advocacy training webinar middle east teams 2
TRANSCRIPT
Influencing, Advocacy and Campaigning - MENa TeamsRichard English Webinar 2 22nd Oct 2015
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What we will cover in two webinarsWednesday 21st 11.00 – 13.00• Oxfam’s approach on
influencing, advocacy and campaigning
• How Change happens
• Advocacy and campaigns planning process
• Power analysis and Theories of Change
• Working in partnership and with others
Thursday 22nd 09.00 – 11.00• Personal approaches to
influencing
• Lobbying and policy dialogue and engagement
• Messaging and media strategies
• Managing risks
Influencing and Lobby Skills
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Power Framework 1
• Power Over Others: having power over takes power away from others and using it to dominate and prevent others from gaining it
• Power With Others: finding common ground among different interests – based on mutual support, solidarity and collective strength
• Power To Make a Difference: is unique opportunity of every person to shape his or her life and the life of others. If based on mutual support can lead to power with. Each individual has the power to make a difference.
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5 Distinct bases of power
Coercive Power
Legitimate Power
Reward Power
Referent Power
Expert Power
the person has the authority to proscribe behaviour
identification and attraction to the person
the person can mediate punishment
the person mediates rewards
the person possesses unique and rare knowledge/ skill
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Individual power
- Charisma- Reputation- Credibility- Empathy
- Expertise- Information- Tradition
- Family- Community
- Workplace
Knowledge
Personality
Others’ support
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Individual Reflection:
How can you be more strategic in your use of your power bases to influence for positive change?
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Power strategies in use
• Form alliances and coalitions
• Present a persuasive viewpoint or argument
• Deal directly with key decision makers
• Use data/information to convince others
• Focus on needs of the audience or target group
• Use contacts for information
• Deal with others socially• Be persistent• Trade favours• Use threats• Give guarantees
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PLAN
ESTABLISH CONTACT AND RELATIONSHIP
DIAGNOSE SITUATION
CREATE POSITIVE PARTNERSHIP APPROACH
WORK COOPERATIVELY
OVERCOME CONCERNS/ RESISTANCE
CONTINUE OR CLOSE
PROCESS OF
INFLUENCING
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Effective lobbying – different needs• Sharing information:
• Need to keep each other up-to-date on relevant issues
• Offering something of value: • Involves building relationships of trust so government officials
are willing to use expertise and advice of organisation in policy making
• Using soft power:• Making representations on need for policy change – issue are
resolved through influencing or negotiation backed by submissions and outside influencers
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Effective lobbying – different needs• Sharing information:
• Need to keep each other up-to-date on relevant issues
• Offering something of value: • Involves building relationships of trust so government officials
are willing to use expertise and advice of organisation in policy making
• Using soft power:• Making representations on need for policy change – issue are
resolved through influencing or negotiation backed by submissions and outside influencers
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Top Tips for lobbyists 1Opportunity to learn what your target actually thinksBuilds and maintains relationships
Confirm timings and agenda in advance Don’t be late Be absolutely clear on key messages and your key asks and
what you want the key decision-maker to do Who else will attend – talk to them informally in advance What’s the composition of your delegation – the more formal the
less useful Pre-meeting with colleagues or allies and agree on what to focus
and don’t air differences in public Dress for the occasion Agree who will lead and have a note-taker Know your stuff but engage in genuine dialogue Debrief Follow-up
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Building the relationships
• Don’t forget to cultivate the officials who have influence • Face-to-face and telephone contact beats everything
else• Share information – help them in their work• Lobby is not a one –off event it’s a strategy• Lobby relationships are for life – who knows where your
lobby target will end up• Value all your contacts and keep them updated…
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Top Tips for lobbyists 2• Know your targets – what makes them tick• Give them credit where its due• Research their potential arguments and have your counter-
arguments prepared• Use reasoned and evidence-based argument• Ask questions, make suggestions and build trust• Listen and respect views even if you disagree• Look for common ground and provide solutions not obstacles –
look for win-win solutions• Know when to stop• Be assertive but not aggressive• Be clear on your bottom-lines• If you’re not going to get what you need then know when to
retire and fight again another day
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A word on negotiation • Plan ahead – Are there win/wins? Clear bottom-lines?
Concessions? Are the conditions right to negotiate? Can you anticipate what they will say’? rehearse, document, develop answers to likely
responses before hand
• Negotiate in good faith; seek common ground or shared interests; communicate what you want well; withdraw if things are not going well
• Close the meeting with a summary or positions and next steps;
Research for Advocacy and influencingScheduled for Monday 2nd November
Key Messages
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What is a key message A message is a concise and persuasive statement about your advocacy objective that captures:
• What you want to achieve – e.g. sanitation for all
• Why you want to achieve it – e.g. positive consequences of action - better health and better environments; or negative consequences of no action - people continue to die unnecessarily
• How you propose to achieve it – e.g. by getting government to give sanitation priority in the budget
• What action you want the audience to take – e.g. writing to their political representatives
Messages should encapsulate everything you need to say – they are not the same as slogans or sound bites. A good basic message can be tailored to fit specific audiences.
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KEY MESSAGE HAS TO BE…
• Clear, and concise (ideally you should be able to communicate it in less than one minute)
• Present clear and credible solutions
• Inspiring, shows possibilities for change.
• Action oriented. Aim to craft messages that will convince people to act, and just communicate what you want to say.
• May change over time to reflect changed attitudes or circumstances.
Helpful: checklist of targets likely arguments/excuses and how to counter them.
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Are women visible in our messages? • Do your messages reflect the different needs of both men and
women?• Did you identify messages that “appeal” to both men and
women?• Do your messages and approaches further marginalize
women? Do you promote gender equality through “positive” images, case studies, and representation?
• Did you identify different approaches that are suitable for men? women?
• Are the channels and medium of messages accessible to men and women?
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TAILOR YOUR MESSAGE• Consider your audience(s) and tailor your message accordingly -
what is likely to make them listen and engage. • Tap into the audience’s priorities, values and concerns:
o What will motivate them to act?o What attitudes will prevent them from acting? o Connect to their value systems and political views. o What do they want / need to know? What kind of information
attracts them?
• Often, your messages may need to emphasise different elements to make them relevant for particular groups.
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Example
Key message: Reducing smoking-related illness makes health care more affordable for everyone.
Tailored messages:
• For an audience of doctors: Passive smoking is an expensive public health hazard that requires responsive public health laws and regulations.
• For an audience of policy makers: Smoking bans in public places achieve clear health benefits at reasonable or low costs and are politically popular.
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Support Messages
• Key messages must be backed with some form of evidence—otherwise, there is a danger they will be seen only as assertions.
• The evidence can be in the form of facts and figures, testimonials, expert opinions, case studies, agreements, independent reports or favourable international comparisons.
• If you cannot support a key message with evidence, assess whether the message is the right one for your issue, or do further research to provide more evidence.
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Tell a Story • Stories “show” your reader or listener rather than “telling” them. They help position
you as an expert and build trust among your audience.• Stories are memorable and touch readers/listeners in a personal way.• Stories help you focus your message to avoid communicating too much
unnecessary information.• Stories help you bring independent pieces of information together into a coherent
message.• Keep stories short and relevant to your audience, and make them about a single
person or group of people. And don’t forget to deliver an underlying message that ties back to your mission and goals.
Remember!• “Storyless” narratives rely on dry data and program descriptions without ever
bringing the content to life. The result is a lost audience. Instead … tell a great story!
• The best stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. They establish heroes and villains, create conflict and use an emotional hook.
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EXERCISE
Scenario:
• You walk in to a lift going to the top floor of a building. Standing next to you is one of your target audiences for your advocacy – a community leader, decision-maker, journalist etc.
• You have 2mins to share your key message.
Media Advocacy
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What and Why?
• What? The strategic use of mass media (TV, radio, newspapers) to advance a social or public policy goal.
• Why? • Inform and influence public opinion: delivers your message to a large
number of people • Attracts supporters to your cause.• Getting your issue on the policymakers agenda• Profile and credibility with policymakers = improved access to them• Pressure for change
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Media Strategy
• What’s your message? Strong and clear messaging. • Who do you want to reach (targets)? • Which media will reach them?• What media tool will you use?
• Presentation – story, creative, newsy, timing
• How will you time your media effort to complement your other activities and link with external opportunities?
• Risks • Spokespersons
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Which Media?
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ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES WHAT’S WANTED WHAT’S NOT WANTED
TV •quick ▪ combines visuals and sound ▪ large reach ▪ expensive and not accessible by all
work to tight guidelines
availability for interviews ▪ good visuals ▪ controversy ▪ local interest ▪ international interest
technical issues ▪ events that have already happened ▪ “man gives speech” stories
RADIO ▪ portable ▪ capable of rapid reaction•broadcast immediately ▪ widely accessible and affordable ▪ local languages ▪ message can be repeated many times
•sound only ▪ stories usually very short ▪ works to very tight deadlines ▪ FM stations cover small areas so costs can be high
availability for interviews ▪ controversy ▪ local interest ▪ strong sound bites
▪ visuals ▪ dry long-winded interviews ▪ complex data ▪ and statistics ▪ events that have already happened
PRINT •reaches a broader audience ▪ accessible and affordable ▪ in-depth coverage with more details ▪ dedicates more time to a story ▪ willing to follow a story over time
•not as immediate as visuals or TV or radio ▪ no sound or moving pictures ▪ daily news - stories often decided morning before publication, deadlines afternoon
•a strong angle ▪ local interest ▪ human stories ▪ background information ▪ quotations ▪ facts & figures ▪ photographs ▪ colours
▪ too many technical terms ▪ no local or national angle ▪ stories already reported on TV or radio
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Media Tool box• News release• Media advisory (news events/conferences)• Fact sheet• Background Briefing note • Photo and cutline• Media field visits or to the scene/event• Opinion pieces• Reactives• Letters to Editor• Media stunts• Celebrities and Influencers
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OPINION PIECE
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MEDIA STUNTS/ PHOTO NEWS
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MAKE USE OF CELEBRITIES/INFLUENCERS
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HOOKS
Link your story with news opportunities like:• current events • high level meetings• a speech • anniversary• days when certain produce is traditionally consumed
– these are often known as ‘hooks’.
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• One thing is to highlight is digital as a powerful channel to disseminate our messages/asks and the importance of supporter journeys....moving away from ad hoc engagement (i.e. asking people something only when we need them), to continuous genuine engagement where we care about what our supporters think.
Managing Risks
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Managing Risks
Risk management is about making informed judgments quickly, effectively and continuously about the opportunities and risks in advocacy and campaigning. If managed effectively it will increase opportunity, result in less failure and be more cost-effective as we strive to deliver impact in our work.
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Types of Risks
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Identify Assess Manage Monitor1. At campaign planning stage or at significant points in the campaign identify the main risks alongside the main opportunities
Level of risk: What could happen
Probability - High, Medium, Low
Impact – High, Medium, Low
Weight - opportunities vs. risks
Green:If opportunities outweigh risks which are not seen
as significant proceed to run the risk but continue to monitor
Amber: If more balanced – amber – proceed with caution
– more rigorous mitigation and monitoring required
Red:If risks far outweigh opportunities decide to avoid
the risk by not proceeding with particular opportunities or activities
Decide on how to manage and mitigate major risks identified:
e.g. Prevent – action to limit the probability of the risk arisingReduce – action to decrease negative consequences of risk identifiedShare – the risk with another organisation (either by doing a campaign unbranded)
Review risk register on a regular basis
2. Identify main stakeholders impacted or affected by risk areas (informed by campaign power analysis)
Likely responses of key stakeholders Incorporate into process above
Review stakeholders and position on regular basis in line with reviewing power analysis
Do a Risk Assessment