TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Advocacy
and
Policy Influencing
KOEN W. TOONEN
ARJOLA AGOLLI
Tirana
7 – 9 April 2010
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Policy Influencing and Advocacy
Principles
C-L-A-S-P
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
A&L Principles CLASP
• Credibility; why would people trust you?
• Legitimacy: who or what gives you the right to interfere?
• (members, boards, participation of beneficiaries)
• Accountability (transparency towards deciders and constituency,
upward and downward acc.)
• Service: how are you being helpful, win-win, timely
• Power: what is your power and how do you use it?
(joined forces, expertise, belief in your message)
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Why principles
Policy Influencing is about influencing government, business or
civil society actors – with decision making power
These decisions have an impact on larger groups or society as a
whole.
If you influence these decision, you become co-responsible to a
certain extent.
Decision makers – on the other hand – require reliable
information
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
CLASP exercise
Write one card per level of CLASP on:
1. What do you do on C-L-A-S-P?
2. How can you proof it?
3. Discuss in groups and/or plenary
4. Apply on PI Cycle
This project is funded
by the European Union.
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Credibility - what?
Credibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the
believability of a source or message.
Two key components:
1. Trustworthiness is based more on subjective factors, but can include
objective measurements such as established reliability.
2. Expertise can be similarly subjectively perceived, but also includes
relatively objective characteristics of the source or message (e.g.,
credentials, certification or information quality).
Secondary components of credibility include source dynamism (charisma)
and physical attractiveness.
Note: it has become an important topic since the mid-1990s, as the web has increasingly become an information resource.
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
Credibility - how
How to proof your credibility?
• Facts
• Figures
• Research
• Evidence
• Positions
• Personal behavior
This project is funded
by the European Union.
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Legitimacy (political) – what?
Legitimacy in political science, is the popular acceptance of a governing
regime or law as an authority (refers to a specific position in an
established government)
1. Legitimacy is used when describing a system of government itself—where
government may be generalized to mean the wider "sphere of influence.“
2. Something becomes legitimate when one approves of it.
– issues of legitimacy are linked to those of consent (the provision of
approval or assent, particularly and especially after thoughtful
consideration).
– For example, an institution is perceived as legitimate, if approval for
that institution is general among those people subject to its authority.
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Legitimacy – what? (2)
3. It is considered a basic condition for rule, arguing
that:
- without at least a minimal amount of legitimacy, a
government will lead to frequent deadlocks or
collapse in the long run.
- the government is not legitimate unless it is carried
on with the consent of the governed.
TACS
Legitimacy – how?
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
How to proof and create legitimacy?
• Participation of beneficiaries
– For the beneficiaries and marginalized
– With the beneficiaries and marginalized
– By the beneficiaries and marginalized
•
•
•
•
•
Involvement board and constituency
Preparation of positions jointly
Information sharing on progress and experience
Meetings and feed back
(budget for this!)
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Accountability – what?
Accountability is a concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It
is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility,[1]
answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with
the expectation of account-giving.
1. As an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to
problems in the public sector, non profit and private (corporate) worlds.
2. In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption
of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the
administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the
role encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for
resulting consequences.
3. Accountability is the way you proof to all stakeholders that you are
reliable as an organization or a person.
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Accountability – how?
How do you proof that to be accountable?
1. Backward accountability:
– Consult your constituency, beneficiaries and board
– Organize meetings to prepare PI positions and feed back PI
2. Forward accountability:
– Be transparent about your constituency, board, relations with
stakeholders
– Publish data
To all provide in an open access space (p.e. website):
– reliable information, facts & figures
– reports and research
– Financial data and audits reports
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
Power – what?
What is Power?
Ghandi – definitions:
• Power over
• Power to
• Power with
• Power within
Always assess the power of all actors involved in
relation to you and others.
This project is funded
by the European Union.
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Power – how?
• How can you assess and/or establish Power?
- Providing evidence, facts & figures, knowledge on
the issue (to)
- Being legitimate and representative (with)
- Establish alliances (with)
- Believe in your message (within)
- Negotiate (over / win-win)
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Service oriented – What?
Service orientedness addresses your attitude towards your
audiences – beneficiaries, media, director and political targets
by delivering information, reports, and answers to questions
that is relevant to them.
Your audiences will use it in order to create a better profile for
them.
Do not be overindulging and leave your pride at home.
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Service oriented – How?
How can you satisfy your political targets ? (media,
politicians, directors etc)
1. Do as you promise
2. Provide only information that is
- relevant – asked for
- high quality
3. Be in time – so that the person can do something
with your information
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
When apply CLASP
CLASP can be applied always –
throughout the whole PI Cycle ánd
at the level of each step and
at every moment of PI.
This project is funded
by the European Union.