Section 7. Developing a Plan for Advocacy

 

What's a plan for advocacy?

Advocacy planning is the process of identifying the change you want, understanding the conditions surrounding the issue, determining who has authority or influence, choosing strategies, and organizing the actions and resources needed to move toward the goal.

Advocacy planning shares many features with other forms of strategic planning, but several considerations may require particular attention.

Advocacy often:

• Seeks changes in policies, practices, funding, institutions, or public decisions
• Involves people or organizations with different interests and levels of authority
• Takes place partly in public
• Requires careful communication and evidence
• May involve political, legal, organizational, reputational, or personal risks
• Requires adaptation as circumstances change

Planning helps advocates:

• Clarify goals
• Understand the issue and people affected
• Identify decision-makers and sources of influence
• Select appropriate strategies and tactics
• Use resources effectively
• Anticipate risks and barriers
• Establish measures of progress
• Adjust the campaign when new information becomes available

When should you create a plan for advocacy?

Begin planning before launching major public advocacy activities, but treat the plan as something that can change.

Different parts of the plan affect one another.

For example, your group may begin with a goal of closing an industrial facility because of environmental harm. During planning, you may learn that many residents depend on the facility for employment and that workers also want stronger environmental protections.

That information could lead the group to consider several possible goals, such as:

• Requiring safer production practices
• Strengthening environmental monitoring
• Increasing community oversight
• Requiring cleanup or remediation
• Developing a transition plan if closure remains necessary

The purpose of planning is not simply to make the original idea more persuasive. It is also to test whether the original goal is appropriate.

Making your plans

Advocacy planning is usually stronger when people with different forms of knowledge participate.

Depending on the issue, this may include:

• People directly affected
• Community organizations
• Staff and volunteers
• People with legal, policy, technical, or research expertise
• Community leaders
• People responsible for implementing a proposed change

Use whatever planning format works for the group.

Options may include:

• Shared digital documents
• Spreadsheets
• Project-management tools
• Whiteboards or flip charts
• Printed planning worksheets

The important point is that the plan is documented, accessible to the people responsible for carrying it out, and updated when circumstances change.

Goals and objectives

Begin by clarifying the broader change your group wants to achieve.

A broad goal might be:

• Increase access to affordable housing
• Improve health-care access
• Reduce environmental contamination
• Improve transportation safety
• Expand educational opportunities

For planning purposes, divide broad goals into more specific objectives.

Long-term goals

Long-term goals describe the larger outcome your campaign hopes to influence.

Examples might include:

• Increase the supply of affordable housing over the next five years
• Reduce pregnancies among adolescents through evidence-informed prevention and access to appropriate health services
• Eliminate unlawful toxic discharges into a local watershed

Long-term goals should be ambitious enough to matter while recognizing that advocacy groups may not control every factor affecting the outcome.

Intermediate goals

Intermediate goals identify policy, practice, funding, program, or institutional changes that move the campaign toward the longer-term result.

They can:

• Provide measurable evidence of progress
• Help the group evaluate whether its strategy is working
• Create opportunities to recognize meaningful accomplishments
• Clarify what still needs to change

Examples include:

• The city adopts an incentive or requirement supporting additional affordable housing units
• A health clinic extends hours based on community-identified access barriers
• Major employers adopt scheduling practices that improve employees' ability to manage caregiving responsibilities

Short-term objectives and action milestones

Short-term objectives identify actions or near-term results that help move the campaign forward.

Examples might include:

• Recruit additional community participants
• Hold a public listening session
• Meet with key decision-makers
• Publish a research brief
• Submit public comments
• Mobilize eligible voters around an issue

Writing out your goals

SMART goals can be a useful planning tool.

Goals are often most useful when they are:

• Specific: Clear about what change is being sought.
• Measurable: Defined well enough that progress can be assessed.
• Achievable: Realistic given available authority, resources, and conditions.
• Relevant: Connected to the campaign's broader purpose.
• Time-bound: Associated with a reasonable timeframe.

Goals can also be ambitious, but avoid creating targets simply because they sound impressive.

A challenging goal should still be grounded in evidence, available capacity, and community priorities.

For example:

Instead of:

“We'll hold a meeting.”

Consider:

“By June, we will hold an accessible community meeting for families and young people to identify priorities for the initiative.”

Resources and assets

Once goals are clearer, identify the resources the campaign already has and the resources it will need.

Advocacy resources may include:

• Funding
• Staff time
• Volunteers
• Community leadership
• Research and data
• Legal or policy expertise
• Communications capacity
• Relationships with community organizations
• Relationships with decision-makers
• Meeting space
• Transportation
• Technology
• Translation and interpretation
• Disability access

Do not assume that advocacy is inexpensive or that funders generally will not support it.

Funding rules and funder priorities vary.

Organizations should understand the legal and funding requirements that apply to their own advocacy and lobbying activities.

Also examine internal capacity.

Ask:

• Are workloads realistic?
• Are responsibilities clear?
• Are staff and volunteers working well together?
• Are financial decisions transparent?
• Are community members receiving appropriate support to participate?

Community support and resistance

Advocacy planning should include an assessment of likely support, uncertainty, and resistance.

Avoid assuming that groups will automatically support or oppose your proposal because of their identity, profession, industry, or previous positions.

For example, a business affected by an environmental proposal may have concerns about cost while also supporting stronger protections for local water.

A labor organization may support environmental improvements while also raising concerns about job security.

A public agency may agree with the goal but question whether it has sufficient legal authority or funding.

Consider creating a map that identifies:

• Strong supporters
• Potential supporters
• Undecided or uncertain participants
• People or organizations with specific concerns
• Organized opposition

Include people directly affected even if they are not formally organized.

Decision-makers and sources of influence

Advocacy usually seeks a change that someone has authority to make.

Identify the people or institutions responsible for the relevant decision.

Examples include:

• Elected officials
• Agency leaders
• School boards
• Employers
• Regulatory bodies
• Corporate leaders
• Funding organizations

Then identify people or organizations that may influence those decision-makers.

These may include:

• Residents
• Voters
• Employees
• Community organizations
• Professional associations
• Researchers
• Legal advocates
• Business organizations
• Faith or cultural organizations
• Media organizations

The terms targets of change and agents of change are sometimes used in advocacy planning. When possible, more specific terms such as decision-maker, implementing organization, community partner, or source of influence may be clearer.

Focus on the authority or behavior that needs to change rather than labeling the person themselves as a “target.”

Planning your strategy

A strategy is the overall approach the campaign will use to reach its goal.

Advocacy strategies may include:

• Public education
• Community organizing
• Coalition-building
• Administrative advocacy
• Legislative advocacy
• Negotiation
• Regulatory complaints
• Litigation
• Media advocacy
• Economic pressure
• Nonviolent direct action

Strategies should:

• Advance the campaign's goals
• Reflect the priorities of people affected
• Fit the available evidence
• Use resources responsibly
• Consider likely support and resistance
• Protect participants from unnecessary risk
• Be consistent with legal and ethical obligations
• Be adaptable when circumstances change

Choosing a strategic approach

Advocacy strategies vary in how collaborative or confrontational they are.

Rather than placing every tactic on a simple ladder from “friendly” to “confrontational,” ask what is appropriate for the situation.

Possible approaches might include:

Education and engagement

• Provide accurate public information
• Meet with decision-makers
• Work with organizations responsible for implementation
• Gather and present data
• Participate in hearings or public-comment processes
• Build coalitions

Public pressure and organizing

• Petition
• Organize public testimony
• Conduct a media campaign
• Organize demonstrations
• Use boycotts or other forms of economic pressure where appropriate

Higher-risk direct action

Some campaigns may consider civil disobedience or other higher-risk forms of nonviolent direct action.

Such actions should involve careful planning, informed participation, legal guidance where appropriate, and attention to the fact that consequences can differ substantially among participants.

Avoid involving children or young people in higher-risk actions without strong safeguarding, clear consent processes, and age-appropriate consideration of the risks involved.

Staying flexible

Advocacy conditions change.

New legislation may be introduced. A partner may change position. New evidence may emerge. An institution may make a partial policy change. A new risk may become apparent.

Review the campaign regularly and decide whether new developments require:

• Reinforcing positive changes
• Verifying new information
• Addressing newly identified needs
• Responding to harmful developments
• Changing strategy
• Revising the goal

Avoid acting on rumors without verification.

If you hear that a promised affordable housing component has been removed from a development proposal, confirm the information before making a public claim or changing strategy.

Evaluating possible strategies

A strategy-planning table can help a group compare different approaches.

Strategy	Questions to consider
Meet with elected officials to seek funding for school-linked health services	Does this move us toward the goal? Does it reflect community priorities? Do we have enough evidence? Who should participate? What resources are required? What resistance or concerns should we anticipate? What risks or unintended effects should we consider?

Tactics and action steps

Tactics are the specific actions used to carry out a strategy.

Examples include:

• Letters or emails
• Meetings
• Public testimony
• Administrative complaints
• Surveys
• Public forums
• Media outreach
• Negotiation
• Demonstrations
• Petitions

As you evaluate a tactic, ask whether it:

• Advances the strategy
• Fits the campaign's values and goals
• Is lawful or appropriately risk-assessed
• Is realistic within available resources
• Is accessible to participants
• Includes appropriate safeguards
• Uses people's time responsibly
• Has a reasonable chance of contributing to the desired change

Helpful questions

• What will the action involve?
• Who will carry it out?
• Who should help design it?
• When will it happen?
• What resources are required?
• What accessibility needs should be addressed?
• What partners should be involved?
• What concerns or resistance may arise?
• What risks may participants face?
• How will we know whether the action was useful?

Planning tactics

A simple action-planning table can connect goals with specific responsibilities.

Goal	Action	Responsible person or group	Timeline	Resources and support needed	Potential concerns or resistance
Improve understanding of young people's sexual-health needs	Conduct an anonymous, age-appropriate survey developed with students, families, health professionals, and school staff	School-community working group	Current school year	Survey expertise, accessibility review, appropriate consent or assent procedures, language access, data protections	Privacy concerns, family concerns, survey design, participation rates

Research or surveys involving minors require particular attention to privacy, ethics, school policy, consent or assent requirements, and the sensitivity of the information being collected.

Avoid treating young people merely as subjects of research. They can also help identify appropriate questions and interpret findings.

Putting the plan together

The final advocacy plan should connect the main elements of the campaign in one place.

A planning chart might include:

• Goals
• Community priorities
• Resources and assets
• Support and resistance
• Decision-makers
• Sources of influence
• Strategies
• Action steps
• Responsibilities
• Timelines
• Risks
• Measures of progress

For example, imagine that proposed budget reductions threaten a community health clinic serving residents who face economic and geographic barriers to care.

A planning chart might identify:

Goals	Resources and assets	Support / resistance	Decision-makers / influence	Strategies	Action steps
Maintain and expand access to community health services	Staff and volunteers Community organizations Patient and resident experience Health-care data Medical and policy expertise	Community residents Health organizations Elected officials with differing budget priorities	County commissioners Health department leadership Medical associations Community organizations	Community education Meetings with decision-makers Public testimony Budget advocacy	Document service needs Hold community listening sessions Develop a policy and budget brief Meet with relevant officials

Review and update the plan

An advocacy plan should not remain unchanged simply because it has been formally written.

Review it regularly.

Ask:

• Are our goals still appropriate?
• What progress has occurred?
• What have we learned?
• Have community priorities changed?
• Have new partners or sources of resistance emerged?
• Have laws, policies, funding, or political conditions changed?
• Are participants able to sustain the work?
• Are our tactics producing the intended effect?
• Are there unintended consequences?

Revising a plan in response to evidence is a strength, not a failure.

In Summary

Advocacy planning connects a desired community change with the people, resources, strategies, and actions required to pursue it.

Begin with clear goals, but remain willing to revise them as you learn more about the issue and the people affected.

Include people directly affected by the issue in planning whenever possible.

Identify available resources and organizational limits, including staff capacity, funding, expertise, accessibility, community relationships, and participant well-being.

Map support and resistance without assuming that people fall permanently into simple categories of allies and opponents.

Identify who actually has authority to make the desired change and who may influence those decisions.

Choose strategies according to the issue rather than assuming that effective advocacy must be confrontational.

Public education, organizing, negotiation, administrative advocacy, litigation, media work, demonstrations, and other approaches are tools whose value depends on context.

Higher-risk tactics require careful consideration of legal, safety, accessibility, and participant-specific consequences.

Tactics should serve the strategy rather than becoming goals in themselves.

Finally, treat the plan as a working document.

Advocacy conditions change, and a strong campaign uses new evidence and community feedback to revise its goals, strategies, and actions when needed.