Becoming an Advocate

What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is active promotion of a cause or principle Advocacy involves actions that lead to a selected goal Advocacy is one of many possible strategies, or ways to approach a problem Advocacy can be used as part of a community initiative, nested in with other components Advocacy is not a direct service Advocacy does not necessarily involve confrontation or conflict

ngredients that ma!e for effective advocacy"

The rightness of the cause The power of the advocates #i$e$, more of them is much better than less% The thoroughness with which the advocates researched the issues, the opposition, and the climate of opinion about the issue in the community Their s!ill in using the advocacy tools available #including the media% Above all, the selection of effective strategies and tactics

When and why advocacy?

The best time to start planning for an advocacy campaign is'
When your direct experience or preliminary research #science% shows you cannot achieve your goals in any other way When you are sure you have #or will have% the capacity to carry it through When you have enough enthusiasm and energy to last for what could be a long haul(

*eveloping a +lan for Advocacy' A chec!list

What,s the best way to plan?
+lanning is done as a group$ +lans are recorded in a way that is easy to get at and use later $

What should we plan?

+lanning is done under six headings' goals- resources and assets- supporters. opponents- targets and agents of change- strategy- and tactics$

/ow do we plan for goals or ob0ectives?

+lanning is done for long1term, intermediate, and short1 term$ 2b0ectives are 34A5T 6C' 3pecific- 4easureableAchievable- 5elevant- Timed- and Challenging$

*eveloping a +lan for Advocacy' A chec!list

/ow should resources and assets be included in the plan?
The following resources are included' funds- people currently available, and li!ely to be available in the future- important contacts- and facilities$

/ow should degrees of community support be included in the plan?

4a!e an inventory of allies and opponents$ Chec! to see if people who are normally opposed to you may support you and if those who normally support you may oppose this goal$

Which specific people or agencies should be included as targets or agents of change?

5efer to your wor! in digging up the root causes of the problem$ dentify the people #or agency% who absolutely needs to ma!e a change if your goals are to achieved$ Thin! about people who can be agents of change1 include those who at first sight might loo! li!e targets for change, but may be able to be 8turned,9 so they become agents for the group,s goals$

*eveloping a +lan for Advocacy' A chec!list

/ow should you plan your strategy?
*ecide on your strategy$ +repare to be flexible, reacting to changing needs and conditions$ 4a!e sure that each strategy you consider will help reach your goals- will suit your style- will use your allies appropriately- and will wor!$

/ow should you plan your tactics?

+ic! those that best carry out your strategy$ As you plan each tactic, decide who will do it, when, with what resources, using which allies, and ponder what opposition and resistance it might meet$

/ow should you put it all together?

;ou have a loose1leaf binder or computer file in which to store the separate sections$ 2r ma!e big charts showing the plans for each action across different sections$ 2r both$