ADVOCACY: HOW & WHY? © 2014 Public Health Institute

ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? To outline the basic questions and issues involved in advocacy To introduce the basic stages involved in designing an advocacy strategy OBJETIVE S 1

Advocacy is a process in which a series of actions have the purpose of drawing a community’s attention towards a specific problem and direct decision makers to a solution (IPPF) 1 2 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? What is Advocacy?

Efforts made by organized citizens to influence the proposal and implementation of policies and programs by means of pressuring government authorities and international entities (WOLA) 2 3 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? What is Advocacy?

4 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? What is not Advocacy? It is not only social mobilization It is not information, communication, or education It is not public relations It is not fundraising

Is the target audience a decision maker? Is the main goal a political change in favor of our causes? 5 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Questions that Help Us Define Advocacy

6 For having policies and laws that are more favorable to the work we do For the government to become more democratic and transparent To empower the people and encourage civic engagement ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? What is Advocacy for?

7 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? What are the requirements for successful Advocacy? Knowledge of institutional operation Information management Internal agreements in the network Internal educational component Human and financial resources Knowledge of the political reality

8 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? What is good Government? Form of government with the purpose of achieving sustained economical, social and institutional development, promoting a healthy balance of state, civil society, and the private sector… That is to say, GOOD GOVERNMENT! Government in which law is followed, there is not corruption, the economic elite is not in control of politics, etc.

9 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? What about International Advocacy? National governments should adhere to world agreements on economics, politics, human rights “Moral” mechanisms exist that are not mandatory, but are useful to pressure governments When “binding” documents are signed and ratified by governments, in theory, they should become national law 3

10 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Procedure we will follow for planning Identifying the problem/s Developing Goals Proposing Activities Audience Analysis Self- evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation

11 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Identifying the problem Which law or public policy exists but experiences partial or nonexistent implementation? Which law or public policy needs to be created?

12 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Exercises in designing an Advocacy Strategy Problem Tree Determining the Expected Advocacy Result (EAR) Political Mapping (SWOT Analysis) Logic Framework (Goals, Objectives, Indicators and Activities) Monitoring and Evaluation

13 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Problem tree Is there motivation in the group affected by the problem? Is an approach politically and technically possible? Can it be done with the available money and time? causes effects problems

Expected Advocacy Result 14 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Political change or action Features of the decision + Geographical scope Time to achieve it Target population Actor or decision maker

15 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Audience Mapping Great Interest Little Interest Completely against Completely supportive Involve Neutralize Persuade Monitor

16 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? StrengthsWeaknesses OpportunitiesThreats Negatives featuresPositive features Internal analysis External analysis SWOT

17 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Logic Framework Goals Indicators (Process and Outcome) Means for verification General Objective (Goal) Specific Objectives (Outcomes) Main Actions (Activities) Assumption / person In charge / Frequency

18 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Goals Indicators (Process and Outcome) Means for verification General Objective (Goal) Specific Objectives (Outcomes) Main Actions (Activities) Assumption / person In charge / Frequency General Objective (Goal) Decrease the impact of HIV Infections ind adolescent woman in Chiapas Place the topic of HIV prevention on the agendas of organizations who work for women’s rights P: # of people attending the meetings O: # of NGOs who add HIV-related lines of action to their work List of people who attended the meetings NGOs activity reports Hugo, Paco and Luis Bi-Montly

19 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? We they relevant? Availability of information How easy they are to measure Resources Interest of donors When Writing Indicators, We Must Consider… Examples: percentage of journalists who attended the human rights workshop, who have published news on this subject within the two months following the activity

20 ADVOCACY: HOW AND WHY? Monitoring and Evaluation In advocacy, we evaluate the progress made towards achieving the Expected Advocacy Result (EAR) EAR is often not possible within the time frame or our advocacy strategy If our strategy is part of a larger international strategy, we can evaluate our contribution to that strategy 1 2 3

More to come! © 2014 Public Health Institute