What We Do at Advocacy School

Though most of its services and “deliverables” are tailored to the specific needs of client organizations, the following is a representative list of the sorts of subject matter which have been made available through both “live-in-person” workshops and “virtual” presentations.

 

Samples of training modules

1

How the System Works and How to Work the System: A Primer on Effective Public-Policy Advocacy

2

Mapping the Political and Public-Policy ‘Ecosystem” of Your Key Issues

3

Strategic Inquiry: The Important Starting Point in Any Advocacy Effort

4

Strategic Meetings

5

The “Rules” of Lobbying

6

Developing an Advocacy Strategy and Plan

7

The Many Sounds of “No” – Dealing With Resistance to Your Advocacy

8

Evaluating / Assessing Effectiveness of Lobbying / Advocacy Activity

9

Boards As an Advocacy Tool: The Ways and Means by Which Boards and Individual Directors Can Support Their Organization’s Advocacy Activities

10

Optional Communications Tactics and Strategies in Support of Advocacy Activities

11

Playing Politics: A Pre-Election Primer

12

An Alternative to Traditional Lobbying: A “Policy Engagement” Approach

In all of its work related to skills-development and capacity-building, Advocacy School puts substantial emphasis on measuring and evaluating the outputs, outcomes and change in effectiveness of its individual and institutional clients and what they have gained through our  work on their behalf.

Our practice of starting every major new client training or capacity-building initiative with a “needs assessment” sets the tone of our approach going forward to realize meaningful results from our work. Both “in-class-written” and “online post-workshop” participant evaluations, assessments and suggestion for improvements, are deployed, all in support of a client’s objective to improve its performance and that of their members/employees in advancing their collective interests by skillfully crafting policy for their own community, facilitating public awareness and mobilization of support.

Depending on the venue and clients’ particular preferences and requirements, the overall approach and subject matter of training sessions and strategic workshops varies.

For more detailed information on Advocacy School, its training modules, coaching and other services as well as fees and expenses, send along your request to info@advocacyschool.org.

Evaluating Success

In all of its work related to skills-development and capacity-building, Advocacy School puts substantial emphasis on measuring and evaluating the outputs, outcomes and change in effectiveness of its individual and institutional clients. Its practice of starting every major new client training or capacity-building initiative with a “needs assessment” sets the tone of our approach going forward to have meaningful results from our work. Both “in-class-written” and “online post-workshop” participant evaluations, assessments and suggestion for improvements, are deployed; all in support of a client’s objective to improve its performance and that of their employees in advancing their collective interests by skillfully crafting policy for their own community, facilitating public awareness and mobilization of support.

Success Stories: Making an impact in Europe

Advocacy School was recently engaged in a major policy-advocacy training and coaching initiative in Portugal for a number of NGOs funded by a large European Foundation. Advocacy School has also provided advisory services to a Vienna-based environmental and conservation group opposing large river dam projects in southeast Europe.

Success Stories: Public Policy Support for First Nations

Over the last few years, it has also been engaged by Canada’s Assembly of First Nations in support of certain of its public policy and advocacy activities and by the Micmacs (Mi’gmaq) of Gesgapegiag First Nation in the Gaspésie region of Quebec.