This part introduces some advocacy strategic analysis tools that should help you (as a group and/or coalition) do the following steps. It is important to note that the following steps are not linear. Rather, they are organically related to one another. Any change in one or more of these points probably will almost inevitably lead to change in the other points.
Before we review some of the advocacy strategic planning tools in this module, we would like to draw your attention to the following points:
- Several strategic analysis tools are either widely known, such as the SWOT Analysis and the Forcefield Analysis; or others that you might have used or developed in your organization or fieldwork. You might also be already familiar with the tools we discuss in this part, or they might be new to you. Please feel free to pick and choose the ones you are already familiar with while being open to new ones that may give you new perspectives into analyzing your situation.
- Building on the above point, each tool and model will give you a different glimpse at the picture and help you better understand the situation. No one tool will give you a full analysis of the issue and the situation. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to use more than one strategic analysis tool to get a better handle on the situation. It also means that certain tools will help you understand the situation from a specific angle.
The analysis produced using one tool for a specific part of the plan may change the other parts. Therefore, carefully review your different analyses to keep synchronized is critical.
What to Analyze in the Environment?
Before jumping onto crafting an advocacy strategy, we need to understand the situation from two main sides:
1) the surrounding environment and
2) problem/issue-related aspects.
The Surrounding Environment
First: the environment in which we will be working. Although advocacy might happen locally, local groups should examine the external environment they are working in. This reading of the environment might cover areas not directly related to the issue at hand. Some of the questions we will need to understand cover areas including:
● The political system
● The constitution and legislations
● The official decision-making processes at both national and local levels
● The power balance between the different bodies participating in the decision-making processes
● The socio-economic situation nationwide and in the different localities
● Used language(s)
● Prevailing culture(s) and values
● The population make up (majority and minority groups, men and women, age groups, education level for each group, etc.)
● Degree of freedom of expression (the political space)
● Degree of transparency including in budget documents
● Any animosity or war between the country and other countries
Tools for Analyzing the External Environment
Many tools help assess the different dimensions of the environment, including political, economic, social, and cultural. These tools include:
● The balance between the three major sectors: State, Market and Civil Society;
● Political Space Assessment Tool
● Analyzing Power Relations Tool
● ACT-ON Tool
The following strategic analysis tools are examples of the tools you can use to understand the environment you are working in without getting into any significant level of details about the issue you are planning to work on.
Tools for Analyzing the External Environment
Many tools help assess the different dimensions of the environment, including political, economic, social, and cultural. These tools include:
● The balance between the three major sectors: State, Market and Civil Society;
● Political Space Assessment Tool
● Analyzing Power Relations Tool
● ACT-ON Tool
The following strategic analysis tools are examples of the tools you can use to understand the environment you are working in without getting into any significant level of details about the issue you are planning to work on.
▪ ADVOCACY AND THE THREE MAIN SECTORS: STATE, MARKET & CIVIL SOCIETY [1]Miller, Valerie; 1997. Advocacy Sourcebook: Frameworks for Planning, Action, and Reflecti n. Chapter I . Institute for Development Research (IDR), Boston, USA.
It is a common misleading impression that civil society groups and organizations are the only entities that exercise advocacy. We argue that this is not necessarily the case. As discussed earlier, advocacy is to give voice to the voiceless or those who do not have the power to participate in the decision-making. No matter where you are, your efforts can be a just advocacy campaign if they include the basic advocacy elements discussed earlier. To further understand the political arena for the decision-making process, we need to see how to apply advocacy in the three main sectors: State, Market, and Civil Society. It is helpful to think of these sectors as independent functions – not people – in any society. Thinking about these sectors as functions is essential as each one of us contributes to and plays a role in the three sectors. One person could be a trader who also does non-business related shopping in the weekend (market functions); works with the government to acquire special permits and also votes for the local and national elections (state functions); and is an active founding member of an organization that cares for the elderly and a regular volunteer in her children’s schools (civil society).
Which of these sectors has the biggest influence in dictating policy decisions? Why?
SECTORAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEVELOPMENT [2]Gladkikh, Olga, 2005. Advocacy and Networking Manual. Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University. Nova Scotia, Canada.
POWER ANALYSIS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS
The following tool is adapted from Joseanthony Joseph [3]Joseanthony, Joseph of NCAS/Christian Aid; 1999; from Advocacy Sourcebook: A guide to advocacy for WSSCC co-ordinators working on the WASH campaign P. 27 & 28. Water Supply and Sanitation … Continue reading to assess and analyze power in 4 23 different relationships.
Tools for Analyzing Power Relationships
This exercise helps participants analyze the power relationships at various levels, from the local to the national. It helps those involved in advocacy understand the significance of power (and thus of politics) in all aspects of society. This analysis then forms an important foundation for their advocacy strategy and informs the planning and implementation of their advocacy work
- Part 1: Using the Table below, participants are asked to mark whether each relationship is “equal,” “unequal but free competition,” “unequal not expected to be equal but can improve,” or “unequal and unjust.”
- Part 2: Using the same 25 relationships from the table, participants are then asked to score each relationship from 1 to 10, according to how confident they believe their organization is to change that power relationship.
- Part 3: The participants will further analyze the results, highlighting relationships that stand out. What are the causes behind this inequality? Consider which relationships have an impact on the organization’s activities. Where may the organization’s strengths exist? Participants can make linkages between relationships that are considered unequal and unjust, which also have a high score in the second exercise. These may form potential areas for the organization’s efforts in the future. Even if an organization is powerless in a key area, understanding that powerlessness is an important feature of the organization’s planning. It will ensure that plans are based on a realistic situation assessment.
References[+]
| ↑1 | Miller, Valerie; 1997. Advocacy Sourcebook: Frameworks for Planning, Action, and Reflecti n. Chapter I . Institute for Development Research (IDR), Boston, USA. |
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| ↑2 | Gladkikh, Olga, 2005. Advocacy and Networking Manual. Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University. Nova Scotia, Canada. |
| ↑3 | Joseanthony, Joseph of NCAS/Christian Aid; 1999; from Advocacy Sourcebook: A guide to advocacy for WSSCC co-ordinators working on the WASH campaign P. 27 & 28. Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Geneva, Switzerland; WaterAid, London, UK; 2003. |