Dictionary.com defines credibility as “the quality of being believable or trustworthy [1]Credibility. Dictionary.com. WordNet® 2.1. Princeton University. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/credibility (accessed: January 28, 2007).
“When it comes to 4 advocacy, you should check how believable and trustworthy your organization or network is. Suppose something is very true, but you have not yet built your credibility with the people, or your credibility is questionable for whatever reason. In that case, people will find it hard to pay attention to you even if you are telling the truth.
Credibility is fragile. It is very hard to build and very easy to damage. Miller (1997[2]Miller, Valerie; 1997. Advocacy toolkit: Frameworks for Planning, Action, and Reflection. P. 15. Institute for Development Research (IDR), Boston, USA.
p. 15, provides the 5 following tips on how to build your credibility.
Credibility alone cannot determine whether you should engage in an advocacy campaign or not. It will only support your advocacy work.[3]Sprechmann, Sofia & Pelton, Emily; 2001. Advocacy Tools and Guidelines: Promoting Policy Change; A Resource Manual for CARE Program Managers. P. 12. Cooperative for Assistance and Relief … Continue reading
. Furthermore, if you do not enjoy good credibility concerning a cause 6 and your engagement might harm it, consider disengaging yourself from that cause. For instance, if you believe that your involvement might, for whatever reason, appear as an attempt to benefit personally from the campaign, it might be better to pull out of these efforts to prevent any damage to the cause.
Following are questions adapted from Sprechmann and Pelton
CREDIBILITY CHECKLIST
● Can you, or your colleagues, legitimately speak on behalf of those affected by the issues? ● Are you or your colleagues known and respected by the policymakers involved in the issue? If not, what do you need to do to achieve that? ● Do you, or your colleagues, have information or expertise that is relevant to the issues? ● Will the policymakers involved be interested in your opinion or that of your colleagues? ● Are there people within the country office who can effectively lead an advocacy initiative on the issues you are considering? ● Are you or your colleagues perceived as objective and trustworthy or as rather politically biased beyond reason?
Miller, Valerie; 1997. Advocacy toolkit: Frameworks for Planning, Action, and Reflection. P. 15. Institute for Development Research (IDR), Boston, USA.
Sprechmann, Sofia & Pelton, Emily; 2001. Advocacy Tools and Guidelines: Promoting Policy Change; A Resource Manual for CARE Program Managers. P. 12. Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, CARE.
