.3). planning and budgeting process, you forms of power in your advocacy It is also important to assess the may find it useful to map out the stages context, including formal, hidden power between women rights actors of this process and identify the points at and invisible forms of power. and how this helps or hinders what which key decisions will be taken. You you are trying to achieve. can find an example of this at page 41 of the Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit.
28 PART 1 PART
Planning
Identifying, assessing and mitigating risk Mapping the external context Additional resources to support advocacy planning There are many other tools from a feminist perspective Æ Do recent social, economic, to support mapping the external political or cultural events and factors which may affect your JASS is a feminist organisation decisions suggest there may advocacy work including: that works with local organisations be increased risk for your in developing advocacy and so is a PESTLE analysis (page 36 of the organisation, partners or the rich source of tools and background Womankind Worldwide Advocacy women you work with in information on women’s rights Toolkit). advocating on this issue? advocacy. Æ Can working with others help See also pages 36-43 of the https://justassociates.org/en/ to mitigate this risk? Womankind Worldwide Women’s resources/new-weave-power- Rights Advocacy Toolkit. people-politics-action-guide- For MEL purposes, how will you advocacy-and-citizen-participation Political Economy Analysis (see SIDA document the process you have and We Rise toolkit https://werise- (2013), Power Analysis practical used for your context power toolkit.org/ analysis? How have you included guide, pp.49-50, www.sida.se/ diverse and marginalised voices contentassets/83f0232c54044400 Oxfam (2018), The Oxfam Guide to in this analysis? Is there anything 82c9762ba3107d55/power-analysis- Feminist Influencing, https://www. you would change about the a-practical-guide_3704.pdf & UK oxfam.org/en/research/oxfams- process next time? National School of Government guide-feminist-influencing is very International (2017), The Beginner’s useful for larger mainstream Guide to Political Economy Analysis organisations wanting to develop (PEA), https://assets.publishing. feminist advocacy. service.gov.uk/government/uploads /system/uploads/attachment_data/ GADN (2014), Gender and file/766478/The_Beginner_s_Guide_ Campaigning Pack, http:// to_PEA.pdf. gadnetwork.org/campaigning-on- gender-equality/ includes ideas on campaigning from a gender equality perspective.
29 SECTION 4
4.2 Defining your objectives
Planning your advocacy your Planning Now you have identified your aim Defining your objectives and spent time thinking about your advocacy context, the next step in the planning process is to define your advocacy objectives. Step 1: Identify potential objectives
Advocacy objectives are the changes which need to be made in order to reach your aim. It can be useful to see them as stepping stones. You should have Step 2: Draft objectives between 1 to 3 objectives for each advocacy planning cycle.
How you approach your objectives will depend on the time frame you are Step 3: Make your objectives SMART-TR working with, and the resources you have. Identifying objectives which sit within a 3 to 5 year timeframe is usually manageable given organisational planning and funding cycles. Step 4: Prioritise your objectives
If your aim is focussed on long term structural change, taking at least 10 years to achieve, your objectives may be short to medium term stepping stones to get you closer to your aim. If you are a larger organisation you may be able to achieve two or three objectives in your 3 to 5 year time frame. If you are a small organisation, with limited resources, you may wish to phase your objectives, so that you focus on planning to achieve one objective at a time. If you decide to focus on one objective, the objective you prioritise first will be the one you focus on as you go through the later stages of the planning process.
30 PART 1 PART
Planning
STEP 1: Identify your potential objectives Movement strengthening objective:
Exercise 4.2.1 can assist you You may decide to have an objective The JASS We Rise Toolkit4 is an excellent to identify your objectives. which is specifically designed to resource that some of your team could strengthen the advocacy capacity of your use before starting the strategy process Your objective may be possible within movement or a movement you work with. and defines four phases of movement existing power structures (such as a legal building. Womankind Worldwide’s five or policy change) or it may seek to It will be vital that you define who is in the movement strengthening pillars5 can also challenge ‘power over’ (for example, movement, and then take their lead on inform this process by helping identify advocating for a public inquiry into an what they need when defining objectives. ongoing needs (see Section 4.4.4, Box 2). issue or the introduction of regulations If you are part of the movement to curb corporate lobbying). It is vital to yourselves, then be clear on what the We have not included a specific exercise get your objectives right or you could consultation and negotiation process is. in Part 2 on how to set your objectives as spend years trying to achieve something it will need to be led by the processes, which will not get you the result you are In addition, when identifying a movement policies and priorities of the movement looking for. strengthening objective make sure your itself. However you may find it useful to discussion includes: adapt the ideas in the rest of Section 4.2 Central to women’s rights advocacy is – steps 2 and 3. The objective setting 9 A clear and specific description recognition of the need to increase can still use elements of the SMART-TR of the movement and its members transformative power by strengthening approach and should include who the women’s movements or working in 9 Recognition of the ongoing needs movement is, what needs strengthening, alliance with other movements. Your of the movement how this will be done, by whom, and broader objective could include an 9 The current phase of movement by when. element of movement strengthening building within it. Or you could decide to have an additional objective that specifically seeks to strengthen the capacity of women’s movements to advocate for transformative change.
4 JASS, We Rise Toolkit, available at: https://werise-toolkit.org/en/toolkit 5 Womankind Worldwide, Theory of Change: inputs for movement building, available at: https://www.womankind.org.uk/docs/default- source/default-document-library/womankind-theory-of-change.pdf
31 SECTION 4
Planning your advocacy your Planning
Example of a movement strengthening objective: To build the collective power of the Solomon Islands women’s movement to advocate for increased representation of women in Provincial Government by 2020.
Once a movement strengthening objective has been agreed you can skip If you are a broader advocacy to Section 4.4.4 and Exercise 4.4.4 organisation, your movement which look specifically at strategy for strengthening objective may relate movement strengthening objectives to how your advocacy work can strengthen the work of women’s Transformative rights organisations and power check movements. However, be careful that your strategy to achieve this 9 Will your objective(s) lead to a objective is informed by meaningful long-term transformational shift engagement and dialogue and in power? led by the needs and priorities 9 Will your objective enable you to of women’s rights organisations work collectively with others to and movements. ensure the change is sustainable? 9 Will achieving this objective support women to increase their own power (with or within)?
32 PART 1 PART
Planning
STEP 2: Draft your objectives Example objective:
Your objectives should be a change Who What action is needed Where When not an activity – what you want to see happen, not what you are going to do.
Each objective should include what, Minister of Finance to increase the allocation in Parliament’s April budget who, when and where: for prevention of and response to gender-based violence. 9 What action is needed? If done, will it contribute towards achieving the aim? Example movement strengthening objective: 9 Who will take the action? Make sure that the action is to be taken by someone other Who What action is needed than yourselves. Actions you will take are activities not objectives and will be discussed Cambodia women’s organisations are adequately resourced to later in the process. collectively undertake a gender budget analysis after the release 9 When and where will they take of Parliament’s April budget. the action?
And consider how: When 9 How will your objective lead to a long term (transformational) shift in power? Exercise 4.2.1 will assist you to Exercise 4.2.2 will then assist to Or will it be a transitory change identify the things that need to further define your objectives so that can be reversed? be changed in order to reach your that they are clear and describe aim, making sure that you look at exactly what you will achieve with all forms of power. your advocacy.
33 SECTION 4
Planning your advocacy your Planning STEP 3: Additional resources to Check that your objectives SMART Objective: support objective setting are SMART-TR Ensure that civil society See pp. 43-46 of the Womankind Most advocates ensure that their organisations are meaningfully Worldwide Women’s Rights draft objectives are SMART (specific, consulted in the budget decision- Advocacy Toolkit. measurable, achievable, relevant and making process The UNICEF advocacy toolkit time-bound). Women’s rights advocates includes a different method for go for SMART-TR (smarter) objectives by doing a problems and solutions tree: also making sure they are transformative https://www.unicef.org/cbsc/files/ (See Table 3 and Figure 4 on page 35). SMART-TR Objective: Advocacy_Toolkit.pdf (page 19). Transformative objectives shift power Increase the capacity of civil Care International (2014), The Care society organisations to scrutinise International Advocacy Handbook, away from oppressive power and towards transformative power by creating more the budget and propose alternatives https://insights.careinternational. which promote women rights org.uk/media/k2/attachments/CI_ equitable relationships and structures. Global_Advocacy_Manual_Web.pdf By doing this they ensure that the Plan International Advocacy Toolkit changes made will be sustainable – at https://plan-international.org/ not beholden to the inclinations of those Exercise 4.2.2 (Step 3) is designed publications/advocacy- with oppressive power. Such objectives to assist you with applying the toolkit#download-options. are most likely to be achieved by acting SMART-TR principles to your draft The obligations contained in collectively with others – in all their objectives. international agreements such as diversity of experience, ability and identity. the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, The Sustainable Development Goals and United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, can provide useful language for the framing of your objectives.
34 PART 1 PART
Planning
Figure 4: The SMART-TR approach
Specific:a precise not · While your aim is general, your objective more narrowly defines what you S a general change want to see happen. · Don’t use jargon or words which could be misinterpreted.
· Your objective must be measurable either by quantitative or qualitative Measurable: so you know methods. if it’s been achieved M · See Section 5 for more information on monitoring and evaluating your advocacy work.
Achievable: realistic within · Think about breaking your journey towards your aim into closer stepping A the timeframe stones that are achieveable in the timeframe.
Relevant: will contribute · Your objective must be a stepping stone towards achieving your longer R to your aim term aim - not just something that gives you a ‘quick win.’
· Most advocacy planning identifies objectives that might be achieved Time bound: to happen within 3-5 years. by a particular date T · You may want to link your objective to a particular event such as a budgeting cycle or an election or to your planning cycle.
Transformative: aims to create · If achieved, will this objective create transformative change for women, TR more equitable realationships including the realisation of women’s rights? and structures · Will it build transformative power and therefore be sustainable?
35 SECTION 4
Planning your advocacy your Planning Table 3: Example objectives
Aim Objective
There is an increase in the representation and meaningful The Western Provincial Government agrees to the use of participation of women and girls in leadership and decision temporary special measures (TSMs) to increase women’s making positions at all levels in the Solomon Islands. leadership in Western Province by 2020.
Improve LBTQ women’s access to their human rights LGBT organisations in Zimbabwe develop and agree a shared in Zimbabwe. LBTQ Charter of Demand by 2020.
36 PART 1 PART
Planning
STEP 4: Prioritising
Use this step if you have more than three objectives and need to prioritise.
Exercise 4.2.2 (Step 4) can assist with prioritising your objectives.
If you are using this toolkit as part of a joint planning workshop, you might also want to prioritise which of your objectives you focus on for the remaining steps in Section 4. Choose the one that it is critical to work on now, and/or the one that would benefit from wider group input. It may be that you could work through the same process with your other objectives separately with a smaller group and bring back for peer review. If you have two objectives which are very closely related you might be able to take them both through this process at the same time.
37 SECTION 4
4.3 Power mapping – targets and allies
Planning your advocacy your Planning Having identified the change you Table 4: Power holders, influencers and allies want to see, we now need to look at who has the power to achieve your Who really has the These are your Power holders. They can be individuals, groups objectives, who stands in the way power to achieve the of people, organisations or institutions, such as politicians, and who you could build relationships change you want? officials, community leaders or business leaders. with to help you. Who has the power Influencers are individuals, groups or institutions who can This stage of the advocacy planning to influence the power influence your power holders. This may include political advisors, process focusses on two key steps. holders? personal contacts, the media, private sector and academics. Firstly, you need to identify who your Your Influencersand your Power holders are your advocacy advocacy targets (power holders and targets. influencers) and allies are, and secondly, you need to understand as much about Who shares your goals Allies are individuals, organisations, institutions or networks, them as possible. This will inform exactly and can work with you alliances and coalitions who can help you to achieve change. what you will do (your strategic approach) to influence your For example, other CSOs, women’s ministries, politicians with a in Section 4.4. targets? commitment to women’s rights, women’s rights networks and coalitions, alliances and networks at local, national, regional and international levels.
Look at what is really happening using the power analysis in Section 2.3; not just who has the power on paper. Targets might be at local, national, regional or international levels. There will also be visible, invisible and hidden power at play and both oppressive and transformative power.
Be as specific as possible – try and narrow down to a particular individual, institution or groups of individuals (for example, a specific staff member in a department rather than a whole government department, or a chair of a powerful parliamentary committee).
Exercise 4.3.1 can help you to use your power analysis to identify who are your targets, influencers and allies. See also pages 46-51 of the Womankind Worldwide Advocacy Toolkit.
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Planning
Transformative When thinking about which power check Opponents influencers to target or work
with, consider how this choice is 9 Who should you work with to build AWID, together with the Observatory contributing to your long-term aim. transformative power to influence on the Universality of Rights, has For example, focussing resources your targets? developed a resource outlining key on a women’s rights group who has 9 Who shares your goals and can opposition strategies and tactics: a relationship with a target may work with you to influence your Rights at Risk: Observatory on the be better than working with, and targets? Universality of Rights Trends Report therefore increasing the power of, 2017, Chapter 3: https://www.awid. a celebrity. 9 Which allies will enable women’s collective mobilisation and diverse org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ voices to inform your strategy? ours_trends_chapter_3_en.pdf
You will also need to identify potential 9 Can you identify allies who The Ally Social barometer wheel is a allies, including strategic partners for contribute skills, resources, visual tool which can help you think collective action. Some may share your access or information that you about aligning tactics according to values and long-term goals, particularly don’t have and vice versa? whether individuals/groups are around movement strengthening and active or passive opponents or others may just share your immediate As you are identifying your advocacy allies. See In the Tiger’s Mouth: An objectives. In Section 4.4, we will consider targets and allies, it is also important Empowerment Guide for Social strategies that build and strengthen to think about who might oppose your Action: http://sjwiki.org/ transformative power of your own advocacy. Considering your opponents images/9/9c/Allies_chart.jpg organisation, your allies and the wider and their likely strategies and tactics women’s movement. is important for your risk assessment and mitigation and also to inform the strategies which you prioritise.
39 SECTION 4
Planning your advocacy your Planning What influences your targets? Figure 5: What influences your targets?
Once you have identified your targets, the next step is to consider what influences them. This is all about understanding as much about each Motivations, target as possible and the different incentives areas of influence (see Figure 5 below). For example, do they have specific Influential interests? Do you have common allies? Social norms personal Do they have a personal or political relationships motivation for taking action (such as getting re-elected)? Is there particular evidence which might resonate with the target’s individual interests, belief system Target or experiences? What constraints are they under? Is your target happy to make the change you want if you frame it in Accountable Belief the right way? Most decision makers like systems to look good – they might be more willing to to make a change if they can take credit for it than if they have appeared to back down in the face of pressure such as Knowledge, experiences, a public advocacy campaign. But be interests careful, a change made for self- interested reasons can easily be reversed.
Understanding your targets will Exercise 4.3.2 will assist with Exercise 4.3.3 is an additional also be important when developing thinking about how to influence exercise to deepen your core advocacy messages which your targets. knowledge of your targets will resonate with each target even further. (see Section 4.7).
40 PART 1 PART
Planning
Identifying, assessing For MEL purposes, document the and mitigating risk choices you made in identifying your advocacy targets and allies. Æ Working with others who have Have you included strategic different values and goals, but partners for collective action as who want to achieve the same allies? What did you learn as objective as you, can bring risks individuals or as an organisation for your reputation and the during this step of the planning long-term change you are trying process? to create. Æ Consider whether the aims and values of potential allies are compatible with your own and whether you should develop a memorandum of understanding to guide your work together. Æ Consider who your opponents are – do they have the power to stop you achieving your objectives? Can you develop counter- strategies to mitigate this risk?
41 SECTION 4
4.4 Agree on strategic approaches
Planning your advocacy your Planning This section focusses on what you will 4.4.1 Timeframes, influencing are required or encouraged to consult do to persuade your targets to carry opportunities and pegs with civil society, they may not do so. out your objectives. This is your role in You also need to be ready to adapt achieving the objectives you developed Align your strategy with the timeframes of your advocacy strategy if your context in Section 4.2. the processes you are trying to influence changes or if key opportunities do not or with key opportunities that may make go ahead. Your strategic approach is your your targets more likely to engage. organisation’s path to achieving the Sometimes you may be trying to influence Pegs are events you can use to get objectives. It is based on how you can the outcome of the process – as with your message across to your target use your strengths and work with allies, consultations. At other times you will be audience; they are not events that you to influence your targets to make using a formal process, like an election, need to influence in themselves. Pegs the changes needed to achieve your to get your views across. If you are trying used by women’s rights organisations objectives. It is not just a list of activities. to influence a decision-making process for collective action often include or an election, you may have mapped this international days such as International Methods are important. Women’s rights process in Section 4.1, and this can help Women’s Day (8 March), International Day advocacy is about creating new power with determining your timeframes. of Peace (21 September), International relationships and new ways in which Safe Abortion Day (28 September), power holders are influenced. It is also Local, national, regional and international International Day of Rural Women (15 about changing who those power holders events, meetings and policy forums can October), and the 16 Days of Activism are. This makes your strategy more provide an opportunity for influence. against Gender-Based Violence (25 complicated – but ultimately more likely Targets will need to prepare for these November to 10 December). to succeed. events and there may be increased scrutiny and media attention. For Complete Exercise 4.4.1, In making choices about how to allocate example, if your country is being Timeline, to identify key moments, your resources most effectively you will examined by the CEDAW Committee or decision points and opportunities need to start by looking at the external will be presenting its Voluntary National in working towards your aims/ context including timeframes; influencing Review Report at the High-Level Political objectives. opportunities and pegs and then at the Forum on Sustainable Development. current advocacy context in which your Identifying these moments in advance work will be located. This will then allow helps you to set the agenda and you to define your strategies and strategically use these entry points. outcomes. A different approach to Remember that the time to influence is at defining strategy is then suggested if the start of the decision makers’ one of your objectives is movement preparation process – not at the final strengthening. event. Even if, for example, governments
42 PART 1 PART
Planning
4.4.2 Current advocacy context National processes and international processes Locating your advocacy in the current and institutions context will help you to determine where There is further information about you are on the advocacy continuum (see using national policy making Figure 6 below) and therefore what kind of processes and how international strategy you need to use. For example, if institutions and processes can be you are being ignored, a polite letter to a useful for your advocacy in Section Minister is unlikely to have impact. Being 6 and 7 of Womankind Worldwide opposed is better than being ignored – it Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit. shows you are making progress. It also reminds you that backlash is likely to be For resources in relation to the part of the process. Where you are on the Sustainable Development Goals advocacy continuum will impact on the (adopted in 2015) see: strategies you choose (Section 4.4.3). Womankind Worldwide, For example, if you are at the ‘opposed’ Implementing the Sustainable stage and wanting to make as much Development Goals to advance noise as possible, you are more likely to women’s rights and gender focus on outsider strategies (see Table 5 equality: An advocacy guide, in Section 4.4.3). https://www.womankind.org.uk/ docs/default-source/resources/ Use Exercise 4.4.2 to locate your sdg-implementation-advocacy- advocacy in the current context. toolkit.pdf?sfvrsn=4 IWDA, Advocating for Action: Gender Equality and The Sustainable Development Goals, Forthcoming.
43 SECTION 4
Planning your advocacy your Planning Figure 6: The advocacy continuum
Ignored Opposed Misunderstood If no-one is interested in your issue If decision makers are opposing Your issue is now on the political then your strategy may need to you that is progress! It means you’ve agenda – but not necessarily in the involve making as much noise as had an impact and they are worried. way you would like it to be. Your real possible – you don’t need to be too Hold your nerve. You may need to message has not got through yet. nuanced. Your issue will not even be continue to make noise until you on the political agenda and you have are firmly on the political agenda, little to lose. but at some point it will also be time to start engaging with your influencers and giving your detailed policy message to counter the opposition and show you are credible.
Acted on Heard Absorbed If the changes you want are actually When a decision maker promises to In some ways, the hardest phase made you’ve met your objectives! act on what you say you are nearly is if your language is being used and there – but make sure they follow co-opted – but to mean something through. Politicians’ promises are other than what you want to say. often broken or back-tracked on. This can often be the case with One common trick is to watch out for women’s rights work where lip funds being re-promised or re- service is paid to women’s needs packaged. with no real understanding of the problem. Decision makers may also say that they are on your side but then find all sorts of reasons to do nothing.
44 PART 1 PART
Planning
4.4.3 Defining your strategies and outcomes
Once you have thought about your STEP 1: advocacy timeline and context, Defining your strategies Exercise 4.4.3 can assist with bringing together all your work so The kinds of strategies you use will access. A mixture of both can be effective far in order to define the approach reflect your organisation’s or coalition’s especially in an alliance, but it’s then you will take to achieving your strengths and values. You might use important to ensure that everyone objectives. In addition, if you have mostly insider or outsider strategies. respects each other’s methods (see an objective in relation to ‘Insider’ refers to working inside the Table 5). movement strengthening, see system (such as official policy spaces Section 4.4.4 for ideas on how to and processes) and ‘outsider’ refers to In addition to any specific objective on define your associated strategies. working outside of these official spaces movement building it is also important in and processes to pressure for change. women’s rights advocacy to ensure that Insider strategies can be efficient but building transformative power is integral pose the danger of cooption and may be to all advocacy strategies. Table 5 less effective in building transformative provides an example of how to make power as they tend to operate within movement strengthening an integral existing power structures. On the other part of all advocacy work. hand, outsider strategies can alienate targets and exclude you from future
45 SECTION 4
Planning your advocacy your Planning Table 5: Insider and outsider strategies and building transformative power
Influencing advocacy targets Possible activities (see Section 4.6) Examples: building transformative power through movement strengthening
Insider Research and evidence to inform policy making · Collaborative research projects Working directly with policymakers and · Undertaking research projects · Sharing research findings and policy analysis, institutions ‘inside’ official policy making tools and learnings · Providing technical and advisory support spaces. This may include making yourself · Participatory approaches to research which useful to the advocacy target by showing · Piloting new approaches prioritise methods to enable women in local you can help them to achieve their own · Direct influencing of parliamentarians communities to lead and shape research objectives and working with them to and/or policy spaces agendas find solutions. · Face to face formal and informal meetings · Facilitate access for others to meetings · Briefings or letters with Power holders · Attending events · Share any information resulting from your influencing efforts · Inputting into existing consultation processes · Convene joint reflection and planning spaces · Taking part in official processes and forums · Ensure you remain accountable and connected Presenting research, evidence or referring to · to grassroots women’s rights organisations international commitments or progress reports and networks
Outsider Public actions & education · Organise joint activism / collective actions Working outside the system to create (on and off-line) · Campaign materials with key messages political pressure using evidence, external · Make space for others on the platform · Marches, events and community forums opportunities, public mobilisation and media · Share tools and training materials · Public actions such as petitions & pledges attention to get an issue on the agenda. · Ensure public campaigns and actions are led · Publicly releasing research reports and by women in the community (including young recommendations women and those most affected by the issue) · Media engagement (including press releases, · Support connections between women’s media appearances, social media & digital movements and other social movements campaigning) · Using creativity as a means to attract attention · Tools and training to support community and in innovative ways. workplace activism
You can read more about defining your strategic approach inSection 5 of the Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit.
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Here are some examples of strategies that IWDA and Womankind Worldwide STEP 2: partners have used: Defining your outcomes
9 Research and evidence such as 9 Gaining media coverage to create collaborating to produce CEDAW interest among the public such as Strategies (Activities) shadow reports, research examining an exhibition of the outfits worn by public perceptions of women in survivors at the time of their rape leadership in Timor-Leste, Solomon which sparked wide coverage on Islands and Cambodia, and feminist rape culture in general, and on victim- participatory action research focused blaming in particular, on many Outcomes on the impact of Uganda’s land rush Ethiopian media outlets. on women’s rights. 9 Movement strengthening such as 9 Direct influencing of parliamentarians providing opportunities for connection such as a mentoring program for among women activists in safe spaces female parliamentarians in Myanmar (such as grassroots women’s forums) Objectives and Timor-Leste or attempts to make and support for appropriate women’s rights a high-profile issue information and communications during elections through the technology (ICT) to facilitate network development of a women’s election and alliance building. strategy by the women’s movement in Zimbabwe. 9 Public activism with our partners such as the WAVE Our Voice campaign which, during the 16 days of activism, called for violence against women to be recognised as a barrier to women’s leadership across five countries in Asia and the Pacific.
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Planning your advocacy your Planning Exercise 4.4.3 supports you to think 4.4.4 Defining your strategy for your about the strategic outcomes you are movement strengthening objective working towards. If you have decided to have a movement 9 A strategy is what you are going to do Exercise 4.4.3 will assist with strengthening objective, you will need to to achieve your desired outcome - and identifying possible outcomes define your outcomes and strategy for how you will get your targets to make you want to achieve, and the this objective in a different way to the the change. It will involve a number of strategies you will use. process outlined in Section 4.4.3. different activities (such as holding a public meeting or producing a briefing) In defining your objective, you will need that together create the change. to have developed a clear and specific 9 An outcome is a change that will description of the movement and who contribute towards achieving your it includes. If you are not part of the objective – a stepping stone. You will movement, then you will have meaningfully need to work out what change you consulted with the movement and will have want to see or what action you want taken their lead on what they would like to your target to take. Some achieve. If you are part of the movement, organisations call these intermediary then you will have already worked objectives – people use language in collectively to develop your objective and different ways - what matters is that processes for joint action and reflection. you, as an organisation, are clear in what you mean. It is important to ensure transparency in decision making and to agree how 9 Looking at strategies and outcomes you will negotiate and navigate any together makes sense. There is no differences of opinion that may arise in point in thinking of a good outcome if relation to resourcing, different views on you can’t achieve it, nor of developing feminist strategy and perceived misuse a feasible strategy if success won’t of power between different generations contribute towards achieving your of women. Womankind Worldwide’s objective. In Exercise 4.4.3 you will report, Stronger Together provides useful find some examples of strategies examples of lessons learned in relation and outcomes. to movement strengthening across three country contexts.6
6 Womankind Worldwide (2019), Stronger Together: The power of feminist programmes to strengthen women’s movements in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, available at: https://www.womankind.org.uk/docs/default-source/resources/reports/stronger_together_ movements_learning_paper_march_2019.pdf
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In developing your strategy, it will also be useful to consider: Strategies to strengthen movements · The ongoing needs of the movement; and Womankind Worldwide’s seven movement strengthening pillars · The phase of movement building you are currently in. See Womankind Worldwide, Theory of Change: inputs for movement building, available at: https://www.womankind.org.uk/docs/default-source/default- document-//library/womankind-theory-of-change.pdf Womankind Worldwide suggests seven movement strengthening pillars relevant 1. Women activists are supported and encouraged to understand the political to all women’s rights movements (see importance of self-care and well being. Box 2) while Figure 7 will help in identifying 2. Opportunities are provided to movement actors to connect with each other different stages of movement building. in safe spaces. There are also some specific resources 3. Appropriate communications and ICT support is provided to facilitate network to support you to develop your movement and alliance building and action. strengthening strategy. 4. Key actors in the women’s movement are mapped and issues of Exercise 4.4.4 suggests how to intersectionality are raised, understood and addressed. identify your desired outcomes 5. Feminist documentation and research form the core of umbrella initiatives and strategies for a movement to bring women rights organisations together. strengthening objective. 6. Women’s movement actors are given the opportunity to connect to wider platforms for movement building and learning. 7. Support is given to the women’s movement to access, and input into sustainable and progressive funding and financing models.
49 SECTION 4
Figure 7: Key steps in movement building7
Planning your advocacy your Planning Planning for movement 1. Perception 9A. Visibility / 9B. Absorbing strengthening of injustice backlash gains Womankind Worldwide (2019), Stronger Together: The power of feminist programmes to strengthen women’s movements in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, available at: https://www.womankind.org.uk/ 2. Inspired, 9C. determined Expanding docs/default-source/resources/ leadership 8. Action/s participtation / reports/stronger_together_ for change base movements_learning_paper_ march_2019.pdf Srilatha Batliwala, Movements & 3. Creating Why They Matter, Presentation, space to IWDA WAVE workshop 2019. gather & discuss 9D. Analysing JASS We Rise toolkit contains 7. Identifying the situation in-depth learning about movement action priorities & strategies strengthening and numerous tools to support the phases of movement 4. Framing building. a preliminary change agenda AWID, Changing Their World: 10A. Concepts and Practices of Women’s Refining / advancing the Movements, available at: https:// political www.awid.org/sites/default/files/ 6. agenda atoms/files/changing_their_ Awareness 10B. raising / Designing new world_2ed_full_eng.pdf mobilising & 5. Build an strategies organising others initial change around the agenda agenda
7 Srilatha Batliwala, Movements & Why They Matter, Presentation, IWDA WAVE workshop 2019.
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Planning 4.5 Risk identification and mitigation
As discussed in Section 1.2, women’s Transformative power check rights advocacy can bring specific risks depending on the issue, the context 9 Are there specific risks for people 9 As you plan your activities in and your existing workload. with multiple and intersecting Section 4.6, make sure you include identities? any risk mitigating actions and the At each step of the toolkit, there have resources and staff time that will been prompts to assist you with thinking 9 Do you need to allocate time and be needed to support these. about potential risks and mitigation resources to navigate internal strategies. Before you move onto Section power dynamics with your allies 4.6 and plan your activities it is a good to mitigate risks of relationship idea to revisit risks you have identified breakdown? and to agree if you can, and if so how to, mitigate them.
Exercise 4.5.1 can assist with Resources to assess and mitigate risks thinking about potential risks to Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) and identifying mitigation actions. You should consider risks to your See also Womankind Worldwide the security and protection of WHRDs, organisation but also to staff Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit, well-being and self-care and how to and the people you work with. p.64-65. document and monitor women’s rights violations: https://www.awid. AWID and the Women Human Rights org/resources/list-materials-and- Defenders International Coalition resources-women-human-rights- have produced a mapping and defenders assessment of types of resources and strategies available to respond to XYZ is a space for practical tools to urgent situations of violence against navigate digital security and privacy WHRDs: https://www.awid.org/ from a gender perspective: https:// publications/urgent-responses- xyz.informationactivism.org/en/ women-human-rights-defenders-risk JASS has developed tools to support List of Materials and Resources for collective protection and safety: Women Human Rights Defenders https://werise-toolkit.org/en/cycles- is a compilation of resources and movement-building/shaking-up#key_ manuals dealing with issues such as idea_06
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4.6 Choosing your advocacy activities
Planning your advocacy your Planning This section focusses on choosing It is important to prioritise activities Transformative activities to support your strategic and check whether they are realistic power check approaches developed in Section 4.4. and achievable. Consider: 9 Have you included activities that 9 Do you have the necessary resources Now you have identified your priority build transformative power? Are for a particular activity? strategies and outcomes, the next step is your methods in line with your to plan the activities which will help you 9 Do you have the capacity? Are the values? timeframes achievable or do you have achieve your outcomes. Don’t choose an 9 Table 6 includes examples of multiple activities taking place at the activity just because you have always different activities and resources same time? done it, make sure that it is a strategic which may support you to develop way of achieving your desired outcome. 9 Who will take the lead? Is this your activities. Section 6 of the Also check that your activities meet your leadership shared and does it reflect Womankind Worldwide Women’s longer term ambitions of building the intersectional nature of the Rights Advocacy Toolkit also transformative power. For example, think discrimination women face? provides ideas on how to carry out about who you ally with and therefore Identifying who is responsible is really different activities. However, whose power you are building. important for ensuring an activity remember you know your context happens. best and know what activities are Table 6 gives some examples of the types 9 Are you considering risks and the likely to work for you. of activities you might want to engage in, mitigating actions that might be with some resources explaining them necessary? further.
Exercise 4.6 will help you plan your activities, identify the resources you need and any risks to consider, and prioritise.
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Table 6: Types of activities and further explanations
Type of Activity Examples Links and Resources
Research · Participatory policy and evidence IWDA Feminist Research Framework: https://iwda.org.au/assets/files/ analysis FeministResearchFramework_online_minustemplates-1.pdf · Joint research publications and APWLD, p.90: http://apwld.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017- participatory tool development. BOOM-RIW-FPAR-Regional-Report.pdf. · Undertaking research projects using an FPAR approach. The CARE International Advocacy Handbook, Tool 8, page 30: https:// www.care-international.org/files/files/Care%20International%20 · Partnering with research institutions. Advocacy%20Handbook.pdf · Providing technical and advisory support to power holders. Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit p.87-90. · Presenting at conferences and opening space for women’s voices in these forums. · Piloting new approaches and sharing learning.
Direct influencing of · Face to face formal Writing a policy brief: http://www.fao.org/3/i2195e/i2195e03.pdf parliamentarians / duty & informal meetings. Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit p.90-98. bearers · Sharing information with allies and the wider movement. Bretton Woods Project, Gender-Just Macroeconomics: Engaging the · Briefings or letters. IMF and World Bank: https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/10/Gender-Just-Macroeconomics-final-1.pdf · Attending events & opening space for under-represented women to attend. IWRAW, Overview of how NGOs and women’s rights organisations can · Inclusive input into existing consultation use or engage with CEDAW, available at: https://cedaw.iwraw-ap.org/ processes. for-ngos/ · Attending regional and international Women’s Major Group, Engaging with the Voluntary National Review policy forums as a delegation which Process: A Guide for Members of the Women’s Major Group, available includes under-represented women. at: http://www.womenmajorgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ IWHC_WMG_Guide_M3_Spreads_Preview.pdf
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Planning your advocacy your Planning Type of Activity Examples Links and Resources
Activism (including · Campaign materials with key messages. JASS, Ways to do out-reach and mobilisation, available at: https:// campaigning and · Community-led marches, events and justassociates.org/sites/justassociates.org/files/20chap14_outreach_ public outreach) community forums. mobilization.pdf · Public actions such as petitions Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit p.98-111. & pledges. International Centre on Nonviolent Conflict,198 Methods of Nonviolent · Media engagement (including social Action, available at: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/198-methods- media & digital campaigning). of-nonviolent-action/ · Tools and training to support community and workplace activism. MobLab Campaign Accelerator training and resources: https:// mobilisationlab.org/training-coaching/campaign-accelerator-training/ · Convening spaces (such as women’s resources/ forums) to connect with constituencies. · Fostering connections across JASS, Media messaging: https://justassociates.org/sites/ movements by sharing knowledge and justassociates.org/files/19chap13_media.pdf tools and opening space. · Collective care and reflection debriefings. · Engagement with creative industries.
Identifying, assessing After you have planned your and mitigating risk activities, take some time to consider what MEL processes Æ What additional risks might you you will put in place to monitor be imposing on women by virtue and evaluate the impact of your of reaching a broader audience advocacy work. See section through digital campaigning? 5.1 (Step 2) and Exercise 5.2.1 Æ If you are planning a campaign for ideas. stunt, consider if this will undermine your credibility with power holders, and whether the risk is worth it.
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Planning 4.7 Developing core messages
This section focusses on developing The advocacy values you articulated in your core advocacy message and Section 2.2 may also be a useful Core message example: tailoring this message for different reference point as you develop your core audiences. message and think about how you will Sexual violence against women communicate with different audiences. and children in households and Communicating your ideas effectively International women’s rights agreements communities is a significant is essential for advocacy. A campaign (see Section 4.2) can also provide useful problem in Cambodia. Communities works best when you have key messages rights-based language to inform your and leaders must act to prevent you repeat over and over again. You may messaging. and respond to sexual violence, become bored of them, but your target but this requires resourcing! needs to hear it several time before it Exercise 4.7 is designed The Provincial Government has any impact. to help you to be able to present must increase the funding for your case in a few sentences that addressing gender-based Well-developed core messages are an you will repeat again and again. violence in the next budget. important way of ensuring that all your This will be your core message. different advocacy activities are directed towards your agreed objective. It is Once you have your core message, you therefore essential that your core can tailor and adapt this for different message accurately reflects what you audiences. The tone, length and style you are trying to achieve with your advocacy, use will depend on the audience, but the with your targets and strategy in mind. basic message should remain the same, Look back at Section 4.3 and the work as in Figure 8. you did to understand your targets and think about the message which will resonate.
Each message should include – what, when, why and how to act. It should capture people’s attention and persuade them of the argument.
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Planning your advocacy your Planning Figure 8: Tailoring your core message You might tailor the message in a particular way for individual targets when you know a specific framing is important. For example, if a politician is worried about re-election, you could frame your message by talking about the potential popularity they could win by acting! Or Messages you may know a certain policymaker will for individual Messages for understand more if you use a personal decision- the public story to get their attention. Most people makers act out of self-interest, you just need to think about what that interest is. In framing a message for decision makers, you could also anticipate counter- arguments and be ready to respond (see page 71 of the Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit). Core Messages for Policy asks Message the media It is a good idea to develop different framing of messages for audiences such as the media and the general public. You could think about developing a slogan. For this you need a message that’s emotive, eye-catching and that will inspire people to take action. Think about what each of these audiences might be interested in and focus on this.
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Just make sure your messages are all Communicating your messages saying the same thing (and supporting How can your campaign your long term aim) – just framed in messaging build on feminist Having agreed your core message different ways. Caution needs to be approaches including framing you will need to think about how to exercised in relation to taking an women as leaders and knowledge communicate it, and what channels instrumentalist approach to framing holders, trusting the ideas and you will use. The earlier work you did your advocacy (that is, using arguments expertise of women, and amplifying on understanding your targets will such as the instrumental benefits of women’s voices? have revealed who they listen to, investing in women and girls). You can UN Women’s Virtual Knowledge which may give you ideas. Combine read more about this at page 70-71 of Centre to End Violence against this with the existing knowledge and the Womankind Worldwide Women’s Women and Girls contains some contacts you have, such as in local Rights Advocacy Toolkit. useful guidance on do’s and don’ts: or national media. Think about using https://endvawnow.org/en/modules/ social media too (there are some useful If your advocacy objective includes view/3-campaigns.html resources highlighted in Section 4.6 proposing a specific policy or legal on activities). Make sure though that change to a decision maker, you will you focus on the communication need to develop a policy ask. This will channels that actually influence your have your core message at its heart targets – not the ones that appeal but will often be more technical than to you. messages for other audiences. A policy ask should be specific and time bound and should closely reflect your objectives. You may also need to develop a position paper or a policy brief to provide supporting evidence and information (see page 67 of the Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit). This can be particularly useful if you are working in alliances as it provides a point of reference for everyone to share.
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Planning your advocacy your Planning Communicating to build transformative power The JASS ICTs for Feminist The way you communicate in your advocacy (and in your broader communications) Movement Building Activist can be a powerful movement strengthening tool. JASS’ ICTs for Feminist Movement Toolkit aims to assist activists to Building Activist Toolkit suggests your communication for change should aim to: think through their communication strategies in a way that supports · Amplify women’s voices – making sure · Mobilise people to act through movement building (including a women can share their own stories in communication. practical guide to writing a their own voices. · Include a focus on internal communication strategy): https:// · Educate and shift public opinion by communications inside our justassociates.org/en/resources/ uncovering invisible and hidden power. organisations and movements. icts-feminist-movement-building- · Share women’s experiences to provide · Communicate for urgent action activist-toolkit evidence as to how a specific policy or when women human rights defenders Further guidance from JASS on action is affecting women and make face threats or risks to their safety. media advocacy can be found here: a case for change. https://justassociates.org/sites/ · Generate and communicate our own justassociates.org/files/19chap13_ knowledge as feminist activists – media.pdf educating others on issues and Common Cause is an approach analysis which is often ignored. which explores the power of using intrinsic values for communication in order to affect change: https:// valuesandframes.org/resources/ CCF_communications_toolkit.pdf APWLD have suggestions on using mobile phones to organise: http://apwld.org/wp-content/ uploads/2013/09/Mobilise- pamphlet-FINAL.pdf Gender Links also have media training tools: https://genderlinks. org.za/what-we-do/media/training/
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Transformative Identifying, assessing power check and mitigating risk
9 Do you have a plan for how you Æ Profiling a woman’s story can will communicate internally with place her at risk. Make sure you the many different individuals, have full and informed consent organisations and allies you are and consider using a pseudonym. working with? Æ Consider whether you may be 9 Can you use communication imposing additional risks on strategies to connect local women by virtue of reaching a struggles to global solidarity? broader audience through social 9 Are women’s experiences and or popular media? Make sure stories visible, presented you consult with women to assess respectfully, and are women telling any risks before launching public their own stories? actions. 9 Are communication skills shared Æ Once your work is in the media and is everyone equipped to use you will be open to public scrutiny. technology safely? Make sure you have all your facts and figures right, or you may risk losing your reputation in public. For MEL purposes, document your answers to the transformative power check questions above. How do you anticipate your advocacy communication will build transformative power?
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SECTION 5: Monitoring, evaluation and learning
This section is focussed on monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) during the planning, implementation and reflection phases of your women’s rights advocacy.
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This section of the toolkit is designed to help you think about MEL at each stage of the advocacy cycle.
5.1 MEL for advocacy planning 5.2 MEL for implementation 5.3 Understanding impact and learning Read this section before you begin These MEL tools are designed to your advocacy planning. support you to monitor and evaluate These MEL tools are to help you the implementation of your reflect on the impact of your These tools can be used at any advocacy activities. advocacy strategy and outcomes stage during the advocacy plannng and to learn for future advocacy process. planning.
In Figure 9, there are suggested MEL is everyone’s responsibility. Involve evaluative questions to focus your as many staff as possible in developing approach during each of these phases, the MEL approach for your advocacy but, in reality, your MEL will be inter- work, in collecting and analysing the related and each stage will impact the information, and in applying the learnings next in a continuous cycle. Due to the to your work. complexity of bringing about both formal and informal change, there are This section focusses challenges in attributing changes directly particularly on supporting to your advocacy work. This is particularly women’s rights organisations with the case for women’s rights advocacy MEL for advocacy. If you are a large focusing on long term structural change. international NGO with existing MEL It is important to adopt MEL approaches processes, the resources in this which measure the extent to which you section can support you to integrate contributed to or influenced a change. a women’s rights perspective into current MEL practices.
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Monitoring, evaluation and learning evaluation and Monitoring, There are many existing tools designed Box 3: MEL is different because women’s rights advocacy... to support the MEL of advocacy work. This section suggests some tools, but 9 Challenges hidden as well visible power and so changes are not always easy it is important that you use methods for to identify. your MEL which suit your organisation, 9 Challenges the balance of power which means that change will not be linear. resources and context. It is not the There may be backlash, but this could be because your advocacy quantity but the quality of the information is having an impact. which matters and finding tools which 9 Involves building transformative power and the recognition that short-term are simple and which staff feel confident wins may not be sustainable without structural change in the long term. to use is important. 9 Is frequently an iterative and complex process and therefore difficult to identify who is responsible for a change, particularly if working as part An effective way to create MEL processes of a network, alliance or coalition. for advocacy can be to build on your existing organisational processes, such 9 Recognises it is not always strategic or safe to take credit publicly for change as integrating reflection on key questions which has taken place. about your advocacy into a staff meeting 9 Is built on partnership which is about sharing rather than claiming credit. and documenting as part of your meeting 9 Recognises that methods are political and resists the pressure to use notes, or collecting information from methods simply because they are ‘attributable’ or high profile. coalition / alliance or network members 9 May require strategies to shift in response to opportunities, and therefore or policy makers on the reach and your MEL plan will need to be responsive to these changes. relevance of your advocacy activities when you next meet. 9 Recognises that achievements such as policy change may take a long time to become apparent and are difficult to ‘attribute’ to one organisation’s work, therefore it is important to be able to measure how your advocacy ‘contributed’ to change or reached outcomes identified in Section 4.4.
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Planning Figure 9: Key questions to guide the MEL process
Monitoring: What follow-up did you do? Learning: What did you learn? How did you record and share your story Did you identify the necessary time, of change? resources and skills? Is it safe to do so? Are there other voices you need to include? How will you plan differently next time?
Impact and Learning: What did you learn? Learning What does this learning mean for future Planning Monitoring and Evaluation: advocacy objectives, partnerships, and Will your planning help you to be effective risk management? advocates and build transformative power? Tools: 5.1.1 Key questions: Monitoring and Evaluation: Did your planning help everyone have a Has significant change occurred? If so, shared understanding of what information is how much did your activities contribute Implementation required to tell our story of change, when it to this change? will be collected and analysed, and by whom? Tools: 5.3.1, 5.3.2 and 5.3.3 Did you have a sound evidence-base to Key questions: inform your advocacy planning? How did your advocacy strategy contribute Did you include the voices and priorities of or hinder to positive changes to women’s diverse women? rights and gender equality? Did participants feel their contribution Did you challenge oppressive power and Learning: What did you learn? was valued? build transformative power through your Do you need to change or adapt your How comfortable were participants with the advocacy? If so, how? strategy as a result of an activity? strategies that were agreed? What opportunities did you utilise, and If so, how will you change your Was the planning process participatory what challenges did you face? How did you and inclusive? overcome or learn from them? advocacy plans and processes?
Monitoring and Evaluation: Key questions: Did you do what you said you were going Did you reach your advocacy targets? Did you experience backlash or negative changes? to do, and has that created changes along Was your advocacy messaging relevant and Did you work well with others? Are you building your path to your advocacy objectives? accessible to your advocacy targets? the strength of coalitions/alliances or social Tools: 5.2.1 and 5.2.2. movements? Did you achieve your expected outcomes from your activities? If not, why not?
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5.1 MEL for advocacy planning
Monitoring, evaluation and learning evaluation and Monitoring, This section will help you answer the During the advocacy planning phase, it The transformative power check question: Will our advocacy planning help is useful to think about MEL in two ways: questions in each section also provide a us to be effective advocates and build useful reference. You might find it useful transformative power? STEP 1 to discuss and document the answers to Monitoring, evaluating and learning these questions as you progress through There is a MEL icon at each stage from the planning process the planning process. of the planning cycle with key questions to support the To ensure your advocacy is both credible At the end of each planning step or at integration of MEL throughout and relevant, during planning you will the end of the planning cycle, reflect the planning process. also need to assess whether you have on what you have learnt as individuals, included the right people and voices. an organisation or as members of an alliance using the exercise below. Did Think about the information you will you have the necessary time, resources collect at each stage of the planning and skills to support evidence-based cycle to answer these questions: and inclusive advocacy? How might you plan differently next time? To what 1. Have you included diverse and extent was your planning a participatory marginalised voices in your context collaborative process which enabled power analysis and in setting your meaningful participation by women in aims and objectives? all their diversity of experience, ability 2. Have you included strategic partners and identity? for collective action in setting your aims, objectives, strategies and as Exercise 5.1.1 provides a useful allies? tool to assess whether your 3. Have you identified activities which planning process enabled build transformative power as well empowering participation. as targeting oppressive power? You could use this tool at the end 4. How have you contributed to of a planning workshop or at the movement strengthening? end of a planning process. 5. Do your core messages reflect diverse and marginalised voices?
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Planning
STEP 2 Putting in place processes to enable MEL of the implementation (5.2) and impact of your advocacy (5.3)
Before you can monitor and evaluate the impact of your advocacy work, you need to identify what progress will look like towards your outcomes. Using the exercises in Section 4, including the Activity Table Template (Exercise 4.6) and the Advocacy Planning Table, look back at your objectives, strategies and outcomes. Determine what change you can measure in pursuing your strategy to achieve your outcome, and how you will measure that change. Make sure everyone has a shared understanding of what information is required, when it will be collected and analysed, and by whom. This will support your MEL in the implementation phase.
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5.2 MEL for implementation
Monitoring, evaluation and learning evaluation and Monitoring, This section will help you answer the You can also keep a log or journal which Exercise 5.2.2 is an after action question: Have you done what you said records information about activities. reflection to help you understand you would do, and has that created This could include observations, quotes, the changes which resulted from changes along the path to your advocacy reflections, feedback and quantitative your action, and to create learning objectives? information such as event attendance for your advocacy plans and or material dissemination. processes. This stage involves both monitoring action against your planned activities Next, it is important to assess what and evaluating what change has changes resulted from your action. These occurred from each activity that will help may include coalition building; shaping you reach your advocacy objectives. the policy agenda; influencing policy makers and duty bearers; increasing It is often helpful to think about your media coverage; increasing access to advocacy activity in terms of reach and information; challenging or changing relevance. For example, did you reach attitudes and behaviours; or contributing your advocacy targets and was the to a stronger social movement. Were information found to be relevant and these changes consistent with your accessible? You may collect and analyse intended outcomes or were they information such as: How many targets unintended or even negative? did you reach with your advocacy activity and who did you reach; are they power Also explore process learning, such as holders or influencers? Was the right how well did you work with others? Do information included and was it found to you need to make any changes to future be credible? Was it communicated using activities as a result of your learning? the most effective method, and was the Self-care should also form part of any timing strategic? Did the core messaging reflection on your advocacy work. To what resonate with your intended audience? extent has your advocacy work (resource pressures, time requirements and any Exercise 5.2.1 is an example risks) impacted on staff’s well-being and of an activity log to assist with what collective care strategies can be monitoring your advocacy implemented to support staff. activities.
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Planning 5.3 Understanding impact and learning
This section will help you answer the Exercise 5.3.1 encourages question: Has significant change outcome harvesting to reflect on occurred? If so, how much did our what change has occurred and activities contribute to this change? your contribution to this change.
5.3.1 Impact
Evaluation of advocacy impact is difficult, The Gender at Work Framework can and it is very challenging to prove that a be a useful tool to think about the MEL significant change occurred as a result tools which may be most useful to of a particular action or organisation. For evaluate change, depending on the type example, decision makers may not want of outcome you are working towards to admit what really influenced them for (see Section 2.3, Box 1). Table 7 provides political reasons or you may not want to example of MEL tools, mapped against reveal the role you played in changing example advocacy strategies, for the four their minds, either for strategic reasons quadrants - individual’s consciousness; or to protect your safety. Moreover, the access to resources and opportunities; more your advocacy challenges power, formal laws and policies; and informal the longer it may take to show significant cultural norms and exclusionary practices. positive change. Backlash or holding For example, if you are working to change ground can be a sign of success or a formal laws and policies by persuading small success could actually result from a parliamentary committee to hold an a power holder making a concession to enquiry into a government department, prevent you from achieving your long- political will tools (such as the bellwether term objective. It is important to track method or the policymakers rating (see reversals, holding ground and Table 7) can be useful to measure changes unexpected outcomes and think about in policy maker attitudes as a result of how these fit within the long-term your advocacy. structural change you hope to contribute. You will also need to think honestly about what other factors or actors contributed to the observed change, and whether your actions really made the difference.
67 SECTION 5
Monitoring, evaluation and learning evaluation and Monitoring, Table 7: Tools for evaluating change in the four Gender at Work Quadrants
Gender At Example Advocacy Strategy Example MEL Tool Work Quadrant
Women and men’s Persuade village council members to Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Surveys (KAP) are used to consciousness support the introduction of a quota for better understand how a group of people might see or women’s representation in the council. experience an issue. Step by step guidance to the design of a KAP survey: http:// www.stoptb.org/assets/documents/resources/publications/ acsm/ACSM_KAP%20GUIDE.pdf
Women’s access Influence the community development Budget monitoring analyses the implications of public to resources and budget to include allocated funding for spending and revenue-raising for women relative to men. opportunities a VAW safe-house. See Handbook for Analysing Pubic Budgets in Sexual and Reproductive Health: https://www.ippfwhr.org/wp-content/ uploads/2018/08/Budget_Analysis_Guide_English_FINAL_ WEB_0.pdf and http://oneworldaction.org.uk/JustBudgetsTool. pdf
Increase the engagement of young women Ladder of Participation is a tool which can be used to monitor in the development of the next community how effectively women, men or groups report they are development plan. participating in decision making: See tool in Working effectively with women and men in water, sanitation and hygiene programs Resource Guide (p.23)
68 PART 1 PART
Planning
Gender At Example Advocacy Strategy Example MEL Tool Work Quadrant
Formal laws Persuade the Provincial Governors in Tools to measure political will: and policies three provinces to support the introduction (a) Bellwether Method is a tool to understand what policy of reserved seats for women at the makers think about your key issues and to track change provincial government level. in support over time. (b) Policymakers Rating assesses political will among a defined group of policy makers. See guidance in CARE International, Monitoring and Evaluation for Advocacy and Influencing: Guidance Document p.14-16, https://www.carenederland.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ MEL-for-Advocacy-Guidance-2018.pdf ROMA, A Guide to Policy Engagement and Policy Influence, ODI, p.53, available at: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/ odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9011.pdf.
Informal cultural Persuade male business leaders to Most significant change involves generating and analysing norms and champion the importance of women’s personal accounts of change and deciding which of these exclusionary leadership during the next village accounts is the most significant – and why. practices council elections. See MSC User Guide: https://www.clearhorizon.com.au/all- blog-posts/msc-user-guide.aspx
69 SECTION 5
Monitoring, evaluation and learning evaluation and Monitoring, 5.3.2 Learning
It is vital that you use the learning at each Tools such as after-action reflection Exercise 5.3.2 encourages you to stage of the advocacy cycle to change (see Exercise 5.2.2) encourage learning select one specific learning from and adapt your plans. Continual learning and reflection after each advocacy your advocacy work and to is a crucial part of the MEL process and action, however, it is also useful to plan consider it more deeply. flexibility and adaptability are important. for specific spaces to explore your You may need to change activities as a broader advocacy strategy and approach Exercise 5.3.3 relates to a result of a change in circumstances, both (including how your advocacy is reflection workshop. opportunities and threats, or your own continuing to contribute to the goals learning. of the movement), such as reflection workshops. These can be helpful at ‘Most significant learning’ (Exercise specific points in the advocacy cycle, 5.3.2) is a useful tool which supports such as after a major advocacy event, reflection on situations where a prior or you may want to schedule these at assumption about something turned regular intervals where you can adapt out not to be true. When reflecting on your plans according to your findings. the impact you have achieved and the effectiveness of your advocacy approach, it is also important to consider how your assumptions were tested and any setbacks along the way.
70 PART 1 PART
Planning
Additional resources to support MEL from a women’s rights perspective
See page 80-81 of the Womankind Worldwide Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit. Oxfam (2018), The Oxfam Guide to Feminist Influencing https://www.oxfam.org/ en/research/oxfams-guide-feminist-influencing contains a section around developing a feminist MEAL. Batliwala, S. and Pittman, A. (2010), Capturing Change in Women’s Realities: A Critical Overview of Current Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks and Approaches, AWID: https://www.awid.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ capturing_change_in_womens_realities.pdf AWID (2011), Strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation for Women’s Rights: Thirteen Insights from Women’s Organisations: http://www.forum.awid.org/ forum12/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/MnE_ThirteenInsights_womens-org_ ENG.pdf Wakefield, S. & Koerppen D.Applying Feminist Principles to Program Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning, Oxfam Discussion Paper.
71 SECTION 5
Glossary
Monitoring, evaluation and learning evaluation and Monitoring, Advocacy is a set of organised activities Activities are what you, your organisation Power holders are those who have designed to influence the policies and and your movement will do yourselves the power to make the change needed actions of others to achieve change. in order to achieve your outcomes (and to achieve your objective. hence, your objectives and aim). Aim is the long term change you are Influencersare those who are able seeking to achieve, possibly over a Core messages are a short summary of to persuade the power holders to take ten-year period and ideally involving a who you want to do what, by when, and the actions you want them to take. shift in power creating a positive change why. They provide a reference point for in the lives of a group of people. Some your advocacy work from which slogans Targets includes both the power holders organisations call these ‘goals.’ and other messages can be developed, and influencers. to ensure that all your communications Objective is the medium term (3-5 year) messaging is consistent. Allies are individuals, organisations, change that needs to happen in order to institutions or networks, alliances and achieve your aim. This usually specifies Pegs are opportunities to get your coalitions who can help you to achieve who will make a change, what they will do, message across to your target audience change. how they will do this, and by when. – such as an international women’s day celebration – they are not events that you Opponents are those who will try to Outcomes are the changes that will need to influence in themselves. prevent the change you want to see contribute towards achieving your from happening. objective. They describe the smaller Risk assessment and mitigation is a actions that need to take place by others process to identify the risks (to Transformative power is the power that so that your objectives can be achieved yourselves, your organisation or your – often groups of – people build to bring – like stepping stones. Some allies) that could occur as part of your about lasting positive change. It is the organisations call these intermediary advocacy work, and ways that you will power of enabling and working in objectives. avoid them or reduce their impact. solidarity with others to challenge injustice. Strategy is what you are going to do to Monitoring, evaluation and learning achieve your desired outcome - and how (MEL) are processes where you keep Oppressive power is the power that is you will get your targets to make the track of what you are doing, assess your used negatively over others. It is about change. It will involve a number of impact, and then reflect on any changes domination and control – directly or different activities that together create you should make. indirectly controlling the actions and the change. choices of others.
72 PART 1 PART
Planning
Visible power is the formal rules, Terminology institutions, and procedures of decision- making and law enforcement. There are many different terms used to describe advocacy and this will depend on your context. In some contexts, the word advocacy may have negative Hidden power is when powerful people connotations and words such as ‘influencing’ may be more useful. and institutions exercise their influence by controlling who gets to participate in You may also hear terms to describe advocacy approaches such as: decision making and what priorities Æ Social Justice advocacy – advocacy which is informed by experiences inform the agenda. of poverty and exclusion. Invisible power describes the web of Æ Participatory advocacy – advocacy which is led by marginalised people values, beliefs, attitudes and social to influence decisions that affect their lives. norms that entrench and legitimise Æ Public interest advocacy – advocacy which is focussed on achieving discrimination (for example, violence) a common good or goal in the interest of the public. and inequality. Æ Policy advocacy – advocacy which is focussed on influencing a principle or action adopted or proposed by a government, political actors, or business. Æ Budget advocacy – advocacy which is focussed on influencing budgeting and resourcing decisions. Women’s rights advocacy can include all of these advocacy approaches. What matters for women’s rights advocacy is how you plan and implement your advocacy.
73 SECTION 5
PART 2: Monitoring, evaluation and learning evaluation and Monitoring, Exercises
74 PART 2 PART
Exercises 16 Part 2: Exercises 4.3 Power mapping power holders, influencers 1: Getting started 3 and allies...... 1.1 Understanding the toolkit...... 21 1. Getting started 76 3 Exercise 4.3.1 - Identify where power lies...... 2: Why women’s rights advocacy is different 21 1.1 Understanding the exercises 77 5 Exercise 4.3.2 - Understanding what 2.1 Why do women’s rights advocacy?...... influences your target...... 2. Why women’s rights advocacy is different 80 5 25 Facilitator checklist 2.1...... Exercise 4.3.3 - Deepening your knowledge of 2.1 Why do women’s rights advocacy? 81 5 your target [optional]...... 2.2 Before you begin: resources, risks and living your values 82 2.2 Before you begin: resources, risks and 27 living your values...... 4.4 Strategic approach...... 2.3 Understanding and using power 84 6 29 Exercise 2.2.1 – Assessing resources 6 Exercise 4.4.1 - Timeline...... 3. Aim 86 Exercise 2.2.2 - Reflecting women rights 29 values...... Exercise 4.4.2 - Your advocacy context...... 4. Planning your advocacy campaign 90 7 29 2.3 Understanding and using power...... Exercise 4.4.3 – Defining the strategy...... 4.1 Power analysis and context 91 9 31 4.2 Objectives 94 Exercise 2.3 – Reflecting on power...... Exercise 4.4.4 – Strategy for movement 9 strengthening...... 4.3 Power mapping power holders, influencers and allies 101 3: Aim 10 36 4.4 Strategic approach 108 Exercise 3.1 – From problem to solution ...... 4.5 Risk mitigation...... 10 42 4.5 Risk mitigation 121 Exercise 3.2 – Prioritisation and sense Exercise 4.5 - Identifying and mitigating risk...... 4.6 Methods and activities 123 checking your aim...... 42 11 4.6 Methods and activities...... 4.7 Core messages 125 4: Planning your advocacy campaign 13 44 4.1 Power analysis and context...... Exercise 4.6 - Activity Table...... 5. Monitoring Evaluation and Learning 128 13 44 Exercise 4.1 - Force field power context...... 4.7 Core messages...... 5.1 Planning 129 13 46 5.2 Implementation 130 4.2 Objectives...... Exercise 4.7 - Core message development...... 15 46 5.3 Understanding impact and learning 132 Exercise 4.2.1 - Identify the things that need to Section 5: Monitoring Evaluation and be achieved in order to reach your aim ...... Learning 48 15 5.1 Planning...... Exercise 4.2.2 - Defining your objectives...... 48
75 1: Getting started
76 PART 2 PART
Exercises 1.1 Understanding the exercises
How to use the exercises
The exercises in Part 2 of the toolkit are You will collect lots of information and ideas designed to form a complete planning on flip charts throughout the exercises. process (for example, as part of a planning Number and label the flip charts carefully workshop) when used in conjunction with so that they can be written up later to inform Part 1, with some optional exercises if your written strategy and plans. Agree at you have time. the start of the process how the outcome of your planning session will be written up However, the exercises can also work as and finalised – think about who should be standalone exercises and you can pick and included in the final decisions and how you choose what works for you. This should be will ensure accessibility and inclusivity a useful way of ensuring that your existing throughout the planning process. planning process uses a more feminist approach to understanding power. In Part 3 of this toolkit, you will find templates which can be printed or copied. These At the start of each exercise, you will find support particular exercises. information on the estimated time the exercise will take. If you are planning a Before you begin the planning process, workshop this will assist with planning you should also have considered how your sessions and prioritising the exercises you will include the right people and voices you have time to include. There is also in your planning. This should include information for each exercise in relation to meaningful consultation with the women materials which will be useful. This is just an and communities that the planned advocacy example of materials you may wish to use intends to impact – to ensure women’s and can be replaced with similar materials knowledge, needs and interests are at you have available. Cross-references are the core of your advocacy planning (see also provided to the relevant section in Section 2.1). Part 1 which will provide more background. All numbered references to Sections are for Part 1, Exercises are in Part 2. The numbering in Part 2 corresponds to Part 1 so that it is clear which exercises relate to each section in Part 1.
77 1
Advocacy Planning Table
Getting started Getting You will find an Advocacy Planning Table in Completing this table as you go will Part 3 (Template 1).1 This is designed to be enable you to reflect on decisions made completed as you work your way through the at each step of the process and also planning process. Before you commence means when you reach the end of the your planning, print copies of the Advocacy planning process, you will have a record Planning Table for each participant. You will of your Advocacy Plan. need one table for each advocacy objective. If you are facilitating a workshop, you may If you are just selecting a few exercises also wish to create a large version of the from the toolkit – for example on setting planning table (such as by using 4 flip charts) objectives and identifying targets - you to put on the wall at the front of the room. can also adapt and use the Advocacy Planning Table. Throughout the exercises in Part 2 you will find this icon. This indicates If you decide on a movement strengthening when you should complete the next objective, the process will be slightly part of the Advocacy Planning Table. different. You can use Template 2 to plan Examples are also provided to assist for this objective. with filling in the table.
1 Credit: Oxfam (2018), The Oxfam Guide to Feminist Influencing, page 15, available at: https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/oxfams-guide-feminist-influencing adapted by Jessica Woodroffe.
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Exercises
79 2. Why women’s rights advocacy is different
80 PART 2 PART
Exercises 2.1 Why do women’s rights advocacy?
Facilitator Checklist 2.1
Part of living our women’s rights values when ; If possible, arrange chairs in a circle ; It is also crucial to respect and create working together is to create a space which is (this is a good way of creating a sense space for participants’ own contextual conducive to mutual learning, sharing and a of connection and shared space). understanding, knowledge and lived safe, respectful environment for participants. ; Think carefully about introductions. experiences. This is an important step and can create ; As a facilitator you should also reflect This checklist highlights some key aspects connections and feelings of safety among on the power you bring to the space. Be for you, as a facilitator, to think about in order participants at the outset. non-judgmental, reflect points back to to support inclusivity and accessibility: ; Discuss the agenda for the workshop with participants so that they know they are ; Ideally the workshop space should be participants to check that the agenda and being heard and work at using inclusive welcoming, comfortable, well-lit and desired outcomes reflect a shared language (and avoid using jargon). ventilated. Plan for childcare needs as well understanding. Allow time for participants as all disability-related needs including to add to or change the agenda and physical access, interpreters, signers and continue to create space for reflection on There are many tools which helpers (as needed to meet individual the workshop process and any changes support creating a safe support needs). needed throughout the day(s). workshop space including: ; Consider the safety of the venue and ; Early in the workshop, open discussion GAPS UK, Women for Women the surrounding area for participants. on what participants feel creates a safe International, Amnesty, Saferworld ; Introduce yourself, the organisation, the space – ask about principles and what & Womankind Worldwide, Beyond purpose of the discussion and the way would make them feel safe and Consultations: A tool for meaningfully it will be facilitated. comfortable. You may like to read the engaging with women in fragile and poem, Invitation to Brave Space. conflict-affected states - https://www. ; Participant consent forms, an external ; Schedule regular reflection, self-care beyondconsultations.org/images/ support list (with medical & psycho-social Beyond_Consultations_Tool.pdf support contacts) and a security checklist and energiser sessions throughout the for the venue should be prepared in workshop. You might like to appoint a Micky ScottBey Jones, An Invitation advance. couple of participants per day to lead to Brave Space. these sessions. ; If a translator, guide or interpreter will JASS, We Rise Toolkit, ‘Creating Safe be used, meet with them prior to the ; Ensure there are refreshments breaks so Spaces tool’- https://werise-toolkit.org/ workshop to discuss their role, how you that participants can relax and re-fuel. en/toolkit will work together and the importance ; Consider approaches that encourage the of confidentiality in the workshop space. integration of mind, heart and body which IWDA, Feminist Organisational A debrief at the start of each break may can help to stimulate creative thinking, Capacity Strengthening Modules also be useful. community and heart/head connections. (forthcoming).
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2.2 Before you begin: resources, risks and living your values 30min Why women’s rights advocacy is different is Why advocacy women’s rights Exercise 2.2.1 Assessing resources2
Purpose: To ensure that your planning is realistic, based on what Working together in a large group: resources and strengths you have and recognising any limitations · Taking each resource type in turn, consider the prompt questions such as budget. below and then fill in your flip charts – first, identifying any opportunities to improve your resources and then any risks Time: 30 mins and how to mitigate them. (When writing up the results of your exercise you could use the table below. A printable version of Preparation and material: One flip chart for each of your six types this table can be found in Part 3, Template 3). of resources (see table below) divided into two with the headings ‘Opportunities’ and ‘Risks.’
Assessing resources table (see Template 3)
Resource Opportunities – how could What risks do you face and you fill in any gaps? how will you mitigate them?
Money Is your budget realistic? Do you have sufficient funds?
People and skills Who will do the work? Do they have the right skills?
Information and knowledge Have you done the research needed?
Partners and relationships What existing partnerships do you have? Are you working well together?
Reputation and relationships What do target audiences think of you? Do you have good relationships with those with power?
Time Are there internal time constraints like funding deadlines?
2 Credit: Womankind Worldwide (2011), Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit, p.56.
82 PART 2 PART
Exercises 30–40min
Exercise 2.2.2 Reflecting women rights values3
Purpose: To remind participants of their shared women’s rights Suggested prompts for values: values and identify ones that may be particularly relevant to · In small groups, discuss the values. Why are these important? advocacy planning. How might you put these values into practice through advocacy? Are there any values you think are missing? Time: 30-45 mins. · Working together as a large group, share your reflections on Preparation: If your organisation already has agreed women’s putting these advocacy values in practice. Are there any new rights or feminist values or has signed on to a charter like the values discussed that you want to include? Are there any you African Feminist Charter or Charter of Feminist Principles for don’t think are as relevant or important? Pacific Feminists then write up to 10 ‘values’ on a flip chart at the · Following the group discussion, ensure the flip chart at the front front. Alternatively use the 10 ‘values’ we suggest below. of the room reflects the agreed advocacy values of the group. Leave these up on the wall as reminders throughout the Materials needed: Flip charts workshop.
Respect the Promote and Make power diversity of women’s Empower women Be transparent, strengthen women’s relations visible, experience and to advocate for open and rights and gender including reflecting listen to women and themselves accountable equality on personal power their organisations
Collaborate and Prioritise inclusive, Provide Engage in ongoing Acknowledge partner with women participatory opportunities to processes of self women’s and women’s rights methods to connect develop self and and collective contributions in organisations and knowledge with collective care reflection and act on achieving change networks action strategies learning
3 Credit: Developed by Sharon Smee.
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2.3 Understanding and using power Why women’s rights advocacy is different is Why advocacy women’s rights Exercise 2.3 Reflecting on power [optional - if you have time]
Purpose: To ensure that all participants Oppressive and transformative power Visible, hidden and invisible power have a similar understanding of power and how it operates before moving further in Basic exercise on what power is: Exercise on the three forms of power the planning process. (visible, hidden and invisible) as the basis JASS, “Defining Power and its Sources for using power analysis (a version of this Preparation: Facilitator needs to ascertain Activity”, We Rise Toolkit, Available at: https:// is used in Section 4): ahead of time the previous experience of werise-toolkit.org/en/system/tdf/pdf/tools/ the group with power analysis and therefore Defining-Power-and-its-Sources. JASS, “Understanding “Power Over”: An which, if any, exercises are needed and pdf?file=1&force= Introduction to Power Analysis Activity,” how much time to spend. We Rise Toolkit, available at: https://werise- Recognising power within and how toolkit.org/en/system/tdf/pdf/tools/ Materials: Once you have assessed the to use it: Understanding-Power-Over-an-Introduction- needs of the group, print the relevant to-Power-Analysis_0.pdf?file=1&force= exercise(s) at the links below. JASS, “Sources of transforming power Activity,” We Rise Toolkit, Available at: https:// Even if participants have a strong werise-toolkit.org/en/system/tdf/pdf/tools/ understanding of power analysis it may Sources-of-Transforming-Power. be useful to look at Section 2.3, Table 1 to pdf?file=1&force= remind participants of the different forms of power and its different locations.
If your organisation isn’t used to talking about power and gender, or you want to refresh and consolidate understanding, consider using one of the exercises designed by JASS. Links are provided below, and the exercises are also included in the Annexure. You can also find more background on power in the JASS We Rise Toolkit, pp.42-45: https://justassociates.org/ sites/justassociates.org/files/07chap3_ power_final.pdf
84 PART 2 PART
Exercises
85 3. Aim
86 PART 2 PART
Exercises 60min
Exercise 3.1 – From problem to solution4
Purpose: To identify what you are trying STEP ONE: STEP TWO:5 to achieve with your advocacy in the long term. Before you start, the group as a whole, In small groups (If you have more than one Working together in a large group: should have some idea of the issue that you issue that you are considering then each Æ If there was just one group working on are going to advocate on, the point of this group should work on just one of the issues): each issue, ask each group to present exercise is to refine and define it. Æ Agree the problem. You don’t need to think their aim statement and check that yet about the causes of the problem, just everyone agrees with it. Time: 1hr make sure that you are all agreed on what Æ If there was more than one group working is actually happening. Preparation: This exercise assumes that on the same issue (and taking one issue as an organisation or alliance you have Æ As an optional warm-up activity for the at a time if you have been working on already agreed what issue or issues you groups, you may like to take 15 minutes to more than one issue), ask each group to are considering doing advocacy on, based design a picture or word map that visually present their aim statement and check on your experience, research and current represents the problem. whether they are similar. If they aren’t, priorities. Try to get agreement on these Æ Then ask each other why the problem discuss and underline the best bits from before the day starts. If you can’t agree on exists - think about all the forms of power each statement and use these to develop only one issue, you can use this exercise that may be at work (refer to Section 2.3, a new aim statement for the issue which for a number of issues, and then use Table 1 for guidance on the forms of power) the whole group agrees with. Exercise 3.2 to help you prioritise. and note these on flip chart paper. You will use this later when deciding on your Materials: Flip charts and coloured pens. objectives in Exercise 4.2.1 and 4.2.2. Æ Looking at the causes of the problem that you have identified, write a ‘problem statement’ (see Section 3, Table 2 for examples). Æ Now you are going to flip the problem statement into a positive change. What would the heading be in a newspaper if you achieved the change you want to see? Write this on the flip chart and then develop it into an aim statement (see Section 3, Table 2 for examples).
4 Credit: Adapted from Womankind Worldwide (2011), Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit, p.34. 5 Credit: Adapted from Womankind Worldwide (2011), Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit, p.30. 87 3
45–60min Aim Exercise 3.2 – Prioritisation and sense checking your aim
Purpose: If you have more than one potential STEP ONE: STEP TWO: aim, this exercise will help you to prioritise. If Assessing and prioritising Refining your aim you have already identified an aim, you may Æ Write each of your aim statements up on Æ Once you have agreed on your aim, wish to use this exercise to sense check and flip charts. (If you already have an agreed reflect on the areas of concern that refine your aim. Otherwise skip this exercise. aim you can use this process to sense you have noted and refine your aim check and refine it - just skip c) below). statement if you need to. Time: 45-60 mins (assuming you are starting with just two aim statements). Æ Discuss each aim statement one by one. Æ By the end of the exercise you will have Looking at the first criteria in the table on one clearly written aim statement to take Preparation: This exercise assumes that you next page, consider the strengths of the forward into your planning phase. have one or more aim statements (developed aim and if there are any areas of concern. from the previous exercise). Then agree how strongly the aim meets this criteria – out of 5. Repeat for the Materials: For each aim, use two flip chart other five criteria (aiming to spend no papers stuck together, with the table below more than five minutes on each criteria). copied on to them (you can also print or copy Then repeat the whole process for the this table using Template 4). Pens. other aims. Æ Once you have completed the table Working together in a large group, progress for each separate aim, ask everyone to through steps one and two. take a moment to reflect on what has come out. Use the information you have gathered to agree which aim you will prioritise. Don’t total up the marks - each criteria won’t have equal weight for your organisation. For example, you may want to veto any option which is not important or transformative. Whereas you may want to rewrite an aim if it’s not achievable, but you think it has the potential to be the strongest one. Having an aim which is easy to communicate is probably least important at this stage.
88 PART 2 PART
Exercises
Aim prioritisation table (see Template 4)
Aim Statement
Criteria Explanation Strengths Areas of concern Marks out of 5
Important Would achieving this meet the practical and strategic needs and priorities of the women we work with?
Transformative Will there be a shift in power either by increasing transformative power or reducing power over (or both)
Achievable Is this feasible in the time frame? Do we have influence over the decision makers? Are there major opportunities or pegs coming up?
Easy to communicate Can we make our target audiences interested in this issue, do we have the evidence to back up our claims?
Added value Can our organisation or coalition offer something not already being done by others?
Organisational fit Does this aim fit with our vision, mission and values? Does it build on existing work?
Once you have your aim statement, write this aim into the first line of your Advocacy Planning Table on page 138.
89 4. Planning your advocacy campaign
90 PART 2 PART
Exercises 4.1 Power analysis and context 30min
Exercise 4.1 - Force field
Purpose: To understand the power context in which your advocacy will take place before choosing your objective, using the concepts of power in Section 2.3 (Formal, hidden and invisible power and oppressive and transformational power).
Time: 30 mins.
Preparation: This exercise assumes that you have a clearly written aim statement (recorded in your Advocacy Planning Table, if you are using this) developed from Exercise 3.1. You could also write up on a flip chart the definitions of visible, invisible and hidden power and of oppressive and transformative power (Section 2.3, Table 1).
Materials: Flip charts and black, green and red pens.
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Working together in a large group: Æ On a large sheet of paper draw a horizontal line with your aim statement written across it Æ Brainstorm the forces and factors that are stopping change and write these above the line in red pen. Put visible power on the left, hidden power in the middle and invisible power on the right. Make sure you look at government policy and practice, laws, social norms, and restrictions on women’s own power with and within. Æ Brainstorm the forces and factors that will support change and write these under the line in green pen. Make sure you think about transformative power such as collective power with others and women’s own power within. Æ Now put a ring round the strongest forces stopping progress and the strongest forces supporting progress. Put two rings if you think there are any of these that you could influence. Æ Put this flip chart up on the wall to refer back to later when setting your objectives in Exercise 4.2.1
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Exercises
Example of a force field power context exercise in relation to violence against women (VAW)
The justice The budget Services and support for VAW VAW is seen system is under- of the women’s The police force survivors are not as a ‘private’ not resourced and does ministry, with do not take this available in rural a public matter due not respond to responsibility for issue seriously. areas. to social norms. women’s needs. action on VAW, has been cut.
Women live free from violence and the fear of violence.
A Women’s rights A major newspaper Parliamentary organisations have NGOs have prioritised has published committee has enabled women to recognise this issue and have formed an article on the called for an the issue and organise a coalition. issue of violence expert hearing around it. against women. on this issue.
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4.2 Objectives 60min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Exercise 4.2.1 - Identify the things that need to be achieved in order to reach your aim
Purpose: To identify the objectives that Working together in a large group: you will try to achieve in order to achieve Æ For the trunk of your tree write your aim branches where you write how to achieve your aim, making sure that you look at all (you could add your problem statement what is written on the main branches. For forms of power. in brackets if it helps). one of the main branches think about how to build transformative power. For Time: 1hr Æ Then create the roots of the tree. These will be the things that are causing your another, think about how to reduce power over (creating political space or Preparation: The more time that you have problem to happen. Refer to the flip developing accountability may be an had ahead of this exercise to research your charts on the wall where you identified important component). issue, the better the result. If this is a new the causes of the problem and if you have topic you may need to draw on outside time, you can expand on these. The more Æ Now draw different coloured rings around support in the meeting. Have the flip charts important each cause is, the wider the those branches that you think are: root should be. Look at your force field from the Exercise 4.1 up on the wall where ‒ Most important to the women that you power context in Exercise 4.1 - at invisible people can see. Have the flip charts from work with. Exercise 3.1 which identify the causes of the and hidden power. For example, are there ‒ Transformative - reflecting a shift in problem you are trying to solve up on the social norms that are preventing women’s power. wall too. You will also have your agreed aim voices from being heard? For each of in your Advocacy Planning Table, if you are your initial roots dig deeper to ask ‘why?’ ‒ Most likely to change (perhaps using this. Before you begin the exercise, and ‘what causes that’? Then draw a because there are less vested discuss as a group how you will ensure you deeper root beneath it. Think about where interests in achieving it). include the voices of those most affected power lies to ensure that you have all the ‒ Easiest for you and your allies to in the process. causes. achieve (drawing on your Æ Now move on to your branches. Here you transformative power). identify how the barriers can be removed. Materials: Stick two flip chart papers Æ The branches with rings around them Use the main, thicker branches to write together and draw the outline of a large tree (particularly if they have more than one the most important ways to achieve your with a broad trunk, roots and branches in ring) are your potential objectives. pencil (see example overleaf). You also need aim (these could be either practical or different coloured marker pens. political). Then make other smaller Æ Keep your tree – you will use it again in later exercises.
94 PART 2 PART
Exercises Example of a completed aim and objectives tree
Women’s rights organisations advocate with community leaders Community leaders and the police to change attitudes Women are encouraged to speak out against VAW Government funding for take cases to court by their The media highlights the issue support services for VAW communities of VAW in the community survivors is increased Women human rights defender networks are formed in communities to support survivors and raise community awareness There is social Women act collectively Women feel pressure on able to take to condemn the perpetrators perpetrators of cases to court to stop Affordable legal advice violence and to is provided to survivors support survivors (building transformative power)
The police are held accountable The law has stronger for preventing and provision against VAW responding to VAW (challenging oppressive More perpetrators power) are convicted
A parliamentary body is Women can live established to scrutinise Police VAW cases response to VAW progress to court Police and judges view free of violence VAW as a crime and the fear of violence
Police and the judiciary do not view VAW as a crime
Survivors of Current law does not Survivors are blamed VAW don’t report recognise marital rape for the violence Intimate partner Laws are not the crime Long distance to courts Community leaders don’t sufficient and are violence is treated support women not enforced as a private matter
Mediation between the survivor Perpetrators believe they have impunity and perpetrator is encouraged Lack of funding for support services means The police are hostile to survivors by the community women don’t get the support they need to report
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15min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Exercise 4.2.2 - Defining your objectives
Purpose: To develop clear and useful STEP ONE: You may decide to have an objective which objectives describing what you will achieve Identifying objectives is specifically designed to strengthen the with your advocacy. advocacy capacity of your movement or Looking back at your tree from Exercise a movement you work with. It will be vital Time: Step one – 15 mins, Step two – 40 mins, 4.2.1, discuss the branches with rings that you define who is in the movement, Step three – 1hr, Step four – 1hr (optional). around them. See if you can agree on no and then take their lead on what they need more than five of these potential objectives when defining objectives. If you are part of Preparation: This exercise assumes that to take forward as part of your planning. the movement yourselves, then be clear on you have identified your potential objectives If you can’t narrow down your objectives what the consultation and negotiation (developed in Exercise 4.2.1). Write an at this stage, you can use Step 4 of this process is. We have not included a specific example objective on flip chart paper, exercise to prioritise. However, bear in mind exercise here on how to set your objectives labelling the different parts of the wording that the more objectives you have, the longer as it will need to be led by the processes, (see step one below). this exercise will take. policies and priorities of the movement itself, as explained in Section 4.2. For Materials: A4 cards, green and red stickers, movement strengthening objectives you flip chart, pens. can skip the next exercises and go straight to Exercise 4.4.4
96 PART 2 PART
Exercises 30–40min
STEP TWO: Drafting objectives Example objective:
Working together in a large group, Who What action is needed Where When facilitator to: Æ Talk through an example of how to word an objective (for example: Minister of Minister of Finance to increase the allocation in Parliament’s April budget Finance to increase the allocation in for prevention of and response to gender-based violence. Parliament’s April budget for prevention of and responses to gender-based violence.) Point out that the wording should include: what action is needed, Example movement strengthening objective: who will take the action, and when and where they will take it. Æ Explain the difference between an Who What action is needed objective (an action that you want a target to take) and an activity (something that you undertake to help achieve the Cambodia women’s organisations are adequately resourced to collectively objective) undertake a gender budget analysis after the release of Parliament’s April budget.
When
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60min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning In small groups (each taking one of the Working together in a large group: In small groups (each group taking a potential objectives): different objective than the one they Æ Hear back from each group on their draft focused on in step two): Æ First, draft the wording for your objective objective. Check whether the rest of the on a piece of A4 card. Each draft group have any comments on the broad Æ Decide whether the draft objective objective should include: substance of the objective (if suggestions meets each of the SMART criteria. If it Æ What action is needed? (If the action is focus around making it SMART-TR, pause is not sufficiently ‘specific’, ‘measurable’ taken, will it contribute towards achieving the discussion and move onto step three) etc, then edit the objective (in a the aim?) different colour pen). If there are lots of amendments, rewrite the objective Æ Who will take the action? (Make sure that STEP THREE: on a fresh piece of A4 card. the action is to be taken by someone Making SMART-TR6 other than yourselves. Actions you will Working together in a large group: take are activities not objectives and Working together in a large group: Æ Stick the annotated cards on the wall and will be discussed later in the process.) Æ Introduce the concept of ‘SMART’ (see discuss whether everyone is happy with Æ When and where will they take it? Section 4.2 (Step 3) and the diagram – the amended wording for each objective Æ Second, when you have drafted your The SMART-TR Approach - overleaf). Most or if they need more changes. Ask the objective, check back on the wording: advocates ensure that their objectives question: If we achieve this objective, will are SMART. Women’s rights advocates we really be closer to achieving our aim? ‒ If you are successful in achieving this go for SMART- TR (smarter) objectives Will this change be sustainable?’ objective, will it lead to a long term by also making sure they are (transformational) shift in power or Æ Now focus on ‘TR’ and, looking across the transformative. a transitory change that can be objectives, ask: ‘Will at least one of our reversed? objectives shift the balance of power rather than working within it? ‒ Have you identified an objective rather than an activity? Æ Amend the objectives if necessary. Æ Third, re-word your objective if necessary (keeping any activities for later).
6 Credit: Jessica Woodroffe.
98 PART 2 PART
Exercises The SMART-TR approach
Specific:a precise not · While your aim is general, your objective more narrowly defines what you S a general change want to see happen. · Don’t use jargon or words which could be misinterpreted.
· Your objective must be measurable either by quantitative or qualitative Measurable: so you know methods. if it’s been achieved M · See Section 5 for more information on monitoring & evaluating your advocacy work.
Achievable: realistic within · Think about breaking your journey towards your aim into closer stepping A the timeframe stones that are achieveable in the timeframe.
Relevant: will contribute · Your objective must be a stepping stone towards achieving your longer R to your aim term aim - not just something that gives you a ‘quick win.’
· Most advocacy planning identifies objectives that might be achieved Time bound: to happen within 3-5 years. by a particular date T · You may want to link your objective to a particular event such as a budgeting cycle or an election or to your planning cycle.
Transformative: aims to create · If achieved, will this objective create transformative change for women, TR more equitable realationships including the realisation of women’s rights? and structures · Will it build transformative power and therefore be sustainable?
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60min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning STEP FOUR: Working together in a large group: Write out your objective in Prioritising [optional – if you have more your Advocacy Planning Table Æ Then give each participant two green than three potential objectives] (Template 1). You’ll need a stickers and one red sticker. Ask them to different table for each objective. place the green stickers on the objectives Use this step if you have more than that they think best meet the criteria and three objectives. You may have decided that one the red sticker on what they feel is the of your objectives should involve weakest objective. Working together in a large group: movement strengthening. This will Æ Once everyone has ‘voted’ with their follow a different planning process – Æ Ask people to suggest some ‘decision stickers, step back and reflect on what see Exercise 4.4.4 (Template 2). making criteria’, which will help you has come out. Quickly rule out any prioritise between the objectives. These objectives that have little support, then could be the same ones that you used discuss and prioritise the final one to in choosing your aim (see Exercise 3.2): three objectives. ‒ Important in making a difference Æ If you are a relatively small organisation to the women with whom you work you may want to phase your objectives, ‒ Transformative in shifting power so you also need to work out which one to start with. (This will be the one you focus ‒ Achievable in the time frame you have on as you go through later stages of the ‒ Easy to communicate to your planning process.) Discuss whether there audiences is an opportunity in the near future which ‒ You can add value either alone or suggests that you should focus on a by joining a coalition or alliance particular objective first. Are any of your ‒ It fits with your organisational strategy objectives dependent on something else and workplan. happening – and does this suggest approaching them in a phased order? In pairs: Æ If you are a larger organisation with more Æ When you have agreed on the criteria, resources, then think if you have been ask people to spend a few minutes ambitious enough. Are you trying to shift reflecting on how well each objective power as well as work within existing meets the criteria. (If you have more time, power structures? you could go through each criteria, in turn, and discuss the extent to which each objective meets it).
100 PART 2 PART
Exercises 4.3 Power mapping power holders, influencers and allies
You might want to prioritise which of your objectives you work on here. Choose the main one, or the one that it is critical to work on now, and/or the one that would benefit from wider group input. It may be that you could work through the same process with your other objectives separately with a smaller group and bring back for peer review. If you have two objectives which are very closely related you might be able to take them both through this process in parallel.
Exercise 4.3.1 - Identify where power lies
Purpose: To identify which power holders and influencers are most important, what motivates them, and who are your allies. inflluencers Time: Step one – 30 min, Step two – 45 min.
Preparation: This exercise assumes that you have identified your objectives (and infllue ey nce recorded these in your Advocacy Planning k rs Table if you are using this). See also Section 4.3 for definitions of power holders, influencers and allies. Check you have your power tree diagram from Exercise 4.2.1 on the wall. holder Materials: Step one - flip chart paper with three concentric circles drawn on it (see example below), step two - flip chart paper with a power matrix drawn on it (see below) and different coloured post-it notes.
Having identified the change you want to see, we now need to look at who has the power to achieve your objectives, who stands in the way and who you could build relationships with to help you.
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30min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning STEP ONE: formal power holders. A key influencer relationships of influence, or even Identify the power holders7 may not just be a person - it may also draw lines between influencers be social norms or public opinion. and power holders. Working together in a large group: Æ Now brainstorm who your allies are. Some Æ Based on this discussion select about may share your values and long term Æ Discuss and agree who has the ultimate two-thirds of the most important targets goals, particularly around movement power to make the change you want in (power holders and influencers) and allies building and others may just share your order to achieve your objective. (Go back you have identified and consider them in immediate objectives. On a third colour to your ‘tree’ diagram from Exercise 4.2.1 the next exercise. By selecting only the of post it notes, write down each of these for ideas). This is your power holder(s). top two-thirds you don’t waste your time allies and place them in the relevant circle If it is an organisation or institution, then on the ‘outliers’. on the flip chart – are they key break this down into component parts influencers? Or even power holders? (e.g. bureaucrats and political decision Make a note of these on a flip chart to makers). Get a balance between come back to when you look at strategy targeting individuals and realising that in Exercise 4.4.3. they may move on. It can also be helpful to ask who is benefitting (such as Æ Finally, brainstorm who else influences financially or through increased status) the key influencers, write these on a from the current situation / system? Write fourth colour of post-it note and place who your power holder(s) is/are on a them in the third circle. post-it note(s) and place in the central Æ Spend some time reflecting on your circle of the flip chart. mapping. Move the post-it notes around Æ Then brainstorm all the key influencers to indicate: of the power holder – those who have ‒ Spheres of power – are there a cluster a direct impact on the thinking and of powerful interests that group decisions of your power holder. (Again, together? For example, a group of you may want to go back to your ‘tree’ politicians who work closely together diagram). Using a different colour of or a politician and a newspaper owner post-it notes to the power holder, list all who collaborate? Move these post-it of these key influencers down, each on notes closer together and draw a a separate post it note and place them circle round them all. on the second inner circle. Think about ‒ Channels of influence – who those that have transformative power influences who? Place post-it notes – like women’s movements – as well as near each other to indicate
7 Credit: Beverley Duckworth.
102 PART 2 PART
Exercises 45min
STEP TWO: Working together in a large group: Using the power matrix to assess Æ Now that you have identified those with ‒ Can you do anything to change the how supportive power holders power, it is useful to also undertake a minds of those in the top left-hand and influencers are and how much power mapping to assess who are your quadrant? If you think you can then power allies really have best allies and your most important consider adding them to the table targets. Preparation: Before starting either take ‒ Those placed towards the top of the a photo of the circles you have created in Æ Using the post-it notes that you created central vertical line are the influential, step one – or otherwise copy all the power from the previous exercise (or copies) neutral players who you could holders, influencers and targets onto new place each post-it on the power matrix prioritise getting on board, particularly post-its. Prepare a power matrix chart according to how influential and if you have any connections to them. (see below) supportive they are. ‒ Those in the bottom right hand Æ Once all the post-it notes are up, move quadrant may be your priority allies, Power matrix chart them around if necessary, according to particularly if you can help to increase their relative positions. Check that X really their transformative power, for is more supportive than Y. Are the NGOs example, by working in coalition or More influence really that influential? alliance or calling for more Æ Now draw a circle around those that you accountability and increasing their have connections with or are most likely participation in decision making. Allies/ to be able to influence. ‒ It’s not worth spending time on those Opponents actively /blockers Æ Then look at each quadrant and decide in the bottom left hand quadrant. supporting who you should focus your efforts on. Æ Based on this information, identify five Which targets (power holders, influencers) to seven priority targets (up to one or two and allies have you drawn circles around? power holders and three to five No influence Note that: influencers) and three allies. Think about ‒ In the top right-hand quadrant are the your level of resources and choose fewer people you most want to work with – targets if you have limited resources. so are most likely to be your targets Æ The table below provides some illustrative and allies. Your priority target might be examples of power holders, influencers the one nearest the top right-hand and allies. corner – but also think about which one you have most influence over.
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Examples of targets and allies
Priority Target: Secondary Target: Allies who shares your objectives Power holder who has the Influencers who influences the power holders power to achieve the objective
Visible/formal Government Public officials Parliamentarians Trades unions Parliamentary committees Other women’s rights organisations Independent watchdogs
Hidden/Informal Corporations Consumers
Shareholders
Media
Invisible Traditional leaders Women’s movements
In your Advocacy Planning Table add one or two power holders (column 1), three to five influencers (column 2) and up to three allies (column 4).
104 PART 2 PART
Exercises 60min
Exercise 4.3.2 - Understanding what influences your target8
Purpose: Understand how to influence STEP ONE: ‒ What motivates them (for many your targets. Think bubbles politicians it is that they want to be re-elected or want to leave a legacy Time: 1hr In small groups (each working on one project)? of the targets that you identified in the ‒ Do they have personal experiences Preparation: This exercise assumes that last session): or areas of expertise/interests that you have identified targets (power holders you can build on? and influencers identified in the previous Æ Draw a quick picture of the target. ‒ What constraints are they under (again exercise). These will be written in you Æ Imagine that a CSO representative comes look at all three forms of power)? Advocacy Planning Table if you are using to ask the target to make the change this. needed. Draw think bubbles around the Æ Working together in a large group, ask target – what is making them say no? each group to give feedback on what they Materials: Flip chart paper, coloured pens, Capture the reasons in the think bubbles. have concluded – write up the key points post it notes. from the think-bubbles on post it notes. Æ Others are whispering in the target’s ear. Who do you think is supporting your STEP TWO: message and who is blocking it? Role play (optional depending Æ Ask questions to prompt the think bubbles on time) (making sure you have covered visible, hidden and invisible power such as: If you have time you could try a role play ‒ Who – or what - influences them – put yourself in this person’s shoes. One (sometimes it is their children or person could be the target another the a celebrity)? advocate. The advocate asks the target to ‒ What about the evidence? make the change you want. Why does the target say no? Ask what would change their ‒ What keeps them awake at night mind using the questions above as prompts. (for corporations it might be about sales figures)? In your Advocacy Planning Table, ‒ Who are they accountable to – both summarise the information from your in theory and in practice? post-it notes from step three into ‒ What social norms are influencing column 3 in the same row as the them? relevant target.
8 Credit: Jessica Woodroffe, Sharon Smee and Beverley Duckworth.
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60min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Exercise 4.3.3 - Deepening your knowledge of your target [optional]9
You should know your targets (power In groups (there should be the same number Working together in a large group: holders and influencers) well by now. If of groups as targets) - assign each group Æ For each target, prioritise which of the you have time, this exercise will help you one or two outer circles from the diagram to post-its are the most important and understand them even better. But if you focus on (for example, (1) social norms and (2) circle them. are short on time you could leave this out belief systems). Give each group the diagram for one target (see preparation step above). Purpose: To understand who and what In your Advocacy Planning Table write Æ Starting with one of the assigned circles influences your targets. down your circled post-it notes in (for example, social norms) discuss things column 3 in the same row as the that influence the target in that area. Time: 1hr relevant target. Choose the most important one or two, write these on post-it notes and place Preparation: Draw the ‘What influences your them against the relevant circle on the targets?’ diagram on flip chart paper (one flip chart diagram. Repeat this with your per target, with the target written in the other allocated circle (for example, belief centre of each). Use your Advocacy Planning systems). Table, if you are using this, to remind you of your targets in columns 1 and 2. Æ Then pass the flip chart to another group in a clockwise direction, so that each Materials: Diagram (on next page) on flip group works on a new target (but focuses charts and pens. on the same circles – so if you have been assigned social norms and belief systems you will work on these two areas for each target). Æ Repeat until each target flip chart has been worked on by all the groups.
9 Credit: Jessica Woodroffe.
106 PART 2 PART
Exercises
What influences your targets?
Motivations, incentives
Influential Social norms personal relationships
Target
Accountable Belief systems to
Knowledge, experiences, interests
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4.4 Strategic approach 30+30min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Exercise 4.4.1 - Timeline Exercise 4.4.2 - Your advocacy context10
Purpose: To identify key moments, Æ Then with another coloured pen go back Purpose: To ensure you locate your decision points and opportunities in and think about what is happening with advocacy in the current context. working towards your aims/objectives. visible and hidden power – can you add any key moments? Time: 30 mins Time: 30 mins. Æ Below the line put your internal key decision points or events and events Preparation: Write the words - Ignored, Preparation and material: Flip chart paper for your allies, such as coalition events Opposed, Misunderstood, Absorbed, and coloured pens. Put four or five flip charts or international days of action – Heard, Acted on – on a flip chart paper on the wall horizontally. especially anything where you are turned lengthways. building your transformative power. Working together in a large group: Materials: Flip chart paper and pen Æ Now circle in red the key moments. Æ Draw a horizontal line midway across the Æ This can be a quick exercise – focus Working together in a large group: paper with the start of your project on the on the key points not on everything you left and the end date on the right. can think of. Put this up on the wall to Æ Discuss where you sit with each of your Æ Above the line put key external pegs and inform later planning in Exercise 4.4.3. targets at the moment on the continuum events, for big events think about when - Ignored, Opposed, Misunderstood, the decision-making process starts and Absorbed, Heard, Acted on. Are you being add that in, don’t only mark the final ignored? Or are you likely to be heard? event. Think about the hidden decision Use the discussion at Section 4.4.2 and making too. This could include when a bill the definitions overleaf for support. is written and then debated in Parliament, Æ Write on the flip chart where each target or when a budget is negotiated and then is sitting on the continuum. approved by the government. Think about Æ Discuss what does this tell you about economic, political and social spheres what kind of advocacy you need to do – (See Section 4.4.1). and what reactions you might expect? Note these on a flip chart to come back to in Exercise 4.4.3 when you develop your strategy.
10 Credit: Jessica Woodroffe in Womankind Worldwide (2011), Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit, p. 61
108 PART 2 PART
Exercises
The advocacy continuum
Ignored Opposed Misunderstood If no-one is interested in your issue If decision makers are opposing you Your issue is now on the political then your strategy may need to involve that is progress! It means you’ve had an agenda – but not necessarily in the making as much noise as possible – impact and they are worried. Hold your way you would like it to be. Your real you don’t need to be too nuanced. Your nerve. You may need to continue to message has not got through yet. issue will not even be on the political make noise until you are firmly on the agenda and you have little to lose. political agenda, but at some point it will also be time to start engaging with your influencers and giving your detailed policy message to counter the opposition and show you are credible.
Acted on Heard Absorbed If the changes you want are actually When a decision maker promises to act In some ways, the hardest phase is if made you’ve met your objectives! on what you say you are nearly there – your language is being used and but make sure they follow through. co-opted – but to mean something Politicians’ promises are often broken other than what you want to say. This or back-tracked on. One common trick can often be the case with women’s is to watch out for funds being re- rights work where lip service is paid to promised or re-packaged. women’s needs with no real understanding of the problem. Decision makers may also say that they are on your side but then find all sorts of reasons to do nothing.
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Exercise 4.4.3 – Defining the strategy11
What kind of strategy you use varies greatly Introduction STEP ONE: depending on your context, strengths and Possible outcomes size of organisation. This is the hardest part Working together in a large group: Æ For each of your priority power holders, of the process and likely to need the most Æ Facilitator to introduce the definition of think of the different changes that they guidance from the facilitator. See section 5 an ‘outcome’ and ‘strategy’ – see Section could make in order for your objective in the Womankind Toolkit for more on 4.4.3 (Step 2), and check that everyone to be achieved, using the work you did strategy if needed. Prompt questions are is clear what an outcome is and what a in Exercise 4.2.1 to identify the smaller supplied in this exercise to help discussion. strategy is before you start, and how they ‘branches’ in your objectives tree. You differ from activities. Explain that in this should aim to identify about three of Purpose: To bring together all your work so exercise you will look at outcomes and these possible outcomes or actions per far in order to define the approach that you strategies together. There is no point in power holder. Note: these are possible will take to achieving your objectives. thinking of a good outcome if you can’t outcomes that you will prioritise at step achieve it, nor of developing a feasible three overleaf. Time: Step one – 20 min per target, Step two strategy if success wouldn’t contribute – 40 min, Step three – 25 min. Æ Write these possible ‘outcomes’ on a flip towards achieving your objective. In chart. These are the actions that you may this exercise you will identify possible Preparation: Put the flip charts from power want to persuade your target to take. outcomes, and the strategies to achieve mapping Exercises in 4.3.1, 4.3.2 and 4.2.1 Æ Be strategic about which outcomes you them, then in step two you will prioritise up at the front so that everyone can see choose - in deciding on your priority which strategies work for you. This will them. Take a look at the Advocacy Planning outcomes, you should take into account: then determine which outcomes you Table so far (if you are using this) and ideally prioritise. For women’s rights advocacy ‒ What most needs to happen in order give participants time to look back at we propose that all strategies should be for your objective to be achieved? everything they have done prior, (see the a combination of challenging oppressive exercises listed in step two overleaf in ‒ Which changes does your target have power and building transformative power, particular) perhaps over a break. the power and ability to make? so in thinking about what strategy to use ‒ Which changes can realistically be to influence your target use methods Materials: Flip chart paper and pens. done within your time frame? that build transformative power (see Section 4.4.3, Table 5 for examples). You ‒ Where would your priority influencers will probably have identified one or two have most impact? power holders and three/five influencers as your targets.
11 Credit Jessica Woodroffe & Beverley Duckworth. 110 PART 2 PART
Exercises 90min
Æ Are there two complementary outcomes ‒ Where you are on the advocacy ‒ Did you identify any other influencers that can reinforce each other (such as continuum (Exercise 4.4.2) that you could now use to influence media publicity and a Parliamentary ‒ Make sure you have covered all the this priority target? enquiry)? options. Check: ‒ Have you taken advantage of any Æ Which of these changes are ‒ Is there an easy way – might your external opportunities or pegs? transformative – leading to a long-term target already be willing to act? ‒ What are the target’s reactions going change in the balance of power not just ‒ What route would play to your to be? (Is it against their self-interest, immediate changes that can be easily strengths and experience? so acting on it would damage or lose reversed? them support? Will they see it as ‒ Can you be creative and think of unsolvable and think nothing can be STEP TWO: an unusual route or new allies to done? Do they not see it as a problem, Possible strategies work with? so nothing needs to be changed? Æ Now for each of these outcomes think ‒ Are there any cross-overs with your Will they feel it is inappropriate for how you could make your target take movement strengthening objective that them to take action, for example if it’s the action needed. You need to focus you will focus on in Exercise 4.4.4) a family matter? Is it a low priority or on what you and your allies can achieve, Æ Having identified some strategies try them? Or will they be in agreement?) not just on what you would like to happen. and develop them further. For each of Æ Write up all your possible strategies on You will probably come up with a number the strategies you could ask yourselves: flip charts of different options for each outcome. In deciding how to get your targets to ‒ What type of power is most significant act you should take into account the in preventing change – and what information you have collated in your power do you and your allies have Advocacy Planning Table and also: to shift this? ‒ How could you encourage the target ‒ Your resources (Exercise 2.2.1) to take your action – the carrot ‒ Your allies (Exercise 4.3.1 and approach? Advocacy Planning Table column 4) ‒ Are there weak points in your target’s ‒ What influences your targets (Exercise armor that you can take advantage 4.3.2 and Advocacy Planning Table of – the stick approach? column 3) ‒ Can you reduce the oppressive power ‒ Opportunities from your timeline of your target or increase (Exercise 4.4.1) transformative power of your allies – the power shift approach?
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25min Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning STEP THREE: Prioritising your top three strategies and targets
Working together in a large group: Æ You will now have about six possible Æ Are there any targets for whom you didn’t strategies to achieve six different prioritise a strategy? They may still be outcomes. Depending on your resources important targets but if you don’t have a you can probably only carry out three good way to influence them, think if there strategies, and these may need to be one are allies who you might be able to after the other. persuade to influence them instead. Æ Now prioritise your top three strategies for the objective you are working on. You might want to ensure that at least one of these strengthens transformative power. Æ Use the following prompt question to help you prioritise: ‒ Is there one strategy on the list that will influence several of your targets? ‒ What strategy do you think will most influence your target? ‒ Have you considered all the different locations of power, and building transformative power? ‒ Which strategy could make the most of timing and opportunities? ‒ Which strategy plays most to your strengths and value add? ‒ Do any of the strategies pose too great a risk?
112 PART 2 PART
Exercises Examples of strategies for different objectives
Below are three examples of strategies for three different objectives to show how they might work with different locations of power (visible, invisible and hidden), and how to link strategies for challenging existing power and building transformative power.
Power Influencer What influences Allies Strategies to Strategies to build Outcomes Holder them? challenge existing transformative power power
Objective: To prevent threatened budget cuts from leading to cuts in government funding for VAW prevention and response measures
Visible/ Government Parliamentarians Parliamentary INGOs Persuade Parliamentary INGOs to share Parliamentary formal Minister accountability Committee to hold an knowledge of Committee holds an enquiry into a parliamentary process enquiry into the Desire to be government department, with women’s rights government re-elected and encourage and organisations and call for department, involving support more women’s space for these women’s rights rights organisations to be organisations to meet organisations in the involved in the with decision makers consultation process. consultation process to while women’s rights Some of the influence the outcome organisations form a recommendations coalition with clear policy proposed by the positions women’s rights coalition are adopted by the Committee
Objective: To stop the proposal of a new Act which would restrict women’s access to communal land
Hidden Mining Shareholders Accountability to CSOs Share information with a Make alliances with land (1) Corporates break /Informal corporations shareholders journalist about the rights movements ties with government Media extent of corporate engaged in public minister to avoid bad Public profile in the lobbying on government protests publicity. media ministers to propose a new Land Act restricting (2) Shareholders put women’s access to pressure on the communal land and company to change its contact sympathetic position at the next shareholders Annual Meeting
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Power Influencer What influences Allies Strategies to Strategies to build Outcomes Holder them? challenge existing transformative power power
Objective: To achieve more equal sharing of domestic work within households
Invisible Media Consumers Consumer Consumer Persuade popular Hold awareness raising Soap powder company advertising pressure groups household product to programs with women’s starts advertising challenge social norms groups and makes campaign using around domestic work as alliances with consumer images of men doing women’s work in their organisations the washing that advertising by challenges social threatening consumer norms action
In your Advocacy Planning Table, fill in columns 5 and/or In the Advocacy Planning Table fill in column 7 with the 6 with the three priority strategies that you have decided outcomes that correspond with the strategies, and identify on (three in total not three per column). Then put brackets possible allies who might take action against any de- around the power holders and/or influencers that have prioritised targets. You will now have a completed table been de-prioritised as a result of this process. ready to use when you write up your strategy and workplan.
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Exercises 40min
Exercise 4.4.4 – Strategy for movement strengthening12
If one of your objectives is to build Purpose: to identify what you need to do Preparation: You can do this exercise transformative power through movement to meet your movement strengthening focused initially either on your own strengthening, then you will need to have objective organisation or on the alliance that you agreed your objective using the movements’ are already part of – decide ahead of time own processes. Once your objective has Time: 40 min which you will do. been agreed this exercise can help you define the strategy.Section 4.4.3 will help Materials: Pre-prepared SWOT diagram (see you understand the difference between below) on flip chart on wall, post-its, coloured outcome and strategy. pens, optional - Gender at Work Framework for wall (see Section 2.3, Box 1)13. The JASS We Rise Toolkit is an excellent resource that some of your team could use before starting the strategy process to identify where you are in the different phases of movement building. Womankind Strengths and weaknesses chart Worldwide’s five movement strengthening pillars (see Section 4.4.4, Box 2) can also inform this process. STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
12 Credit Sharon Smee & Jessica Woodroffe. 13 Gender at Work Framework. Adapted from Rao, A., Sandler, J., Kelleher, D. & Miller, C. (2016), Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organisations, Routledge, Oxon
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning STEP ONE: STEP TWO: Identifying strengths and weaknesses Identifying opportunities and threats
In small groups: In the same small groups: Æ Think about the transformative power Æ Put your three most important answers Æ Now look externally – what opportunities that you and your allies have, and where for where your power is strong and where are there to build your own power or your power is weak, and put these on your power is weak on post-its and add challenge the power of others? (Are there post-its. these to the SWOT chart on the wall – put funding opportunities for alliances, or strengths on one side of the chart and externally organised events that you ‒ Consider what phase you are at in weaknesses on the other. In deciding could join?) Similarly think about what movement building using the JASS We which are most important use the external threats you could be facing – Rise Toolkit or Section 4.4.4, Figure 7. following prompt questions: who or what may undermine your power ‒ Consider also Womankind Worldwide’s (these could include funding cuts, a ‒ What are all our sources of five movement strengthening pillars closing of civil society space, security transformative power- power with, (Section 4.4.4, Box 2). You may have threats or direct threats on women power to, power within? (See Section strengths in some pillars but have less human rights defenders). If you have 2.3, Table 1). focus or gaps in other pillars. already done a timeline for another ‒ You may find it useful to consider ‒ How can we build our power within our objective (Exercise 4.4.1), where you your power in each of the four organisation? identified key events with your allies, quadrants in the Gender at Work ‒ What work are others currently doing? consider if anything is relevant as an Framework outlined in Section 2.3, Who could we work in alliance with? opportunity or threat. Box 1. For example, have you How could we mobilise joint Æ Discuss and agree your top five collectively achieved legislative resources? opportunities and threats. Each group change on VAW but have failed to ‒ What are the conflicts within the can put a maximum of five post-its in connect with women human rights movement that we need to navigate Opportunities and five in Threats in the defenders working to shift or can help resolve? SWOT chart up on the wall. communities’ norms on VAW in rural areas? As an alliance, have you Æ Keep the SWOT flip chart as you will use mapped the skills and resources the weaknesses section again when across your organisations and are looking at risk mitigation in Exercise 4.5. using these strategically but have not focused on self and collective care for over-worked staff?
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Exercises
STEP THREE: Building your strengths and mitigating your weaknesses
Working together in a large group: Discuss Æ Your outcome will be something that will what is on the chart. Put a circle around each strengthen your movement – not an of the three to five strengths that excite you external change (see outcome examples most and a circle around each of the three below) to five weaknesses that you fear most. Æ Now see if you can prioritise the top three Æ Now look at your opportunities and pairs. These will be your priority strategies. threats – is there anything in the Æ Consider any allies you can work with to opportunities quadrant that can help achieve your strategy as well as any risks you build on your strengths or mitigate you may need to monitor and/or mitigate. your weaknesses? Put a ring around them and draw a connecting line to the relevant strength or weakness. Is there anything in the threats quadrant that might undermine your strengths or further exacerbate your weaknesses? Will they have a major impact, and could you do something about them? If so then put rings round those and draw a connecting line to the relevant strength or weakness (see example of SWOT diagram on page 118) Æ Choose five pairs (either strength plus opportunity/threat and weakness plus opportunity /threat) and write these onto a new flip chart with a circle in the middle for the outcome which makes the most out of the two factors. Choose pairs that are most likely to succeed in building transformative power given your resources (see example of outcomes on page 119)
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Example of SWOT diagram with pairs
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Topical Issue
Confused Shared Brave Staff Insufficient decision Values Resources making
NGO Physical Consutation Opponents willing to threat to Process exploiting provide human rights weakness funds defenders
National Day of Action
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
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Exercises Example of outcomes:
Strength/Weakness Outcome Opportunity/Threat
Strength: Within the alliance we Joint policy position. Opportunity: Government share values and aims. consultation on VAW.
Threat: There is a threat to the safety of human rights defenders in our country. Increased visibility and therefore security Strength: Our staff members are Opportunity: International women’s movements is brought to our work through engagement brave and passionate. are interested in our work. security is brought with the global women’s movement. to our work through engagement with the global women’s movement.
Strength: Our alliance grows in numbers as more Opportunity: National day of action on VAW Our issue is topical organisations hear about us. organized by government.
Our decision making Weakness: There is confusion over how processes are improved through formal Threat: Opponents seek to use lack of clarity decisions are made in the alliance. structures and memorandum against us. of understanding.
Funding application Opportunity: An INGO Weakness: approved that reflects the alliance’s is interested in funding work Insufficient resources. priorities and ways in our area. of working.
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning In Part 3: Templates, you will findTemplate 2: Movement Strengthening Planning Table. Use this template to record your priority strategies so that you can refer to these throughout the rest of the planning steps.
Example using Movement Strengthening Planning Table (Template 2)
Aim: The women’s rights movement in our geographical area has stronger advocacy capacity.
Objective: To develop a shared position for joint advocacy on ending violence against women by the movement by 2021.
Strengths/Weakness Opportunity/threat to Outcomes – what we will Allies Risks respond to need to achieve
Alliance shares values and Government consultation The advocacy work of the Other CSOs who are Other CSOs see us as too aims in relation to ending on VAW. movement is strengthened focused on this process in close to government by VAW. by developing a joint policy the country. being involved in formal position on ending VAW to process. Clerk to the VAW influence Government. consultation process who Differences in opinion will share information. around resource use and decision making processes prevent agreement being reached on a shared position.
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Exercises 4.5 Risk mitigation 60+min
Exercise 4.5 - Identifying and mitigating risk
Purpose: To identify risks associated with Working together in a large group: Then return to working together in a large any action you will take and agree how to group: Æ Hear back from the small groups mitigate them and write up all the suggested risks Æ Agree up to three mitigating actions for in column one of the risk assessment each risk. There should also be a risk Time: 1hr (longer if there are a lot of risks). and mitigation table (see Template 5 holder for each risk. If there is not time to for a version to print or copy). agree the risk holder during the exercise Preparation: Copy risk mitigation chart onto or you if you need to consult with others a flip chart or print copies (Template 5). You Æ Now discuss as a group the likelihood to do this, make sure this is noted as an could also put any flip chart of weaknesses that you think this risk will happen (high, action for follow-up after the workshop / from Exercise 4.4.4 on the wall. medium or low) and then discuss the impact if it does happen (high, medium planning session. Materials: Risk mitigation chart, post-its or low). Fill in columns 2 and 3 on the and coloured pens. chart after you have reached agreement. Æ Then pick the top five risks based on their In small groups: probability and impact (that is, the risks with the highest likelihood of happening Æ Discuss what risks may occur as a result and with the greatest impact). You could of your advocacy, both to your agree to monitor other risks but not to organisations but also to staff and the take any specific measures at this time people you work with. unless the risk assessment changes. Æ Think back to risks that you may have thought about or noted down during any In small groups (with one risk per group) of the planning steps. There are some questions which may be useful prompts Æ Think about how you can mitigate the at the end of each section in the toolkit. risk both by reducing its likelihood and minimising the damage it will cause. Is Æ If you completed the movement there any risk so serious that you should strengthening planning table in Exercise go back and change your plans? 4.4.4, you may also want to consider any weaknesses you identified. Æ Select up to five risks. Be as specific as possible in thinking about what the risk is and who it will impact.
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Risk Assessment and Mitigation Table (see Template 5)
Potential risks – think Likelihood it will happen Impact if it happens Actions planned to Risk about risks for those (High/Medium/Low) (High/Med/Low) mitigate risk Holder with different identities
1
2
3
4
5
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Exercises 4.6 Methods and activities 90min
Exercise 4.6 - Activity Table14
Purpose: To identify the actual activities STEP ONE: STEP TWO: that your organisation will carry out, and the resources needed to do it. Refer the group to the outcomes and Working together in a large group: corresponding strategies identified in Æ Hear back from each group on the Time: 1.5 hrs. Exercises 4.4.3 and 4.4.4 (which will now prioritised activities and check if the also be in their Advocacy Planning Tables wider group has any questions or Preparation: Copy the Activity Table columns 5,6 and 7, if you have used this). comments. (Template 6) onto flip chart paper. Ensure In small groups, each taking one outcome everyone has their completed Advocacy (or you may prefer to do this together, Æ Write the prioritised activities in the Planning Table (Template 1) and Movement as a large group): Activity Table on the flip chart. For each Strengthening Planning Table (Template 2) activity, decide on the deadline, the Æ Consider the outcomes you’ve been (if you have used these tables) and/or put person responsible and the resources allocated and the strategies to achieve flip- charts fromExercises 4.4.3 and needed. Identify any risks there might be this outcome. Write the strategies 4.4.4 on the wall. and think about how you can mitigate on flip chart paper. For each strategy, against them in your activity planning. brainstorm a list of activities that you Materials: Post-it notes, and pens. Æ Use the Table to do a reality check. For might do as part of this strategy. Write example, if three activities have a each of these on a separate post-it note deadline in the same month; this may not and stick it on the flip chart. Examples of be feasible. If responsibility for the activities you may use include direct majority of activities is sitting with one influencing of parliamentarians, petitions, organisation in your coalition; how can public campaigns, boycotts, protests, this be shared more equally? If you don’t press releases and education campaigns have the resources, should the activity (see Section 4.6, Table 6 for more ideas). still go ahead? Æ Now prioritise the list of activities. Think about the following questions: ‒ Why will this activity contribute to the desired outcome? ‒ Have you got the skills needed? ‒ Have you got the resources?
14 Credit: Womankind Worldwide (2011), Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit, p.74.
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Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Example of Activity Planning table
Outcome Activity Deadline Persons Responsible Resources Needed Risks
Watchdog body holds Brief covering main 30 June 2017 Policy Manager Staff time Civil servants in the an enquiry into a arguments is department hear of Design and printing government produced and the proposal and costs department disseminated to the try to discredit your Watchdog Committee Meeting costs organisation Meeting held with influential member of the Watchdog who is also sympathetic
124 PART 2 PART
Exercises 4.7 Core messages 45min
Exercise 4.7 - Core message development15
Imagine if someone in power asked you In small groups or working together in a what you wanted – you need to be ready large group: with a clear explanation. Use the chart Æ If the group has completed Exercises on the next page to build your core message. 4.3.2 and/or 4.3.3, invite them to review the factors they identified as influencing Purpose: To be able to present your case their advocacy targets. These will be in in a few sentences that you will repeat again column 3 of the Advocacy Planning Table, and again. if you have used this. Keep these factors in mind when thinking about the message Time: 45 mins which might resonate best. Preparation: If you completed Exercises Æ Using the questions in the table below 4.3.2 and 4.3.3 put the flip charts from these (Template 7) start by filling in each box exercises on the wall. Also ensure everyone using post-it notes so you can move or has their completed Advocacy Planning remove them. Table (if you have used this). Æ Gradually refine them until you have one agreed upon sentence for each white Materials: Flip chart and pens. Core box. Don’t worry if it doesn’t read well yet. Messages Table (Template 7) written up on This isn’t your final version. flip charts –make sure there is one table Æ Your core message will now include all per small group. these four points. It does not have to be four separate sentences - see if you can combine your points to make the core message as sharp as possible. (You can try to do this together as a large group, but it is often better to let one or two people who are good writers have a go at this. Just make sure they include all the agreed points.)
15 Credit: Sharon Smee & Jessica Woodroffe.
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Core Messages Table (Template 7)
Planning your advocacy campaign advocacy your Planning Identifying core messages
Ideas for part of your core message
Why change is important This could be your problem statement
Evidence or example A punchy fact or figure or human example (optional)
What would solve the problem This could be taken from you Aim
Action needed Who do you want to do what, and when – is there a particular time when the action needs to be taken by?
Core message Your couple of sentences which combine these messages
126 PART 2 PART
Exercises
127 5. Monitoring Evaluation and Learning
128 PART 2 PART
Exercises 5.1 Planning16 15min
This exercise could be used at the end of a planning session or workshop
Exercise 5.1.1: Participant reflection
Purpose: To assess whether your planning At the end of your planning session Example of questions you may wish process, has enabled empowered or workshop: to include: participation by participants and other Æ Distribute the reflection sheet to all key stakeholders Æ Did you think we had a sound evidence- participants and provide a space for base to inform our advocacy planning? individual reflection. Time: 15 mins to complete at the end of Æ Did you feel we included the voices and Æ Stress that the reflection is voluntary and a planning session or workshop. priorities of diverse groups of women? anonymous, unless the participant would Æ How comfortable were you with the Preparation: Develop a participant reflection like to discuss further with a member of strategies that were agreed? sheet. This is a sheet with a list of questions staff or share with the workshop group. that you hand out to participants to prompt Æ Collect the reflection sheets and compile Æ Did you feel the planning process was reflection on a particular activity. Below are the results in a summary report. participatory and inclusive? some suggestions of questions you may Æ Make sure you share this summary with Æ Is there anything you are concerned wish to include. Make sure you include time the participants later and provide a space about? at the end of a workshop or activity for this for discussion and reflection on how the Æ Did your planning help you understand reflection space. process can be improved for next time. what information is required to support MEL as we implement our advocacy plan You may also want to consider using the including when it will be collected and ‘Ladder of Participation’ tool17 (see Section analysed, and by whom? 5.3.1, Table 7) in your session to help measure change over the advocacy cycle.
16 Credit: All exercises in this section - Tracy McDiarmid & Sharon Smee 17 Ladder of Participation: See tool in Working effectively with women and men in water, sanitation and hygiene programs Resource Guide (p.23)
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5.2 Implementation 30min Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Evaluation and Monitoring Exercises 5.2.1, 5.2.2 and 5.2.3 should be Activity Log (Template 8) used after you have started your advocacy – for example after each advocacy activity Date Activity Expected Persons Activity Assessment is completed. As part of the planning Outcome Responsible Outputs of outcome process, you should identify who has responsibility for monitoring and how you Date Details of the Why did you Who was Qualitative Did you can build it into existing organisational activity activity do this responsible and achieve your processes. takes place activity? quantitative expected data on the outcome? Exercise 5.2.1: Activity log activity What did you learn? Purpose: To monitor the implementation of your advocacy activities and reflect on what was achieved.
Time: 30 mins to complete after each main advocacy activity
Preparation: Prepare Activity Log (Template 8) as a flip chart or print out copies for participants.
In a group, Æ Record information about your advocacy activities, in conjunction with the Activity Table you completed in Exercise 4.6
130 PART 2 PART
Exercises 30min
Exercise 5.2.2: After action reflection
Purpose: To develop and document This is a quick exercise which can be Example of ‘After Action Reflection” reflections and learning from your conducted after each activity, using the questions:18 advocacy activities. following steps: Æ Did we do what we said we would do? Æ Convene a meeting of key people Time: 30 minutes Æ Did we reach our advocacy targets? involved in the activity (or use an existing Æ Was our advocacy messaging relevant space such as a staff meeting). Preparation and material: Develop ‘After and accessible to our advocacy targets? Æ Make it clear that this is a reflection and Action Reflection’ questions for your Æ Did we achieve our expected immediate learning space, where the most important organisation or coalition. or intermediate outcomes from our thing is to learn from advocacy work activities? If not, why not? and be open and honest. Æ Did we experience backlash or negative Æ Discuss the after-action reflection changes? questions (see examples below). Æ Did we work well with others? Are we Æ Record the discussion as well as any building the strength of coalitions or feedback received during the activity. social movements? Æ What have we learnt? What would we do differently? Æ Do we need to change our activities or strategy as a result of this activity? If so, how?
18 Adapted from Ross, J. (2013), Advocacy: A Guide for Small and Diaspora NGOs, PLP, p.14, available at: https://www.bond.org.uk/resources/advocacy- guide-small-and-diaspora-organisations
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5.3 Understanding impact and learning 60min Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Evaluation and Monitoring Exercises 5.3.1, 5.3.2 and 5.3.3 would normally done at the end of a planning phase in your advocacy, so that the findings can influence the next phase of your planning process
Exercise 5.3.1: Outcome harvesting
Purpose: To collect evidence as to what has Outcome harvesting is a participatory group between your influencing work and the changed and to determine if your advocacy activity which enables the group to discuss outcome. You also need to have evidence strategy contributed to this significant what has changed and then to work from multiple sources to support this change. backwards to determine if your advocacy connection. work contributed to this change. Time: 1 hour (plus pre-work and follow-up Below is an example of information which to collect evidence). The outcome(s) can be the intended should be included in an outcome harvest. outcome identified as part of your planning As a group, discuss these questions and the Preparation: Ask participants to bring along process (such as in Exercise 4.4.3), or evidence you have brought along. Write up any evidence, such as secondary sources, unintended changes that occurred. They can this discussion in the form of a ‘story.’ There interviews with, or feedback from, key be positive or negative, but there needs to is no set structure for your outcome harvest informants, which may be useful. be a reasonable and convincing connection story, but you may wish to use the questions below to guide your narrative.
Information to include in an outcome harvest story
Identify an outcome Describe the outcome. It is important to Describe the Describe your of change (internal Specifically describe, include the evidence significance of this contribution. How did or external). who changed, what you have of the change. Why is the your influencing work changed in their change. outcome important? contribute to this behaviour, change? Evidence could How does it relate to relationships, include secondary your long-term theory Was it partially, or activities or actions, sources, interviews of change? totally? Was it directly and when and where with, or feedback or indirectly? this occurred. Was it intentional or from, key informants. unintentional?
You can find further useful information on outcome harvesting here:http://outcomeharvesting.net.
132 PART 2 PART
Exercises 60min
Exercise 5.3.2: Most significant learning
Purpose: To select one specific learning Æ At the end of the exercise, the group from your advocacy work and to consider it comes together to share their significant more deeply. learning stories and to see if group agreement can be reached on the most Time: 1 hour. This activity could form part significant learning or learning(s). of a reflection workshop. Æ Spend the remaining time discussing what this learning might mean for future Preparation: Develop a list of questions advocacy work. to be used in pair interviews and create a prompt sheet. The following types of questions can be useful prompts19: Most significant learning (MSL) is about Æ Please list any assumptions/hunches collecting stories about learning and, in that you held that turned out not to particular, reflecting on situations where hold true, over the last three months. we held an assumption about something What do you think was your most that turned out not to be true. significant learning? Æ For this exercise, participants should Æ Can you tell the story of how you form into pairs. One person is the discovered this assumption wasn’t interviewer and the other the interviewee. holding true? Æ The interviewer should ask the Æ Why did you choose this learning in interviewee the questions on the prompt particular? That is, why was it significant sheet and jot down the key points. for you? This exercise is about telling a story so Æ How did this learning affect you/ your prompts such as ‘tell me more about organisation’s work? that,’ can be very useful. Æ What difference will it make going Æ After 15 mins, the participants should forward? swap so the interviewer becomes the interviewee and repeat the process.
19 Credit: Adapted from Clear Horizon Consulting, Most Significant Learning Activity. This approach is currently being piloted by the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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½ day to a day Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Evaluation and Monitoring Exercise 5.3.3: Reflection workshop
Purpose: To create a dedicated space for What you choose to focus on in the reflection reflection to learn how to adapt your work workshop will depend on your organisational in the future. needs and priorities. This may include: Æ Questioning how you did or did not Time: ½ day to a day. challenge oppressive power and build transformative power through your Preparation: Agenda development and advocacy? workshop logistics including facilitation. Æ Looking at what opportunities were utilised and what challenges were faced? Æ Considering the need for changes to your strategy and/or your ways of working as an organisation and with others. Æ Using this as a space to undertake Exercise 5.3.2 on Most Significant Learning. Æ Revisiting the principles which are guiding your MEL and the extent to which these have impacted on your MEL practice. Æ Considering whether your MEL tools are meeting your needs or whether you need to adapt or change them.
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Exercises
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PART 3. Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Evaluation and Monitoring Templates
136 PART 3 PART
Template 1: Advocacy planning table 138 Templates
Template 2: Movement strengthening advocacy planning table 139
Template 3: Assessing resources table (see Exercise 2.2.1) 140
Template 4: Aim prioritisation table (see Exercise 3.2) 141
Template 5: Risk Assessment and Mitigation Table (see Exercise 4.5) 142
Template 6: Activity Table (see Exercise 4.6) 143
Template 7: Core Messages Table (see Exercise 4.7) 144
Template 8: Activity Planning Log (see Exercise 5.2.1) 145
137 Template 1: Advocacy planning table
Aim:
Objective:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Power holder Influencers What influences Allies Strategy to Strategy to build Outcomes them? challenge transformative (Identify 1 or 2) (Identify 3 to 5) existing power power
Visible/ formal power
Hidden/ Informal power
Invisible power
138 Template 2: Movement strengthening advocacy planning table
Aim
Objective:
Strengths/Weakness Opportunity/threat Outcomes – what we Allies Risks to respond to will need to achieve
139 Template 3: Assessing resources table (see Exercise 2.2.1)
Resource Questions to consider Opportunities – how could you What risks do you face and fill in any gaps? how will you mitigate them?
Money Is your budget realistic Do you have sufficient funds?
People and skills Who will do the work Do they have the right skills
Information and knowledge Have you done the research needed?
Partners and What existing partnerships relationships do you have? Are you working well together?
Reputation and relationships What do target audiences think of you? Do you have good relationships with those with power?
Time Are there internal time constraints like funding deadlines?
140 Template 4: Aim prioritisation table (see Exercise 3.2)
Aim Statement
Criteria Explanation Strengths Areas of concern Marks out of 5
Important Would achieving this meet the practical and strategic needs and priorities of the women we work with?
Transformative Will there be a shift in power either by increasing transformative power or reducing power over (or both)
Achievable Is this feasible in the time frame? Do we have influence over the decision makers? Are there major opportunities or pegs coming up?
Easy to Can we make our target audiences interested in communicate this issue, do we have the evidence to back up our claims?
Added value Can our organisation or coalition offer something not already being done by others?
Organisational fit Does this aim fit with our vision, mission and values? Does it build on existing work?
141 Template 5: Risk Assessment and Mitigation Table (see Exercise 4.5)
Potential risks – think Likelihood it Impact if it Actions planned to mitigate risk Risk Holder about risks for those will happen happens with different identities (High/Medium/Low) (High/Med/Low)
1
2
3
4
5
142 Template 6: Activity Table (see Exercise 4.6)
Outcome Activity Deadline Persons Responsible Resources Needed Risks
143 Template 7: Core Messages Table (see Exercise 4.7)
Identifying core messages
Ideas for part of your core message
Why change This could be your is important problem statement
Evidence or example A punchy fact or figure or human example (optional)
What would solve This could be taken the problem from you Aim
Action needed Who do you want to do what, and when – is there a particular time when the action needs to be taken by?
Core message Your couple of sentences which combine these messages
144 Template 8: Activity Planning Log (see Exercise 5.2.1)
Date Activity Expected Outcome Persons Activity Outputs Assessment of outcome Responsible
Date activity Details of the activity Why did you do this activity? Who was responsible Qualitative and quantitative Did you achieve your expected takes place data on the activity outcome? What did you learn?
145 146 This toolkit was crafted by Viola Design
147 IWDA Womankind Level 1, 250 Queen Street, Wenlock Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 50-52 Wharf Road, London, N1 7EU, United Kingdom PO Box 64, Flinders Lane, Victoria, Australia 8009 [email protected] +(44) 203 567 5930 [email protected] +(61) 3 8373 2500 iwda.org.au womankind.org.uk
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