Good Practices in Advocacy & Lobbying IRCDS - April 2013

What is Advocacy? Advocacy is problem solving used:  to protect rights or change unfair discriminatory or abusive treatment to fair, equal and humane treatment  to improve services, gain eligibility for services or change the amount or quality of services to better meet the needs of an individual  to remove barriers which prevent full access to full participation in community life

Approach of IRCDS IRCDS Believes in Rights Based Approach Non- Violent ( Ahimsa) forms of advocacy Evidence based advocacy Advocacy should be in line with the law of the land

Checklist of How to be good advocates and follow-uppers Keep in touch with current issues - news, features, magazines, Keep your eyes & ears open. Most of all keep your mind open. Look for those concerning human rights content. If there is a need for help or an issue interests or disturbs you & you want to help, find out more about the issue and who can help you. Plan out what you can do yourself, with other people or through social action groups, police, media, legislature & court.

Contd…. Establish goals according to time & resources. Gather information - news clippings, legislations, articles, census, government data, photographs, field data, etc. Put everything you know in writing in a chronological form, that is date-wise. Join social movements and work with groups and issues that interest you. Creative problem-solving techniques An ability to disagree without closing the lines of communication An ability to persuade ( influence/convince)

During the advocacy visit : Thank the duty bearer for his/her past support Know the facts and always have written materials to leave. Get your point of view across in the fewest possible words. Do not be afraid to admit ignorance and never make up answers.

Contd… Find out the answer after the visit and report back to the duty bearers Leave on a friendly note even if the meeting did not go as well as you had hoped. Keep a list of contacts- NGOs, person/s who can help, addresses / phone no.s of govt. officials, police officers, press, etc. Prepare a letter head if sending letters/ petitions as a group.

Contd… Be sure to thank the duty bearer for taking the time out of his or her busy schedule to meet with you even if he or she does not support your position Always leave the door open for another visit. Send follow-up letter(s) to duty bearer(s) thanking them for the visit and re-stating the points you made during the meeting.

Tips for Successful Advocacy  Don’t be late. Be on time and do not prolong the interview beyond the agreed-upon duration.  Don’t do all the talking. Remember you are there to hear the duty bearers' views as well as to express your own.  Don’t let the duty bearer interview you.  Don’t attempt to extract rash promises.

Contd…  Don’t comment on answers, except to clarify your position where it has been misunderstood.  Don’t ask questions that are not germane (connected ) to the items on your agenda. Remember the Three B’s of Effective Advocacy! Be Brief! Be Clear! Be Polite!

Strategies of Advocacy Petitions, letters, memorandums, pamphlets Mass mobilization Human Chain Rallies Signature campaign Letter/ SMS / campaign Dharna Symbolic demonstration Hunger strike Filing RTIs Filing public interest litigation Influencing through MLAs and MPs Raising questions in Grama sabha / Council /Assembly parliament meetings Influencing through media Networking & Coalition

Tips on the effective lodgement of applications A. Preparation for the meeting Take someone from the community/DPO. Have the purpose of the visit clearly in mind. Get an appointment if possible. Dress formally. Take your ID card & visiting cards if you have them. Take 2 copies of any letter or document you want to present

Contd… B. During the meeting Introduce yourself and if appropriate check their name, designation and phone number. Clearly state your purpose for coming (may involve giving the letter - if so get a received stamp) Clearly state whatever follow up you intend to make. Thank him/her

Contd… C. Debrief the meeting If you went with someone from the DPO /community then debrief the meeting by asking: - “How was that meeting for you?” D. Record the meeting Date/Time of meeting Result of the meeting Put any follow up on appropriate date in your diary.

Advocacy in a broader 10 Step Empowerment Process 1. Build deep relationships with PWDs/DPOs 2. Learn about the community - Observe & enquire 3. Analyse the problems yourself and with your colleagues 4. Hold DPO/ community meetings to prioritise the problems 5. Become an expert in the resources that could solve the problems 6. Plan action to solve the problem

Contd… 7. Take the action agreed 8. Reflect on the action taken. Then cycle through steps 6-8 until the problem is solved or becomes unresolvable 9. Do it all again with less involvement from the our NGO & more from the DPOs 10. Collect and Keep Government orders, circulars, records, field data and evidences Thank you.

Integrated Rural Community Development Society ( IRCDS) Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu