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DRAFT PROGRAMME ADVOCACY COURSE

DAY 2

SESSION 5Developing the strategyQuiz 3Choosing objectives for the strategy

SESSION 6Analyzing our skillsOrganizational capacityIndividual capacitySound bite 3

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“Nine Questions”

1. What do we want? (GOALS)

2. Who can give it to us? (AUDIENCES; KEY PLAYERS; or POWER-HOLDERS)

3. What do they need to hear? (MESSAGES)

4. Who do they need to hear it from? (MESSENGERS)

5. How can we get them to hear it? (DELIVERY)

6. What do we have? (RESOURCES)

7. What do we need to develop? (GAPS)

8. How do we begin? (FIRST STEPS)

9. How do we tell if it’s working? (EVALUATION)

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“Nine Questions”

1. What do we want? (GOALS)

2. Who can give it to us? (AUDIENCES; KEY PLAYERS; or POWER-HOLDERS)

3. What do they need to hear? (MESSAGES)

4. Who do they need to hear it from? (MESSENGERS)

5. How can we get them to hear it? (DELIVERY)

6. What do we have? (RESOURCES)

7. What do we need to develop? (GAPS)

8. How do we begin? (FIRST STEPS)

9. How do we tell if it’s working? (EVALUATION)

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Who are we?

Who are we? What perspectives and identities do we bring to our work?

Do we represent someone besides ourselves? If so, what is our accountability to these people?

What are our sources of power? What are our sources of legitimacy and credibility? From

the perspective of those we represent? From the decision makers' perspective?

What risks do we face? What are we afraid of? What might happen if we take action?

What are our values? Why are we engaged in advocacy? How do we want to work together as a group?

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Identify an Organization’s Life Cycle Stage and the Next Steps for Advocates

Stage Characteristics Actions to Take

Birth An organization is created and establishes its presence.

Help develop the leadership skills of others within the organizationDevelop preliminary systems for the organization

Childhood An organization begins to learn new skills and to build a solid, supportive organizational infrastructure.

Invite and accept nurture of organizational potential by more experienced leaders, organizations, and funders

Adolescence

An organization expands the scope of its actions, learning as it goes.

ExperimentTake on more difficult challengesTake responsibility for action or inactionLearn from and be mentored by those with more experience

Adulthood An organization assumes a greater level of responsibility.

Take the lead on an issue even without significant creditTake appropriate risks even if defeat is possibleNurture and mentor organizations in their childhood and adolescence

Maturity An organization uses its legacy to strengthen the movement overall.

Turn over responsibility to othersShare wisdom and experiencesSet an example for personal and organizational renewal

Renewal An organization resists the urge to stay comfortable.

Develop a new strategic focus or new organizational leadership

Source: Advocacy Center at ISC. http://www.advocacy.org/

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Organization’s Check list

LeadershipIs the organization run by a single, charismatic founder? Or is second and third generation leadership being developed? Are staff members encouraged to take on greater levels of responsibility?

Organizational InfrastructureDoes the organization have the people resources – staff and/or volunteers – to do the work?Does the organization have a sound financial base?

Skills and CapacitiesWhat are the organization’s strengths?What areas could be developed?

RelationshipsDoes the organization have a constituency base?Does the organization work with other organizations, or compete against them for resources and recognition?Does the organization have productive relationships with other civil society organizations (CSOs), decision makers, the media, and funders?

Experience and ConfidenceIs the organization willing to try new things and learn from its mistakes?

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Building Effective Leadership

Visionaries who raise the view of the possible

Strategists who chart the vision and achieve what's attainable

Statespersons who elevate the cause in the minds of both the public and decision-makers

Experts who wield knowledge to back up the movement's objectives

Outside Sparkplugs who goad and energize, fiercely holding those in power to account

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Building Effective Leadership

Inside Advocates who understand how to turn power structures and established rules and procedures to advantage

Strategic Communicators who deploy the rhetoric to intensify and direct public passion toward the movement's objectives

Movement Builders who generate optimism and good will, infecting others with dedication to the common good

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Building Effective Leadership

Generalists who anchor a movement, grounded in years of experience

Historians who uphold a movement's memory, collecting and conveying its stories

Cultural Activists who pair movements with powerful cultural forces