TRAINING SESSIONS
STEPS IN THE ADVOCACY PROCESS
- Identify issue – advocacy begins with an issue or problem that the network agrees to support in order to promote a policy change – Youth Friendly Health Services
- Set goals and objectives – statement of what the network hopes to achieve in the long term. Objectives should be SMART:
- S – Specific
- M – Measurable
- A – Attainable
- R – Realistic
- T – Time bound
- Identify target audience – these are primary and secondary. The primary target includes decision-makers who have power and authority to bring about the desired change. Secondary target audience includes persons who have access to and are able to influence the primary audience, other policy makers, friends, relatives, the media, religious leaders etc.
- Build Support – building a constituency to support the network’s advocacy issue is critical for success. The larger the support base, the greater are the chances of success. p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }
- Develop message – there are three important questions to answer when preparing advocacy messages: who are you trying to reach? What do you want the recipient of the message to do as a result of the message? What action would you like taken?
- Select channels of communication – the selection of the most apt medium for advocacy messages depends on the target audience. In the Magadi context it can include chiefs, workshops and radio.
- Raise funds – advocacy benefits from outside funds and other resources. Resources can help support the dissemination of materials, cover network members’ travel to meet with decision makers and generate support.
- Develop implementation plan – this is necessary to act as a guide to an implementation plan.
